How To Become A Creative Writer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a creative writer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Allison Harl Ph.D.,

Gayle Rogers

The world is your oyster when you're a creative writer! Through the power of your imagination and your words, you can forge your career path in a variety of industries while doing a job many people only dream of.

Creative writers are not just stuffy academics in tweed and turtlenecks that write poetry and lecture about postmodernism. You can work in the film or television industry writing scripts. You could also work for a private business writing copy for their social media, ad campaigns, and more. If you've ever had an ad slogan stuck in your head, chances are there was a skillful, creative writer behind it.

Since there are so many different ways to work as a creative writer, naturally, there are also many different paths to become one in the first place. You could get a bachelor's or master's degree in English or a related field. Professional experience is also important--you could dedicate time to building a portfolio that will wow potential employers with your words.

What general advice would you give to a creative writer?

Allison Harl Ph.D.

Associate Professor of English English Program Coordinator, Ferrum College

Develop as many multimedia skills as possible. Writing in the 21st century is about visual rhetoric as well as just words on a page.

ScoreCreative WriterUS Average

Salary

5.7

Avg. Salary $73,095

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.2

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.35%

Asian 4.91%

Black or African American 5.91%

Hispanic or Latino 7.60%

Unknown 5.58%

White 75.64%

Gender

female 54.21%

male 45.79%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress level

6.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.5

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a creative writer

Explore creative writer education requirements

Most common creative writer degrees

Bachelor's

72.9 %

Associate

9.9 %

Master's

8.9 %

Start to develop specific creative writer skills

Skills	Percentages
Digital Marketing	17.05%
Proofreading	15.29%
Email Campaigns	10.82%
Video Scripts	6.03%
Web Content	5.08%

Complete relevant creative writer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New creative writers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a creative writer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real creative writer resumes.

Research creative writer duties and responsibilities

Manage the website, twitter, and facebook.
Manage publication review process, including technical and editorial review by in-house and outside reviewers.
Create and publish advertising copy, press releases, brochures and technical manuals.
Develop an eye for detail and proofreading.

Prepare your creative writer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your creative writer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a creative writer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable creative writer resume templates

Build a professional creative writer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your creative writer resume.