Careers of Professional Writers and Editors

The field of professional writing and editing encompasses a wide variety of occupations within an array of different organizations. Employment opportunities for professional writers and editors stretch from self employed freelance writers to software publishers. The majority of these professionals work in the information sector, which includes newspapers, periodicals, books, radio, television broadcasting, software publishing, motion pictures, and Internet publishing and broadcasting. Professional writers and editors hold positions as technical writers, communications managers, automotive technical writers, translation coordinators, and medical writers.
However, since the positions held by professional writers and editors are quite diverse, it becomes difficult to distinguish the specific duties and responsibilities of these individuals. While professional writers and editors perform a variety of tasks, each writer must conduct research on specific topics through personal observation, interviews, and internet and library sources. Editors perform the tasks of reviewing, rewriting, and editing the work of other writers. The work environment of professional writers and editors varies with the positions they hold. Some writers and editors may work in a quiet, private office, while others write and edit from home and on the road. Though the career path of a professional writer or editor may not be entirely clear, opportunities continue to arise in the fields of business, science, communications, entertainment, politics, law, psychology, multi-lingual corporations, publishing, and freelance.