What A Self-Employed Writer Editor Wishes They Had Known Before Entering The Writing Industry
Kathryn, an independent writer/editor, surprisingly felt well-prepared for self-employment, but wishes they had known "the amount of time involved" outside of work hours for continuous learning and preparation. A key takeaway is their wish for earlier awareness of alternative writing-intensive career paths like policy analysis or political campaign communications, advising aspiring writers to "explore a lot of different possibilities".
Time Management, Career Exploration, Industry Knowledge, Alternative Career Paths, Work-Life Balance
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Kathryn McKenzie (Kathy to my friends)
Independent writer/editor
Self-Employed
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
No graduate programs
Creative Writing, Journalism
Arts, Entertainment & Media
Creative
Honors Student
Video Highlights
1. Time Commitment: The actual time investment in writing and preparation is significantly more than what is typically communicated.
2. Diverse Career Paths: Explore the wide range of writing-related career options beyond traditional journalism, such as roles in government or political campaigns.
3. Continuous Learning: The job requires ongoing learning and research to stay updated and prepared for upcoming projects.
Transcript
What have you learned about this role that you wish someone would have told you before you entered the industry?
I'm not sure I was pretty ready for it. The amount of time involved was not something my journalism professors got into.
You do have to spend more time on things than you think you're going to, or that people tell you you're going to. You spend a lot of time when you're not at work learning, finding out about things and getting ready for whatever that next story is.
Another thing I wish I had known more about is other career possibilities that I could have explored. At this point in my life, I'm not really going to go back and explore them.
I wish I had known, for instance, how much writing and analysis goes into working in government jobs. That is something I think I would have liked to have explored more. I didn't really learn about it in that way, or nobody said to me, "This could have been an interesting thing for you to do."
I'm talking about jobs like being a policy analyst, or working on political campaigns from the marketing or communications angles. You can only do so many things in your life.
I would recommend to anybody who is a writer that you need to explore a lot of different possibilities and see what suits you.
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