So You Want to Write for a Living (Part 1: Courses, Internships, and Types of Writing)
7 tips that will help you decide if writing professionally is for you
When we 90s kids were growing up, June signalled the start of a new school year. But since the academic calendar shift here in the Philippines + the pandemic, June became grad season instead!
So in honor of the Class of 2023, I'm writing a 2-part series dedicated to:
- Fresh college graduates
- Fresh high school graduates
- High school students about to pick a college course
Why all these people? Well, even the year before graduation can be full of expectations and questions - coming from yourself as a student, and from the family, friends, and teachers around you.
If you're considering working as a writer or taking a course that'll lead you down the path of the written word, here are a couple of items to think about, plus tips to help you during your decision-making journey.
1. Ask yourself why you want to write for a living
Any path you take will have some degree of struggle. Even paths that involve doing the things you like. But every struggle will become more bearable if you can go back to why you like doing what you do.
When asking yourself why you want to write for a living, it helps to do a bit of self-reflection. You could make a journal entry answering the following question: Why do you like writing? How does it make you feel? Does it make your brain tingle? Does it make your heart soar?
Then, go a level deeper.
If you like writing because you like making something new, ask yourself - why do you like making something new? Does it make you feel powerful? Does it make you feel more connected to other people? What's the why of your why?
Keep this journal entry in an easy-to-access location, like Google Drive or your Notes app. On hard days throughout college or your first job, this can help you reconnect with the reason you signed up to write for a living. And hopefully, rereading this journal entry will make you say, "Wow, I'm lucky to be paid to do what I've always loved!"
2. When it comes to colleges and courses, have a backup
This goes for anyone going to college, really. Just because you're sold on one course on one campus/university doesn't mean you shouldn't have a Plan B (or C, D, E).
And your course choices don't have to be focused solely on writing! I know a lot of talented writers who made their way into writing professionally despite coming from "unrelated" courses, such as Engineering, Psychology, or Interdisciplinary Studies. You can still pursue writing later on, and having these new and varied experiences in other courses can bring something fresh to your writing.
3. Choose your electives wisely
Even if you do end up taking a communication- or writing-oriented course, you can use electives to broaden your views and learn something that will *add a little spice* to the way you write.
Also, the point of having electives is to get to dip your toes in a bunch of new, fun, and interesting things! Who knows, you might have a future as a writer-slash-sound designer, or writer-slash-illustrator. Just because you've decided on one path doesn't mean you should close off all other avenues. :)
For example: back in college, I took two advertising electives, both taught by industry veterans who were copywriters. This cemented my wanting to become an advertising copywriter.
But I also got to experience video production thanks to a videography elective, so I knew a bit about production - enough to know that though it was interesting, it was a struggle that wasn't for me. I also took a global gastronomy elective, where the homework involved a lot of reflection papers similar to feature news writing.
4. Aim for value-adding internships
When our batch was entering senior year, the internships we took on usually fell into one of two categories:
A: Internships at well-known companies, mostly in Makati / BGC, which usually involved rather menial tasks.
B: Internships at smaller companies, usually closer to our campus in Quezon City; these involved more legwork.
Personally, I wanted my internship to involve copywriting at an ad agency. Unfortunately, the agency I ended up getting a spot in had no openings for Creatives interns, so I was placed in Accounts. Even if I had no intention of being a client-facing, project-coordinating person, I took on the opportunity since it was a high-profile company and hey, who knows, right?
While I did get to listen to talks from different ad agency leaders, hang out in a mind-blowingly-cool office, experience the Makati ahensya life, and meet a bunch of interesting people, I did not get much preparation in terms of what I wanted to do - and would do - as a copywriter.
And while this seems like a win in and of itself, I began to see the "gap" in my internship period when excited Creative Directors would ask me about my internship at that famous agency, and I would have to let them down and admit that what I mostly did was immersion, plus helping out with some tasks that had nothing to do with copywriting or creative work. The look on their face and the anticlimactic "Oh, okay" after my response told me all I needed to know.
5. To raket or not to raket?
Newsflash: you don't need to wait until after graduation to start writing professionally. As soon as you're 18 years old (aka of legal age), you can actually take on writing rakets and earn that sweet, sweet cash.
Taking on writing jobs gives you your first taste of having to ideate under pressure, working with tight deadlines, juggling multiple projects (since you're still in school), and getting paid to write. This could be your litmus test for whether you want to pursue writing as a career.
I was lucky enough to hear of Essays.PH, a website where you coordinate with a project manager/editor who'd assign you articles to write plus a deadline, and would let you know when your paycheck came in. I remember sitting in the lobby of UP Maskom in between periods, working on my Essays.PH assignments ahead of time so that when I got home, I could focus on my homework.
Though none of those articles can make it to my portfolio (legally speaking), the experience and skills (and cash!) were worth the extra effort.
NOTE: Proceed with caution when taking on these freelance assignments. Make sure the company you're working with is legit, and read the terms of your contract carefully. Lastly, don't fall behind on schoolwork!
6. Explore different types of writing early on
If you think writing is just for short stories, novels, and news articles, think again! There are dozens of ways to apply your skills as a writer!
You could become a novelist, poet, or short story writer.
You could become a playwright or film screenwriter.
You could become a news writer, journalist, or scriptwriter for TV and radio shows.
But there's also advertising copywriting - crafting the scripts of YouTube ads, the captions on brands' Facebook posts, and those billboards you see on your daily commute. Buhay Copywriter is mostly about this kind of writing since it's what I'm immersed in and what I enjoy. :)
There's direct response copywriting, which involves writing persuasive copy to close sales. It's like the written version of those door-to-door salesmen! Copywriting Dojo is a great resource if you want to learn this kind of copywriting.
You could also become an in-house copywriter for a brand, working on all kinds of content for their products and services. Depending on the structure of the company, you could be asked to work on social media captions, video scripts, listicles, sales pages, and user manuals. You could apply for this position directly, or you might get in through business process outsourcing companies (BPOs).
You could also become a content writer for a website, creating feature articles, how-to guides, and blog entries. This line of work typically involves Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which involves improving website content so that people searching on Google or Bing eventually end up browsing through your site.
7. The ONE THING that applies to all kinds of writing
No matter what kind of writing you choose to pursue, it's important to remember this one truth: Writing is storytelling - telling a story for humans, driven by human insights and experiences.
It's more than just words on a page for the sake of word count. More than just fulfilling an SEO brief.
It's about tapping into the how's and why's of daily human life, the emotions one experiences, and how to connect with the people reading, viewing, or listening to what you wrote.
It's about sharing a story that shows what's in it for your audience - why your brand, why your product, why act now, why keep reading/listening/watching.
Sounds like a lot of pressure?
It is. But it can also be a lot of fun.
Deciding to become a writer can seem scary.
Some people might tell you that you'll end up a starving creative (not necessarily true).
Some people might say AI will come for our jobs (not if we learn to work with it and use it to become more strategic and creative).
But if you keep your reasons for becoming a writer to heart, and you remember to tell a story with every word you write, you can succeed!
I'm rooting for you, future professional writer! :) See you on the other side.