Writers and authors develop written content for advertisements, books, magazines, movie and television scripts, songs, blogs, or other types of media.

Writers and authors work in an office, at home, or anywhere else they have access to a computer. Most work full time. However, self-employed and freelance writers usually work part time or have variable schedules. About 2 in 3 were self-employed in 2014.

A college degree in English, journalism, or communications is generally required for a full-time position as a writer or author. Experience can be gained through internships, but any form of writing that improves skill, such as blogging, is beneficial. Excellent writing skills are essential.

Employment of writers and authors is projected to grow 2 percent from 2014 to 2024, slower than the average for all occupations. Strong competition is expected for full-time jobs because many people are attracted to this occupation.

This occupation supported 129,100 jobs in 2012 and 136,500 jobs in 2014, reflecting an increase of 5.7%. In 2012, this occupation was projected to increase by 2.9% in 2022 to 132,900 jobs. As of 2014, to keep pace with prediction, the expected number of jobs was 129,800, compared with an observed value of 136,500, 5.2% higher than expected. This indicates current employment trends are much better than the 2012 trend within this occupation. In 2014, this occupation was projected to increase by 2.5% in 2024 to 139,700 jobs. Linear extrapolation of the 2012 projection for 2022 results in an expected number of 133,600 jobs for 2024, 4.4% lower than the 2014 projection for 2024. This indicates expectations for future employment trends are better than the 2012 trend within this occupation.