Starting any career is a daunting prospect. After the routine and familiar environment of university life, trying to make it on your own as a writer can be scary and a difficult industry to break into.
Luckily, there are plenty of online resources to give you community support, all-important writing inspiration, and even chances to land your first book-signing deal.
Whatever field of writing you want to go into, help is at hand. Read on to learn about the best website resources for you as a graduate writer looking to kickstart your career.
What Kind of Writer Do You Want to Be?
Sometimes it’s best to start tackling such a huge decision (i.e., how to get a career as a writer) by breaking it down into manageable chunks.
As the job title "writer" is an umbrella term for a vast number of specific careers and job roles, start by asking yourself: what kind of writer do you want to be?
If you’re unsure of which field of writing you want to aim for, check out Prospects, a graduate careers advice website. It is a fantastic resource that breaks down different writing jobs into easy to understand information.
You can learn more about various writing careers, such as:
- Copywriter
- Editorial assistant
- Lexicographer
- Digital, magazine, and newspaper journalists
- Publishing copy-editor/proofreader
- Web content manager
Prospects also provides guidance on what experience, qualifications, or degrees are required for certain job roles, so if you are still deciding on what to major in, start with this website.
Writing Competitions
Whether you’re a budding novelist or plan to be the next Bill Bryson, writing competitions are a great way of getting your work published and your name in the professional game.
Writing competitions come in all sorts of varieties: those which are free to enter or those which charge an entry fee; competitions which offer cash prizes and others which will provide you a byline upon publication; contests which offer places on prestigious creative writing courses, with others landing you your first book deal.
Cash Prizes
Short stories, poetry, novel extracts, and journalist pieces all qualify for cash prize competitions. It’s just a matter of finding the right contests to enter!
Flash 500 runs a short story competition, with first, second, and third prize winners claiming £500, £200, and £100, respectively. For a small entry fee and stories of between 1,000 to 3,000 words, this is a great opportunity for writers who enjoy the short story form to win some cash.
Travel writers can find plenty of competitions to help start their career, with many offering winning stories publication (read: exposure of your work and name as a budding writer). Renowned independent travel publisher Bradt Guides runs an annual “New Travel Writer of the Year” competition. Many winners from the past 20 years have kickstarted their careers with newspapers, travel magazines, and book publications thanks to this award.
Book Deals
For graduates aiming to become published authors, the prestigious Bridport Prize is a great place to begin. First-prize novel writers win £1,500, and an extract of their book is published in the Bridport anthology. Winners also receive mentoring from The Literary Consultancy agents and publishers, furthering the chance of becoming a fully published author. Now, that’s a great prize to strive for!
The Bridport Prize also welcomes entries within poetry, short story, and flash fiction categories, all with similarly rewarding prizes.
Another great opportunity is The First Novel Prize, which invites unpublished and independently published novelists the chance to expose their work. Entries are judged by a leading literary agent and a senior editor, and cash prizes of £1,000, £250, and £100 for first, second, and third prize winners are also up for grabs.
Essential Websites for Novelists
If you want to become a published author, it's worth arming yourself with some handy resources, as well as entering competitions as mentioned above. Here are a couple of online resources to get you started.
Writers & Artists
Any budding writer should make their first digital stop at Writers & Artists. This one-stop shop is the holy grail of resources for writers, offering expert advice articles, author interviews, and editorial services alongside an online community of writers, with plenty of competitions to get involved with.
Whether you need help with your writing process, self-publishing, or simply want to build a writing community, Writers & Artists is a great place to start.
NaNoWriMo
NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is how you can get your novel idea off the ground and start writing. Taking part in this annual social event can be a rite of passage for many authors. The idea is to write the first draft of your novel (50,000 words) in one month.
Sign up for the event on the official NaNoWriMo website in November. It can keep you accountable with the help of other novelists and find writing support groups.
Helpful Websites for Digital Writers
If you want to join the world of online writing—whether that is blogging, journalism or content writing—you’ll want to pick up the skills and knowhow of the industry before you begin.
Writing for an online audience requires a particular skill set that includes knowledge of SEO, awareness of reader attention span, and even insight into human psychology.
Copyblogger is a great resource to learn more about writing online. It will tell you all about content marketing (known as great writing skills that attract attention and inspires action).
If blogging is an industry you’d like to dip into, ProBlogger can help. From guides on how to start your own blog to the basics of understanding what it takes to be a blogger, you can use ProBlogger as an aid to improve your writing and learn how to make money from writing a blog.
There Are Thousands of Online Writing Resources for You
No matter what type of writer you want to be (or already are!), the internet has a wealth of resources to help kickstart or boost your career. Make sure to check out the resources in this article, bookmark your favorites, and get writing!
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