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Creative writer vs senior editor

The differences between creative writers and senior editors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a creative writer, becoming a senior editor takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a senior editor has an average salary of $90,094, which is higher than the $73,095 average annual salary of a creative writer.

The top three skills for a creative writer include digital marketing, proofreading and email campaigns. The most important skills for a senior editor are edit content, video content, and SEO.

Creative writer vs senior editor overview

Creative WriterSenior Editor
Yearly salary$73,095$90,094
Hourly rate$35.14$43.31
Growth rate4%-5%
Number of jobs19,12912,150
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age4244
Years of experience24

What does a creative writer do?

Creative writers are professionals who employ their imagination and discipline to convey new and interesting ideas to an audience in an engaging way, such as books, screenplays, and promotional marketing material. These writers must select a subject or theme for their writing projects while conducting research to obtain factual information and authentic detail for their content. They must review and submit their work for approval to meet the needs of their clients, publishers, or directors. Creative writers can also work for magazines, websites, and advertising or become a freelancer.

What does a senior editor do?

A Senior Editor determines the editorial content for a publication. They supervise the content creation process and manage junior editors.

Creative writer vs senior editor salary

Creative writers and senior editors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Creative WriterSenior Editor
Average salary$73,095$90,094
Salary rangeBetween $46,000 And $114,000Between $66,000 And $121,000
Highest paying CityRedwood City, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaConnecticut
Best paying companyAppleApple
Best paying industryInternetFinance

Differences between creative writer and senior editor education

There are a few differences between a creative writer and a senior editor in terms of educational background:

Creative WriterSenior Editor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common majorEnglishEnglish
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyNorthwestern University

Creative writer vs senior editor demographics

Here are the differences between creative writers' and senior editors' demographics:

Creative WriterSenior Editor
Average age4244
Gender ratioMale, 45.8% Female, 54.2%Male, 51.7% Female, 48.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.9% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 4.9% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 7.2% White, 76.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage16%12%

Differences between creative writer and senior editor duties and responsibilities

Creative writer example 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.
  • Hire to write several papers for NIH fund grant projects.
  • Work with blogs, Wikipedia page management, and Youtube content.
  • Show more

Senior editor example responsibilities.

  • Contract and manage editorial freelancers and full-service vendors for successful high school Spanish and Latin textbook and ancillary programs.
  • Post video to the Fox17 website and youtube.
  • Complete several robust DVD authoring projects for clients.
  • Redesign the look and the style of lifestyle magazine.
  • Double traffic on the Instagram page with newly implement marketing plan.
  • Content editing for automobile DVD user manuals (English, French and Spanish).
  • Show more

Creative writer vs senior editor skills

Common creative writer skills
  • Digital Marketing, 17%
  • Proofreading, 15%
  • Email Campaigns, 11%
  • Video Scripts, 6%
  • Web Content, 5%
  • Proofread, 4%
Common senior editor skills
  • Edit Content, 11%
  • Video Content, 7%
  • SEO, 7%
  • Digital Content, 6%
  • Project Management, 4%
  • Facebook, 3%

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