Catalog writing is for me!

This is the second post in a series of three. Last time I talked about Academic writers, article writers, erotica writers, video game writers, ghost writers and grant writers. Today I'm going to continue telling you why Catalog writing is for me.

Journalists are the writers who need a college degree most of the time. They also must keep strict deadlines. Even though journalists' writing is read by millions of people on both the local and national levels their work is only relevant for a short period of time. And news writing isn't really my interest.

Non-fiction writers are able to convert a large amount of knowledge into a readable format that informs the reader. They usually work hand in hand with the publisher to get the book done. They also tend to write one book at a time within a narrow field of topics. While a good living can be made from writing non-fiction full time work is difficult to come by.

The main virtue of a Novelist is the ability to plan and complete a written story usually up to 200,000 words depending on the genre you write for. It is very hard to write a full length story (that will sell) in under a year, but it can be done. The pay varies depending on the experience level and success of previous books if there are any. Typically, new novelists earn an advance of $1,000 to $5,000 against royalties which means you get that money upfront but you won't see another dime if and until the book does well enough to pay the publisher back. The ultimate goal of a novelist is to make it to the bestseller list where the royalties can actually support yourself.

Online writers are best described as those who do a major part of their writing for websites and e-zines. The pay for a published online writer is usually lower and the prestige less than those who publish on paper. One advantage to writing online is the market is huge. But try to remember that there are many unscrupulous publishers who take advantage of amateurs by publishing them without paying them. Many writers are OK with that because it gives them experience and a chance to hone their skills before moving onto being published on paper.

While writing a Play may be more glamorous than other forms of writing, the potential for a sustainable income is low. There is a limited market for new plays and playwrights to make a career out of their type of writing. To get a play made largely depends on living in the right market with the right connections. I am a writer not a politician.

Poets tend to be the lowest paid writers in the business. This is one reason I don't want to write poems as a career, maybe on the side I would write but any monetary gain would be icing on the cake and not the actual cake which is needed if I wanted eat as a result of my poetry.

Next time I will wrap up this 3 part series on why catalog writing is for me! I will be discussing resume writers, screenwriters, songwriters, speech writers, staff writers and technical writers. Thanks for reading.