JobAfterNext

Writers and Authors

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

Wages

Median annual wage, U.S.$76,910
Employment, U.S.47,940
Median hourly wage$36.98
Annual wage percentiles, U.S., May 2025
10th25thMedian75th90th
$44,310$58,230$76,910$101,950$139,870
By state (48)
StateEmploymentMedian annualLocation quotient
Alabama180$66,9500.28
Arizona600$55,9900.60
Arkansas270$47,9700.68
California8,390$86,4801.49
Colorado1,300$76,8301.46
Connecticut480$98,4600.92
District of Columbia1,050$129,3004.85
Florida3,010$68,0800.98
Georgia820$74,7100.55
Hawaii60Not available0.30
Idaho90$56,3600.34
Illinois2,640$68,2201.40
Indiana450$75,8200.46
Iowa290$61,0100.60
Kansas240$65,8400.53
Kentucky350$48,7800.56
Louisiana480$89,5200.81
Maine200Not available0.99
Maryland540$104,3300.63
Massachusetts1,350$85,2601.20
Minnesota720$72,8100.79
Mississippi130$54,1800.37
Missouri600$58,1400.67
Montana90Not available0.56
Nebraska240$65,4700.75
Nevada190$63,9100.39
New Hampshire180$71,8300.85
New Jersey1,180$81,5900.90
New Mexico90Not available0.34
New York7,480Not available2.51
North Carolina1,810$63,6601.19
North Dakota80$50,8600.63
Ohio830$65,9300.49
Oklahoma220$58,7700.42
Oregon950$80,5401.56
Pennsylvania1,080$77,4100.58
Rhode Island110$70,1900.74
South Carolina520$51,9200.74
South Dakota60$56,7000.44
Tennessee1,260$58,8701.25
Texas2,320$69,9900.54
Utah410$64,5300.76
Vermont110$94,4301.23
Virginia1,530$85,0001.21
Washington770$85,7000.71
West Virginia110$64,4100.52
Wisconsin710$64,3700.78
Wyoming$49,650

Similar occupations

Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.

#OccupationJob ZoneSimilarity
1Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers40.973
2News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists40.955
3Editors40.955
4Public Relations Specialists40.944
5Public Relations Managers40.940
6Communications Teachers, Postsecondary50.931
7Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockeys40.923
8Technical Writers40.916
9Proofreaders and Copy Markers40.916
10Talent Directors40.913

One skill away

Among the 50 occupations most similar to Writers and Authors, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.

OccupationSkill to buildLevel gapSimilarity
Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and AthletesNegotiation1.250.908
Substitute Teachers, Short-TermInstructing1.120.891
Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and TravelService Orientation0.870.884
Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative AssistantsService Orientation1.000.882
Online MerchantsMathematics2.620.880

Software to learn next

Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Writers and Authors, excluding software Writers and Authors already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.

SoftwareSimilar jobs using itLift
Microsoft Publisher11 of 205.4x
Cascading style sheets CSS6 of 207.9x
LexisNexis7 of 205.7x
Web browser software18 of 201.9x
AutoCrit Editing Wizard3 of 2046.2x
WhiteSmoke3 of 2046.2x
Salesforce software8 of 204.2x
Oracle Eloqua5 of 208.0x
Marketo Marketing Automation5 of 207.7x
Extensible hypertext markup language XHTML5 of 207.4x

Skills

From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.

SkillTypeImportanceLevel
WritingEssential skill 5.00 5.12
Reading ComprehensionEssential skill 4.12 4.25
Active ListeningEssential skill 3.75 4.00
SpeakingEssential skill 3.75 3.88
Time ManagementTransferable skill 3.75 3.12
Critical ThinkingEssential skill 3.62 3.88
Complex Problem SolvingTransferable skill 3.12 3.00
Judgment and Decision MakingTransferable skill 3.12 3.00
PersuasionTransferable skill 3.00 3.38
Active LearningEssential skill 3.00 3.12
Social PerceptivenessTransferable skill 3.00 3.00
CoordinationTransferable skill 2.88 3.00
MonitoringEssential skill 2.88 3.00
NegotiationTransferable skill 2.75 2.75
Service OrientationTransferable skill 2.62 2.75
Learning StrategiesEssential skill 2.62 2.62
InstructingTransferable skill 2.50 2.00
Management of Personnel ResourcesTransferable skill 2.25 2.38
Systems AnalysisTransferable skill 2.12 2.12
Systems EvaluationTransferable skill 2.00 2.00
ProgrammingTransferable skill 1.75 0.75
Technology DesignTransferable skill 1.62 0.62
MathematicsEssential skill 1.38 0.50
Quality Control AnalysisTransferable skill 1.38 0.38
Operations AnalysisTransferable skill 1.25not rated
Operations MonitoringTransferable skill 1.25not rated
Management of Financial ResourcesTransferable skill 1.12not rated
Management of Material ResourcesTransferable skill 1.12not rated
Equipment MaintenanceTransferable skill 1.00not rated
Equipment SelectionTransferable skill 1.00not rated
InstallationTransferable skill 1.00not rated
Operation and ControlTransferable skill 1.00not rated
RepairingTransferable skill 1.00not rated
ScienceEssential skill 1.00not rated
TroubleshootingTransferable skill 1.00not rated
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
Knowledge
NameImportanceLevel
English Language 4.95 6.11
Communications and Media 4.42 6.42
Administrative 3.21 4.05
Sales and Marketing 2.95 4.21
Computers and Electronics 2.95 3.95
Customer and Personal Service 2.89 3.37
Administration and Management 2.74 3.22
Psychology 2.47 2.84
Economics and Accounting 2.26 2.53
Education and Training 2.16 3.05
Law and Government 2.16 2.00
Telecommunications 2.16 1.89
Design 2.11 1.72
Sociology and Anthropology 2.05 2.53
Fine Arts 2.05 2.16
Geography 1.95 2.53
Mathematics 1.95 2.11
Personnel and Human Resources 1.95 2.00
History and Archeology 1.89 1.79
Philosophy and Theology 1.74 1.89
Foreign Language 1.63 1.53
Production and Processing 1.58 1.05
Medicine and Dentistry 1.53not rated
Transportation 1.53 0.84
Engineering and Technology 1.47 0.95
Biology 1.32not rated
Therapy and Counseling 1.32not rated
Public Safety and Security 1.32 0.61
Chemistry 1.21not rated
Physics 1.21not rated
Mechanical 1.11not rated
Building and Construction 1.05not rated
Food Production 1.05not rated
Abilities
NameImportanceLevel
Written Expression 5.00 5.00
Written Comprehension 4.00 4.25
Oral Comprehension 3.88 4.12
Fluency of Ideas 3.88 4.00
Oral Expression 3.88 4.00
Originality 3.88 4.00
Speech Clarity 3.50 3.38
Near Vision 3.38 3.75
Speech Recognition 3.38 3.38
Inductive Reasoning 3.25 3.50
Deductive Reasoning 3.12 3.12
Category Flexibility 3.12 3.00
Selective Attention 3.12 2.75
Problem Sensitivity 3.00 3.12
Information Ordering 3.00 3.00
Flexibility of Closure 2.75 2.75
Speed of Closure 2.75 2.62
Time Sharing 2.25 2.00
Perceptual Speed 2.12 2.00
Far Vision 2.00 2.38
Visualization 2.00 2.25
Visual Color Discrimination 2.00 1.75
Memorization 2.00 1.62
Auditory Attention 2.00 1.38
Trunk Strength 1.88 1.62
Hearing Sensitivity 1.62 0.62
Arm-Hand Steadiness 1.50 0.50
Control Precision 1.50 0.50
Finger Dexterity 1.50 0.50
Manual Dexterity 1.50 0.50
Mathematical Reasoning 1.38 0.50
Number Facility 1.38 0.50
Wrist-Finger Speed 1.38 0.50
Dynamic Strength 1.12not rated
Depth Perception 1.00not rated
Dynamic Flexibility 1.00not rated
Explosive Strength 1.00not rated
Extent Flexibility 1.00not rated
Glare Sensitivity 1.00not rated
Gross Body Coordination 1.00not rated
Gross Body Equilibrium 1.00not rated
Multilimb Coordination 1.00not rated
Night Vision 1.00not rated
Peripheral Vision 1.00not rated
Rate Control 1.00not rated
Reaction Time 1.00not rated
Response Orientation 1.00not rated
Sound Localization 1.00not rated
Spatial Orientation 1.00not rated
Speed of Limb Movement 1.00not rated
Stamina 1.00not rated
Static Strength 1.00not rated

Software used

Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.

All 54
  • Adobe Persuasion
  • Apple Final Cut Pro
  • Avid Technology Media Composer
  • Blackbaud The Raiser's Edge
  • Campaign Monitor
  • Chatbot software
  • Corel Presentation
  • Drupal
  • Eko
  • FileMaker Pro
  • Flipgrid
  • Google Ads
  • Google Drive
  • Google Slides
  • Kapwing
  • LinkedIn
  • Loom
  • ParentSquare
  • QuarkXPress
  • SendGrid
  • Social media sites
  • Twitter
  • Web content management system CMS software
  • YouTube

Where it concentrates

Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.

Metro areaEmploymentLocation quotientMedian annual
Wilmington, NC1803.13$47,940
Ann Arbor, MI1902.80$37,330
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ7,2202.47Not available
Boulder, CO1302.13$83,540
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA1,5602.13Not available
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV2,0602.13$108,460
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO8601.72$69,100
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA6001.60$87,560
Raleigh-Cary, NC3601.57$69,100
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN5201.53$63,270

More metros, other thresholds