Some people might consider Creative Writing degrees to be impractical. But the only real limit to the number of jobs you can find with your degree is your imagination. Creative writers excel at being imaginative. Routine jobs are increasingly automated or outsourced to low-wage countries. So the future of employment will, according to The Economist, will be in fields that require intelligence and creativity. Creative Writing graduates have these in abundance. Many different opportunities are open to creative writers, including both salaried positions and more entrepreneurial or freelance possibilities.
Selling Your Creative Writing
Although very few publishers pay for poetry, you can earn money by publishing fiction. Genre or niche fiction can provide a steady income for a skilled and reliable author. These include:
- romance
- teen fantasy
- science fiction
- detective fiction
- mysteries
You can sell shorter works to magazines and longer ones to book publishers or self-publish and self-promote, especially over social media. Screenwriters can pitch original scripts or look for work in film or television studios. A growing area of opportunity is writing video games, either as an independent or as part of a writing team for a game company.
Freelance Writing
When you study Creative Writing, you learn the craft of putting words together in an interesting and vivid manner. These are the skills needed for successful writing in any genre. Traditional print magazines and newspapers are losing readership. But the vast proliferation of internet sites means that almost all types of businesses need some form of writing for their websites. Skilled writers often work as freelancers. They connect with clients through platforms or social media, and write:
- articles
- blog posts
- landing pages
- social media posts,
- other materials for various internet sites
Many writers also maintain their own websites and create revenue through allowing companies to place advertising on their sites.
Teaching Writing
If you love reading and writing, you might enjoy sharing your appreciation of creative writing with students. Writers with a bachelor’s degree and proper certification can teach in schools. With terminal degrees such as an M.F.A. or PhD in Creative Writing, you can teach part or full time at the university level. Creative writers often offer classes in less conventional settings, working in:
- prisons
- nursing homes
- community centers
- veterans’ centers
- working with writing therapists.
Salaried Jobs
Maybe the insecure life of a freelancer or entrepreneur is not for you. Many traditional jobs employ people with creative writing backgrounds. These fields include:
- advertising
- marketing
- technical writing
Your writing skills will qualify you to work in corporate communications doing such things as:
- creating company newsletters
- curating social media feeds
- editing technical documents
- participating in strategic branding teams
Related Resource: 20 Best Deals on Small College for Writers
With the rapid pace of technological change and the growth of global supply chains, simple, mechanical jobs are disappearing. Increasingly, what is most valuable in the new economy is creativity. A Creative Writing degree builds the skills to do jobs that machines cannot do. It prepares you to succeed in a wide range of careers either as a freelancer or entrepreneur or in innovative companies that value your verbal skills and imagination.