How To Get Your Foot in the Door As a Writer
January 5th, 2012
Calling all writers. Today is extremely easy to get into writing.You don’t necessarily need a college degree, although it is helpful and preferred, and of course, education is never lost. If you are a student in pursuit of your degree, whether it be in English or Journalism or Communications, there are things you can start now in order to get your foot in the door with writing.
Of course, you could always start with checking out the best journalism schools as a starting point. You could also do your own journalism work by creating our own blog or website and posting your own articles. You could also join your school’s journalism team if your school has one.
However, you could also get a general degree in English or Communications. While it may seem broad, this can often be a plus. A degree in English or Communications does not limit you to one particular industry or position. You could begin a career as a Writer, Journalist, Editor, Project Manager, or even become an Author or Publisher. You could work with news, magazines, or even textbooks. The opportunities and possibilities are endless.
So what can you do now? Well, start writing! There are many freelance opportunities out there looking for writers who can write blog articles. This is a great place to start if you haven’t yet had the opportunity to really sit down and write and see what you’ve got. There are tons of niches or categories you can get into, whether it be business, specific industries, or even hobbies, you can bet that there are companies or individuals looking for help or writers to write on every topic under the sun.
After you’ve written a number of efficient and well-written articles, you can form a portfolio. A portfolio is a collection of pieces, whether they be art or article clips or pieces you’ve written. Today, most employers that would like or appreciate to see a portfolio, prefer that they are online. So this goes back to starting your own blog or website full of your own work that you can show off. If you haven’t started one already, know that websites and blogs today are easy to create and maintain. You don’t need much, if any, web development or computer science skills in order to do this.
All in all, the way to get your foot in the door as a writer is to write. It might be a good idea to write a few test articles, on the topic of your choice, before deciding on a career, and maybe bounce them off established writers or authors or even a colleague or professor to get their take on them. After they provide feedback and point you in the right direction, the road is all yours!
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