“Am ready to restart and I want to try out content writing, how do I start?” I get many messages like this quite often. Let me ask you some questions before I answer yours:
- Do you plan to take it up full time?
- Do you have a blog?
- Do you have ideas as to what to write on?
- Are you prepared to spend long hours researching?
- Did you Google the prospects of writing as a career?
- Are there courses available?
- Does it really pay?
These are just a few questions that popped up in my mind before I took up writing as a career. To be frank, I never thought of writing as a full-time career until I realized its potential. That happened after I decided to try it out of curiosity! Those times, around 10 years before, we didn’t have active communities online to seek help on whatever few opportunities we could find. It was always a risk but writing involved no investments other than time. But there was learning involved and that’s what attracted me more.
These days, there’s enough and more information available online regarding writing as a career so if you plan to take it up, please do your research first. Here are my answers to the above-mentioned questions:
Full time or part-time?
If you are already working, you can still consider writing as a part-time job. But remember, if it’s a job, it comes with commitments. Writing as a profession requires a lot of research (read time and effort). From my experience, even if the topic is familiar and sounds simple, as you start writing, you may find it more exuberating to research than to write. That is if you intend to add value to your writing instead of rewriting what you find online. Remember, if its already available online, you rewriting it will not make any difference. You may get paid, but does it add value to your experience? Eventually, the employer will realize it and get someone better.
To me, it never made sense and hence, I spend a lot of time researching than on writing. So, if you plan to take writing as a part-time option, check if you will be able to spend enough time to add value to what you write. For those who say I can spend 2-3 hours a day for writing, well, good for you if you make it a career!
Blogging
Whether you have a blog or not does not make much difference! It makes things easier when you are looking for samples to showcase on your profile as you take up writing professionally. So, if you are looking to restart as a writer, please start blogging now! As you start blogging, you will learn a lot about what people like to read, whether you are able to engage them enough, are you really able to write out the ideas in your mind etc. When you have time, research, when you have more time, write! That’s what ultimately helps.
And remember, blogging is totally different from writing as a profession. When you write for organizations, they have a set of requirements which you have to meet. The deadlines, quality, topics, keywords, SEO, and a lot more come into the picture! Do keep that in mind! That’s why I mentioned, it really doesn’t make much difference when you take up writing as a profession.
If you intend to impress your prospective employers and audience with your blogs, make sure you use the free or paid tools available online to check spelling, grammar, and plagiarism. You may be well-experienced, but it never hurts to have your writing checked to be double sure! I run all my content through Gingerly/Grammarly and a Plagiarism checker before I submit.
Can you ideate?
When you are blogging, you will realize that after the initial few blogs, ideation becomes the biggest challenge. What do you write upon? That’s a million-dollar question!!! For personal blogs, you can write on whatever you find is interesting. But when it comes to professional writing, your ideas have to align with your organization’s goals. That’s where research helps!
Research – You cannot do without!
If you plan to take up writing as a profession, you will have to spend a considerable amount of time to research. In fact, 80% of my time on each project goes on research, 15% on writing and 5% on editing. Research should start before you even consider writing as a career! That’s how you learn. If you do not have that zest, I would recommend not to take up writing at all professionally.
Did you Google?
Well, if you found my article from Google, you are on the right path! Otherwise, you have to read this as “Google and help yourself please!”. As I mentioned earlier, there’s enough and more available online to help you start. Even if you don’t have experience writing, you can start blogging and create those samples and publish them. You can share them when your prospective employer asks for samples. They only want to know how skilled you are, especially your language skills.
Are there courses that teach writing?
You may join language classes to perfect your grammar. There are courses that offer you training on different types of writing. They also may familiarize you on some tools used to ensure better writing quality. There are paid courses, free internships and low-paid assignments you can bag online. Again, the keyword is Research! As for me, I took up low-paid assignments and learned on the job. That’s why I mentioned earlier, it was a learning process for me that turned into a full-time profession.
The golden question – Does it really pay?
Yeah, for many, it all boils down to this golden question – Pay! It definitely does, depending upon what you have to give. It’s like what you have learned during your basic computer classes – Garbage In, Garbage Out! If your content has that quality, adds value to the organization and if you can offer a variety in writing in terms of styles and topics, it pays decently well. Writing is definitely a career to consider full-time if you have the veracity and can put in the time and effort it demands.
Verbally Versatile - The Game of Words! 