Is being a writer a realistic career?
My friend wants to write books for juveniles. She has the idea that if she can publish a book that she won’t have to go to college. I am attempting to convince her that she needs to get a bachelor’s degree because a writer will not make that much money and she needs other options. Also, if she does become a writer, it would look better if she gets a degree in English or Creative Writing. What is your opinion?
Just so everyone knows, I am not trying to bash her dreams. She is my best friend and I am very supportive of her. I am just trying to give her advice to help her future.
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She should get a degree. Perhaps become a teacher and that will give her time to write. You are right.
You do not need a degree what so ever!
An eleven year old sold a book and obviously she didn’t have a degree. You can write a book and publoish it WHENEVER!
Your advice is sound…the world of publishing is very competitive and speculative…as a writer she may not be able to count on a steady income (or ANY income) from her writing, so a more broadly planned career path, even one involving the publishing industry, would be a good idea, and a degree the perfect way to start on that path.
I don’t believe that a degree is a requirement for a creative writer. I don’t think people check your resume before purchasing a child book.
Rosanne Bar wrote a child’s book. She did not finish college.
I work as a lead technical writer; hmm funny no degree.
I do agree she should get a degree just in case her long shot does not come through.
A good writer never stops learning so education is a must. 80% of writers do not make a living from it. If writing is truly her passion then by all means have her follow through but make it a secondary career choice until it starts to pay off. I would suggest she go to work in the childrens/young adult publishing field as an editor or copyrighter, anything to introduce her to the industry and still recieve a steady paycheck. A degree in English or Creative Writing will set the foundation for any good writer regardless of the subject matter. Hope this helps…..
Just try searching the term “publish a book” on this site.
The reality is there are tons of people trying to get their name out there right now, and your friend needs all of the advantages she can get. The degree is important, but she should also be consantly writing different types of things. Perhaps that will take her in a different direction. Maybe she would really enjoy journalism, copywriting, teaching, or professional editting.
If she really loves writing any of those things would sound appealing. The trick is to get as involved as possible and the degree is part of that. I would suggest professional writing, as I chose advertising to become a copywriter and I am now discovering what limitations my choice can bring.
By the way, an 11 year old writer didn’t need a degree, but I bet she still ends up going after one when she is older, because she is smart and driven. A publisher would pick up an 11 year-old writer because of the marketing behind it, 5 years later she will need more to back her.
a degree really has nothing to do with if you get published or not. if she wants a degree then i would recommend something other than english. lots of english profs are failed writers — just what you don’t want teaching you how to do something. i never wrote but i wouldn’t have wanted any of my college english teachers teaching me how to write — they would overly critique everything. i had help from a friend of mine — now a prof at berkeley — he helped me write a paper for my english class because my teacher always gave me “c”s. my generous teacher gave my friend’s paper a b-.
english depts are full of nut jobs. watch whos afraid of virginia wolf — its kind of accurate.
if she wants to write books for juveniles she should learn more about juveniles. maybe volunteer at a local school.
if she ends up homeless its not your problem — don’t be such a wet blanket and try being a little more supportive. i hope your friends don’t stomp all over your goals the way you do theirs.
She should get a degree so she has something to fall back on. Getting a career as a professional writer is not easy. She should check out the websites for Orson Scott Card (writer of Ender’s Game) and Steve Alten (writer of MEG and Domain) for advice on writing and getting published. Both authors give great advice for the aspiring author but also warn of the difficulties and expense of getting that first book published.