Writers and Editors

As a writer-editor I am often asked for advice about how to make a living as a writer, how to make a living as an editor, and how to find a good writer, editor, or proofreader. I launched this website to provide frank information both for people who want to know the basics and for those who want to dig deeper in a particular field. Those who are looking for a writer or editor might start with the job banks.

I am starting with the most obvious part: providing links to websites and organizations useful for writers and editors, both generally and in various specialties — with an emphasis on North America. General organizations include the Authors Guild, on whose "sitebuilder" I am personally creating this website, despite total technical incompetence. There is also an astonishing array of specialty organizations — from the National Association of Science Writers to the Cat Writers' Association and the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. As time permits I will add lists of recommended books and other useful resources (for which I welcome your suggestions), as well as general advice culled over a lifetime writing and editing and talking things over with fellow writers and editors.

These links answer many frequently asked questions, such as "Can one make a living as a writer?" (As a poet, generally, no. You'll have better luck as a novelist, but fiction is very much a crap shoot. With nonfiction, you're more likely to be able to make a living, and if you choose a field like technical writing, business writing, or speechwriting, and you're good at it, have expertise in fields with few experts, have credentials and a good track record, and live in an area where there's high demand for writing, you can make a very good living.) If what you want is to be rich, your odds are better if you choose another field. But if writing comes at all easy to you, and you develop marketable skills, it's a very interesting way to spend a life.

As is probably true in any line of work, the most satisfying jobs are not always the ones that pay well, and it's very hard to predict what will satisfy and what will pay well! Once when I was giving a talk to a writer's group about writing and editing in the Washington DC area, I said that "the more boring the work, the more you can charge," which is generally true. (Note that food and travel writing tend to pay little and technical writing tends to pay more, for example.) But as a result of that talk, I got one of the least boring, most interesting, most lucrative projects of my career. As any writer will tell you, sometimes we take on projects just because we love them, and know the psychic satisfaction will be high. Sometimes we take on work because we like who we will be working with or for. Occasionally everything comes together and we get paid well for work that is satisfying, for publishers or clients who are a dream to work with, writing for an audience we really care about. May you all find such work! May all your editors know what they are doing and do it respectfully, may all your writers turn in compelling and clean copy, and may we all play well in the sandbox!

I have also included links and tips for just plain readers, news junkies, and other enthusiasts. Please let me know about your favorite (and most-used) sites, blogs, organizations, books, etc.

—— Pat McNees