Becoming a professional writer without a college degree

Many people think that to write professionally you must have a degree in English literature or journalism.

Universities have gone to great lengths to make you think that is the case—and they’ve succeeded.

Many aspirants also believe that if you want to become a writer through traditional channels, you’ve got to get a newspaper, copywriting agency or online news organization to hire you.

That can be hard without a college degree. Some believe, however, that traditional media channels don’t matter much anymore. A host of non-traditional paths can lead to successful writing careers—and they don’t require a related degree. Instead, you must establish yourself. Here’s how:

Basic skills

You’ll never get anywhere if you can’t write well.

Sound writing consists of a number of basic skills. Here are a few:

• Grammar, sentence structure, flow and spelling are crucial to your success. Follow the rules of grammar, and make your writing engaging. Although many writers break almost all the rules on occasion, they do so consciously and not because they’re clueless. Editors can tell the difference.

• Writing is rarely just putting words on a page; research matters, too. It requires something as basic as knowing what keywords to Google or how to read an academic paper for background.

• Give readers what they want. If you can’t keep the interest of your audience in mind, you shouldn’t be a writer. Understand what motivates people; be creative.

The good news? All those things can be learned; it’s just a matter of practice. I suggest lots of reading, writing and critically editing your work.

Your audience

Today, an audience might be easier to attract than an editor’s eye. Once you’ve got one, gauge their tastes and determine a preferred subject area. Pay attention to what they comment on, “like” and share on social media.

Your brand

A crucial step to building an audience is to establish your personal brand. If you have a likable personality and voice, you might catch on. Plenty of atrocious writers do very well for themselves. They succeed because people like them, not because they’re great writers. Find a direction and tone that suits you, and try to master it.

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Create a brand that’s centered around optimistic qualities; most people want to read articles that are inspiring, enjoyable or humorous. Once you’ve got the right formula, don’t give up.

No one said writing all the time would be easy—it’s a long road. Your audience won’t appear overnight; keep hammering away. Build a web presence reader by reader.

Responding to feedback

Here are two things to remember about feedback:

1. If you get defensive, you’ll never learn anything. Instead, take criticism in stride. Don’t waste time explaining why you’ve done something; just accept the critique, and move on.

2. Maybe you have critics; that doesn’t mean they’re right. How do you accept criticism from people who might not know what they’re talking about? Look for repetition. If one person is critical of something you’ve written, make a note of it. When different people say the same thing, look into it.

Once you’ve got a few jobs under your belt—and perhaps a few clients—your missing college degree won’t matter. Think instead of building a reputation and portfolio. The advantages of a career in writing are endless.

Alice Calch is a blogger and writer at GhostProfessors. Connect with her on Twitter.

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