5 exciting career options for budding writers

You can be a copywriter, novelist or a content writer and turn your hobby into a fruitful career.

Once considered a hobby, creative writing has turned to be one of the most lucrative careers.

Be it print or online media, education, IT, marketing, sales, or advertising, everyone needs good content.

It is a medium to communicate your ideas and businesses with the target audience.

For those who have fine writing skills, here are five career options:

1. Novelist or fiction writer

If you are someone who can weave imagination, storyline, and characters together, you could write fiction.

Fiction writers, short story writers, or novelists give birth to imaginary stories using different characters and put them in situations knowing about what excites the readers.

Fiction writers need to have a strong observation, imagination, and ideation, in order to make the readers understand each and every character and delve deeper into the intricacies of the story, simply with the words they write.

Crime, romance, horror, comedy, adventure, and thriller are a few genres you can start with.

2. Journalist

Journalists work within the film, print, radio, television, or internet industry and focus on finding, organising, and dissemination facts and happenings around the globe to the general public.

Their main aim is to create awareness and to inform and educate the masses through channels of mass communication.

For anyone who is a risk-taker and passionate about using the power of words to share information, journalism is the right career option.

Investigative skills, courage, objectivity, storytelling, ethics, and integrity are some of the skills a journalist should have.

3. Content writer

A content writer is someone with a flair for web writing.

You will have to research, create, and curate content for different brand websites or blogs.

Content writers communicate the brand ideas in a certain brand tone through articles, product reviews, case studies, white papers, and so on.

You may be required to follow an editorial calendar, manage work through content management systems, and work closely with content managers, editors, and web publishers so as to timely produce content.

You will have to be proficient with basic tools such as Google Docs, Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. It may help if you have additional skills like data management, SEO optimisation

4. Copywriter

The catchy jingles that you hear during radio programs or brand taglines that attract the customers come through the magical pen of copywriters.

Copywriters work within various branches of media and usually combine rhyming words or creative texts to produce 2-3 lines of catchy content which directly or indirectly promotes their brand.

Your work will involve writing copies for billboards, create slogans, social media posts, pop-up ads, radio or TV jingles, and product taglines.

If you are an expert at expressing emotions in minimum words, this career could be both exciting and challenging for you.

5. Freelance writer

Anyone who doesn’t like sticking with a certain type and genre of writing or to work for a specific firm can turn towards freelance writing.

As a freelancer, you have the distinction to explore various subjects and projects while at the same time avoiding long term commitments.

You can either work remotely or spend a few hours a week.

Your work profile could be editorial, technical, educational, document, academic, advertising, web content, or blog writer.

The best part is you won't be restricted to a certain form of writing and a 9 to 5 job.

Sarvesh Agrawal is founder and CEO of Internshala and Internshala Trainings, an e-learning platform to learn new-age skills. He can be contacted on ga@rediff-inc.com