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Writers and Authors

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Originate and prepare written material, such as scripts, stories, advertisements, and other material.

Related: Advertising & Promotions Managers Advertising Sales Agents Poets, Lyricists & Creative Writers Public Relations Specialists Search Marketing Strategists

Industries: Professional, Science, & Technical

Summary
Details

Write articles, bulletins, sales letters, speeches, and other related informative, marketing and promotional material.
Conduct research and interviews to determine which of a product's selling features should be promoted.
Discuss with the client the product, advertising themes and methods, and any changes that should be made in advertising copy.
Vary language and tone of messages based on product and medium.
Invent names for products and write the slogans that appear on packaging, brochures and other promotional material.
Present drafts and ideas to clients.
Develop advertising campaigns for a wide range of clients, working with an advertising agency's creative director and art director to determine the best way to present advertising information.
Review advertising trends, consumer surveys, and other data regarding marketing of goods and services to determine the best way to promote products.

Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.

Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

More than 1 year on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

86170/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

41.43/hr

Currently Employed

6,030

Yearly Projected Openings

740

Artistic: People interested in this work like activities that include creating, designing, and making your own rules. They do well at jobs that need:

Dependability
Persistence
Cooperation
Initiative
Attention to Detail
Adaptability/Flexibility

Desktop computers
Flash memory storage card
Notebook computers
Personal computers
Photocopiers
Teleconference equipment
Videoconferencing systems

Cloud-based data access and sharing software
Customer relationship management CRM software
Data base management system software
Data base user interface and query software
Data mining software
Desktop communications software
Desktop publishing software
Document management software
Electronic mail software
Graphical user interface development software
Graphics or photo imaging software
Industrial control software
Instant messaging software
Office suite software
Presentation software
Project management software
Sales and marketing software
Spreadsheet software
Video creation and editing software
Web page creation and editing software
Web platform development software
Word processing software

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