Get Creative in Copywriting
While employers aren’t beating down doors looking for creative writers, there are creative writing jobs that can pay the bills while fulfilling your dreams of being a paid writer. The goal of many aspiring authors is to write a bestseller. Even if you can’t do that, you could write enough fiction or nonfiction throughout the year to make a decent living. However, getting your foot in the door with the right literary agent and/or publisher can take awhile. There are jobs that are more short-term in nature, or that you can do while you are pursuing fame as a book author.
Copywriting is one such career. Copywriters create sales letters, print ad copy, radio and TV commercial scripts, mail order ads and much more. In addition to taking writing in college, you should also take some kind of advertising or marketing course. It is not mandatory to have a college degree to work as a copywriter, but most traditional agencies require this. There are some freelance copywriters who have managed to teach themselves the ropes and work their way into lucrative assignments. Many companies are going the route of freelancers and telecommuters because there are no benefits to pay and no office space being taken up. Therefore, it is cheaper for the employer.
You could teach creative writing at your local community college. If you can put together a syllabus and present your teachings in an effective manner you might get a gig doing this. Or, you could offer online courses in your area of expertise. Without a college degree such as a Master of Fine Arts, you’re not going to be a professor but you can make money teaching others to tap into their creative sides and how to put together a piece of creative work for presentation. There are so many genres in creative writing, you can be as broad or specific as you want.
There are other creative writing jobs available as well. The Internet is a great place to look for them. Some of the sites like About and Suite101 use freelance writers to create their site content, and the writers get a portion of the profits the site makes through advertising revenue. You may also want to look into writing articles for ezines and even print magazines. It can take awhile to find the perfect job for you, however there are money making opportunities for determined creative writers.