Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Job outlook for fiction writers in the United States
Are fiction writer jobs in demand?
Fiction writer job and salary trends over time
Fiction writer jobs over time
Fiction writer job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 76 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 68 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 71 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 70 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 70 | 0.00% |
Average fiction writer salary over time
Fiction writer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $78,921 | $37.94 | +6.2% |
| 2024 | $74,312 | $35.73 | +1.7% |
| 2023 | $73,101 | $35.14 | +0.6% |
| 2022 | $72,689 | $34.95 | +0.9% |
| 2021 | $72,007 | $34.62 | +1.6% |
Fiction writer jobs by state
Most common states for fiction writers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 135 | 19% |
| 2 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 282 | 5% |
| 3 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 297 | 4% |
| 4 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 259 | 4% |
| 5 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 22 | 4% |
| 6 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 138 | 3% |
| 7 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 92 | 3% |
| 8 | Delaware | 961,939 | 25 | 3% |
| 9 | Vermont | 623,657 | 20 | 3% |
| 10 | California | 39,536,653 | 761 | 2% |
| 11 | New York | 19,849,399 | 330 | 2% |
| 12 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 188 | 2% |
| 13 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 183 | 2% |
| 14 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 170 | 2% |
| 15 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 110 | 2% |
| 16 | Nevada | 2,998,039 | 51 | 2% |
| 17 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 39 | 2% |
| 18 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 25 | 2% |
| 19 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 25 | 2% |
| 20 | Alaska | 739,795 | 18 | 2% |
Fiction Writer job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of fiction writer experts
Manhattan College
Indiana University Northwest
University of South Florida
Illinois Wesleyan University
DePaul University
Cal Poly
University of Kansas
Bates College
Bucknell University
University of Oregon
University of San Francisco
Southern Utah University
Azusa Pacific University
Independence Community College
Morgan State University
Misericordia University
Finlandia University
Dr. Heidi Laudien Ph.D.
Associate ProfessorManhattan College
English Language And Literature
What general advice would you give to a Fiction Writer?
Dr. Heidi Laudien Ph.D.: I do not feel equipped to give informed advice on how to maximize one's salary potential.
What Fiction Writer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Heidi Laudien Ph.D.: I think it is important for graduates to be flexible and welcome challenges. It is critical for students to be confident in their academic foundation. An English related field will undoubtedly require strong critical thinking and writing skills. To that end, it is important to read and practice one's craft daily.
Brian O'Camb Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Chair in EnglishIndiana University Northwest
English Department
What experience really stands out on Fiction Writer resumes?
Brian O'Camb Ph.D.: Honestly, I am not qualified to respond to that question because I don't hire recent graduates, so I don't see resumes from them. However, as a professor, I recommend that all my students get as much writing experience as possible, ideally through an internship, so they can lean on that experience in their job materials.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Fiction Writers?
Brian O'Camb Ph.D.: Without a doubt. As employers come to realize that many jobs can be done remotely, I imagine graduates can expect a significant shift in how they connect and collaborate with colleagues in the workplace. And, as industries adapt to non-contact models during the pandemic, there will be space for graduates trained in critical thinking and reading skills to reimagine how various services and suppliers connect with their clients.
What type of skills will young Fiction Writers need?
Dr. Wilma Davidson: According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), there are 20 skills listed to increase their value in the workplace. Yearly, NACE surveys employers and ranks these skills and, according to their latest survey, the top five skills new graduates should possess are the following:
Problem-solving
Ability to work on a team
Strong work ethic
Analytic/quantitative skill
Written communication skills
For several decades, the ability to write well has appeared near the top of NACE's list of skills valued by employees. And, I suspect, it will remain among the top for decades to come. Writing, so your ideas and plans are understandable and actionable, is the secret sauce of your workplace success. No matter how good your idea is, if you cannot communicate it easily to another, you won't receive the attention and accolades you deserve.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Fiction Writers to find work opportunities?
Dr. Wilma Davidson: All businesses need good writers. You can work remotely as a freelancer or an employee without concern about where your employer is located. Technology makes it easy for an excellent writer to write productively from anywhere. Naturally, if you wish to enter a field like PR or Advertising or Editing/Publishing, you might want to live in a large city where major firms are located. However, right that advice might have been a decade ago, it no longer applies. If you'd like to be a technical writer, there is an advantage to being close to the engineers you may be working with as you write their manuals, but that can be handled-and already is-being handled remotely.
How do you envision technology impacting Fiction Writers in the next 5 years?
Joanne Diaz Ph.D.: Technology, whether it be the scroll, the illuminated codex, the printing press, or digital technology, is always transforming how we read, write, and think. In the next five years, I sense that English majors will not only need to master traditional forms of analytical and argumentative writing but also master writing to an audience beyond the classroom. So, for example, it would be great if an English major can also tell stories via podcasts, videos, and other forms of web content that are shareable via social media. We must do more to show the world how valuable the humanities disciplines are, and when students share their amazing projects, it confirms their value.
You didn't ask this question, but I want to address it: in the next five years, English majors can and must be more attentive to social justice issues. How an English major prepares students for a life of civic engagement? How can those excellent critical thinking skills help English majors solve the world's most wicked problems? Through rigorous readings and discussions in their humanities courses, they can and will answer these questions.
What type of skills will young Fiction Writers need?
Ted Anton: They will need to know how to understand and communicate complex information, often contradictory, in a catchy and understandable way. They will have to read professional data online, in business, medicine, health, you name it and then create a sales or summary pitch for investors. So, reading, writing, communication skills will continue to be important. Math, of course, is a big plus, but up to the advanced algebra level... Statistical skills will be helpful. Overall, employers are seeking curious, adventurous, bold, and creative thinkers and communicators for an ever-changing world.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Fiction Writers?
Eileen Buecher: I believe there will be an impact on all of us. Work will look differently as I see some of the creative initiatives higher education and industries have taken to keep people safe and support the economy flowing may be integrated into how we provide services and do our jobs long-term. COVID teaches new graduates how to be resourceful, resilient, and flexible for both individual and uncertain times.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Fiction Writers to find work opportunities?
Eileen Buecher: The majority of our students live and work in California. In addition to CA, the top ten states recruiting Cal Poly English majors by the above-mentioned job functions include: New York, Washington DC, Texas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Washington, Colorado, Illinois, Ohio
Dr. Tara Welch
ProfessorUniversity of Kansas
Department of Humanities - Classics
How do you envision technology impacting Fiction Writers in the next 5 years?
Dr. Tara Welch: Technology has already made the ancient world more available and accessible, and digital resources and research tools enable exciting new work to happen without the need to travel. Teachers are also becoming more effective at leading online and hybrid classes. Those are here to stay. In the present climate of social distancing and digital meetings, however, I see a craving for human interaction - those exchanges that remind us that we are spontaneous, creative, and responsive beings. No matter the technology, Classics (like all of the humanities) will always be about humans.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Fiction Writers?
Dr. Daniel Sanford: One of the most interesting changes we've seen since the start of the pandemic is that everyone in higher education has been very quickly acclimated to teaching, learning, and writing using online tools. Graduates are entering a workforce where the same thing has been happening. Coronavirus has shown all of us that we don't need to be in a room together to work and collaborate. This health crisis will recede, but that insight is going to stick around. It's going to be an essential skill for graduates to do good work and to fully participate in workplace cultures, using remote tools.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Fiction Writers to find work opportunities?
Dr. Daniel Sanford: What I've seen in college students during this period of intense upheaval is a stronger desire than ever to engage with the world in positive ways. More than ever, the world needs people to work to effect positive change. That happens in fields that are organized around the idea of impacting society and nature in positive ways (e.g., medicine, social advocacy, community organizing, conservation), and those fields are also growing and great places to start a career. But it also happens everywhere, and now more than ever, through writing. The ability to use effective rhetoric (the art of persuasion, built around understanding one's audience) in social media and web writing is incredibly important in engaging with the challenges the world is facing. It's also highly employable!
Sarah Bell
Senior Associate Director, CounselingBucknell University
Center for Career Advancement
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Fiction Writers?
Sarah Bell: It is hard to know for certain what the impact will be as the pandemic is a new experience; it is not finished, nor are its effects on the economy and employment. In our experience at Bucknell during the most recent downturns in the economy in 2001 and 2008, we saw that the negative effects on our graduate's job prospects did not endure. The graduates from those particular years have shared with us that the job search took longer than expected, and they needed to be more flexible, but they were able to eventually find work.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Fiction Writers to find work opportunities?
Sarah Bell: Majors in English successfully pursue work in all types of industries and career fields. Their skills in writing, critical thinking, verbal communication, analysis, working in groups, editing, and reading/research makes them quite marketable in a variety of occupations. There are some locations that are more known for certain industries, i.e., upper West Coast for technology, NYC metro area for finance, I-95 corridor for pharmaceuticals and biotech, but many corporations hire in locations all over the country. And with the pandemic, more employers have remote opportunities that don't require a move, at least not until the time we might move out of remote work when possible. We tell our students to talk to professionals in the industries in which they are interested to learn what areas are growing right now and what are not. For example, video and sharing software is growing, food manufacturing, shipping, and sales are growing, certain sectors of healthcare and medical research are growing, etc.
Cristina Calhoon
Senior Career Instructor, Undergraduate AdvisorUniversity of Oregon
Department of Classics
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Fiction Writers?
Cristina Calhoon: Even before the pandemic, Classics-and the Humanities in general-had been coping with existential threats arising from the grafting of business models onto higher education. Administrators' exaggerated emphasis on metrics, a widespread mentality privileging "practical" skills over a more comprehensive education, and the prohibitive cost of college had forced Classics to adapt to changes.
Mergers with other departments and language programs, the fostering of distance learning and digital competence, curricula driven by large-enrollment courses in classics in English translation allowed some Classics programs to survive. The pandemic has made us rely more on the distance learning approach, but we still maintain most of our offerings. Some of our graduates are double majors, a solution I recommend when advising students who-dazzled by Classical Mythology or Archeology or other Classics courses-decide to switch from their "practical" major to Classics. Others decide to minor in Classics (Latin, Greek or Classical Civilization), because they still see great personal value in pursuing these studies.
Studying Latin or ancient Greek opens one's mind in so many different ways, all beneficial even from a "practical" standpoint: vocabulary skills, memorization, analytical skills are necessary and transferable to any job. How does one learn to solve problems logically? By learning to organize Latin and Greek linguistic structures that work like jigsaw puzzles, unlike many modern Western languages. English is peppered with words of Latin and Greek origin, and our institutions (democracy, republic, libraries, the foundations of the western legal system, to quote just a few basic ones) are largely based on Greco-Roman ones. All this background knowledge gives our graduates a solid, comprehensive intellectual grounding and an enhanced view of our current predicament within a universal framework.
How do you envision technology impacting Fiction Writers in the next 5 years?
Cristina Calhoon: A great number of primary sources (Latin and Greek texts) as well as philological resources (lexica of Greek and Latin) and data on material resources (Classical Archeology, papyrus texts, and inscriptions) have been and continue to be collected in electronic databases readily accessible online.
The Thesaurus Linguae Graecae (TLG) and Thesaurus Linguae Latinae (TLL), as well as the database for Latin Dictionaries (DLD), exemplify some of the many online resources our students are already familiar with or quickly familiarize themselves with.
Distance learning will increasingly cover an essential part of our future offerings due to health and economic concerns, and our graduate students are encouraged to do some online teaching. Most Classics graduates are as much at home in the digital sphere as they are in the world of texts engraved in stone.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Fiction Writers?
Edith Borbon: I don't think so. The jobs will still be there, whether in-person or otherwise. Much of regular face-to-face teaching and interpreting has transitioned online. These fields will go back to face-to-face modality when conditions become safe once again. Of course, online learning has already been in existence, and so have the phone and video interpreting. And translation can always be done in the office or remotely.
Carlos Bertoglio
Assistant Professor, SpanishSouthern Utah University
Romance Languages, Literatures, And Linguistics
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Fiction Writers?
Carlos Bertoglio: Every challenge brings opportunities, so I do believe this pandemic has forced us out of our comfort zones and has shown us new opportunities for professional growth and diversification. Those who can take advantage of these strange and confusing times will benefit the most. Another impact of the pandemic that graduate programs and universities in the US might start to see is the decreasing diversity of their students due to travel restrictions, immigration hurdles, and better opportunities in other countries. This will undoubtedly affect the competitiveness of said programs and institutions.
What general advice would you give to a Fiction Writer?
Emily Griesinger Ph.D.: I would say "don't give up" because your literacy gifts are especially needed right now. Those who have done excellent critical thinking and writing as English majors can make persuasive arguments and discern the credibility of arguments being consumed by others, who may not be so discerning. Based on years of reading and interpreting great literature, you can "read" characters, why people do what they do, and the capacity to imagine the joys and sorrows of other human beings. So, my general advice would be to consider how to market such skills in creative ways for the common good.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Fiction Writers in the next 3-5 years?
Emily Griesinger Ph.D.: You must be able to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of Google Docs and Zoom technology. These two are continually upgrading, so it is mandatory to be flexible, adaptable, and humble. As our population continues to age (the boomers have retired!), we need the current generation to become intentional about sharing what they know, in ways that recognize the physical and mental limitations of age. Be willing to serve others who have been around longer (maybe a lot longer) than you have, not just in the academic world. However, we certainly need you there, but in whatever business you choose--medical, legal, government, non-profit, entertainment, art, music, film, theater.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Fiction Writers?
Emily Griesinger Ph.D.: Graduates in the liberal arts and humanities will be challenged to keep the big questions in the foreground as they navigate a post-pandemic world. What matters? Who is my neighbor, and why should I care if he or she is vulnerable to this virus, now or in the future? If there are such things as beauty, goodness, and truth, how do I discern them and share them with others? To what end? Is there a purpose that obliges me to develop moral character, including civility, hospitality, tolerance, freedom of speech, equality, and justice? The coronavirus pandemic makes such questions more urgent. How we answer will surely have an enduring impact on the world.
Bridget Carson
Associate Professor of Developmental EnglishIndependence Community College
History
What general advice would you give to a Fiction Writer?
Bridget Carson: To graduating English Majors: What's different for you entering this economy? It's you. You bring to the fore skills that you have cultivated in writing and analysis in your dive into the human condition through literature. Employers need people who can manage the sensitivity and connection of their written communications. That's you. They need people with your attention to detail. That's you. They need people with your ability to learn the world of their business culture as quickly as you do a dystopian future novel. Also, you. In a world physically distanced by an illness, you are on the front lines of connecting us with language. Suppose you want to teach or be a professional writer, excellent. But, don't shy away from learning on the job in either the Private or Public sectors, and studying English taught you how to learn and how to connect. The job title is just what you put on your taxes. Help us connect better.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Fiction Writers?
Bridget Carson: Yes. I think many of the economic markers are false idols that don't indicate the value of life, just when you bought a dishwasher. They may buy one later, but that isn't an indication of success. An enduring impact on this set of graduates, I think, will be in their planning and reaction to disappointment. I hope they embrace uncertainty. I hope they become people who prepare several variations of plans that can achieve the same outcomes by different means. I hope they are people who can mourn unfulfilled expectations and learn to release them like fall leaves, shed to be renewed.
Tristan Abbott Ph.D.
Assistant Professor and Writing Center DirectorMorgan State University
English Department
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Fiction Writers?
Tristan Abbott Ph.D.: I would hesitate to venture a guess as to what the next several months will look like, let alone the next several years. Studies have repeatedly shown, however, that people who enter into the job market during economic downturns suffer for the rest of their lives-their pay is lower, their positions are less secure, and this never changes for those particular graduates even as the economy inevitably recovers. We had just started, very belatedly, to overcome the '08 economic crash's adverse effects when COVID hit. There's little sign of any political will to provide relief to workers and small business owners. Things do not look good for any workers right now, especially those just entering the job market.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Fiction Writers?
Dr. Scott Blanchard Ph.D.: I think the Black Lives Matter movement will have a more enduring impact on students than COVID. It's shaping up to be 1968 all over again.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Fiction Writers?
Mark Lounibos: The single most significant impact will likely be in fields that have remained primarily face-to-face until now. Areas like education, from kindergarten through college, will now be increasingly virtual, even after the Covid-19 pandemic recedes. Graduates in English will certainly need to be ready to work in that environment.