5 Careers for Creative Writers That Actually Pay

In an ideal world, we would write creative stories and never set foot in an office. But since bills and birthdays exist, we need to step away from our writing desk and find a way to earn a living. Here are some real world careers that exercise writing creativity and pay the rent.

Advertising Copywriter

It takes a lot of creativity to catch someone’s attention. A copywriter writes blurbs, slogans, and any kind of content for advertising material. They produce content for billboards, catalogs, displays, direct mail pieces, product packaging. Knowing how to capture and captivate an audience translates easily into your creative writing.

Social Media Coordinator

How do you get your message across in 140 characters? A social media coordinator must dip into their creative and analytical skills in order to be original and effective in their social media posts for a company. Although you won’t write that many words, you’ll have energy to write after the workday is done.

Editor

Writers are usually great editors too. Editors help authors prepare author manuscripts for publication, whether that be for a book publisher, magazine, or journal. You must be great at finding grammatical errors as well as detailing a manuscript with suggestions on story arc and character development. You’ll have a behind-the-scenes look into the publishing industry so you’ll know how to present your manuscript when the time comes to publish it.

Creative Writing Instructor

This one requires more education, usually a master’s degree or a PhD. A creative writing instructor leads instruction in creative writing development and practice. You’ll pass along the lessons you learned about writing over the years and offer insights invaluable to new writers. Spending the day reading and listening to stories doesn’t sound bad either.

Translator

Bilingual? Multilingual? There are a variety of opportunities for translators including teaching, interpreting, and translating content. Using both sides of your brain to analyze and interpret will warm up your brain to write creatively after the workday is done.

Other Writing Careers That Pay If You Hustle

If you have the patience, drive, and passion, these creative writing careers can also bring in a cozy paycheck:

• Blogger
• Book reviewer
• Fact checker
• Ghostwriter
• Marketing consultant
• Proofreader
• Writing specialist