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Author

To be an author you need the ability to write in such a way as to hold the attention and interest of your readers. If you are writing fiction, you should know your subject extremely well and be able to research subjects which are not familiar to you. A reporter reports on the facts - without unnecessary background information - an author usually invents his characters and story line unless he is writing a biography, about a specific subject or ghost writing a story for someone else. A journalist sometimes has more scope because his articles are usually short and can be about virtually anything which might be of interest to the readers.
There have not been many very young authors of note - personal life experiences add to the depth of the writer's ability to make his stories plausible and interesting - and the most famous of these only wrote their master pieces later in their lives. Since most authors now use computers or word processors to write their stories, you will need to be a good typist and able to spell. Spell Check shows spelling errors but is unable to detect typing mistakes that are incorrect in the sentence but are in the dictionary. For example, "He war a small man."

Your eyesight should be good and as you would be spending many hours in front of the computer you would need to be able to concentrate and not allow background noises to upset you. People who, from a very young age, have been deeply interested in books, libraries, movies, encyclopedias and everything that has anything to do with storytelling are usually drawn to the writing profession. The correct use of whatever language you normally speak is a must if you wish to succeed in this career.

It might be advisable to write a few articles for your local newspaper before you decided to study and become an author. If your articles were accepted and published, it would be confirmation of your potential and or talent. If you feel that you are ready to write a novel, for instance, continue and send it to a publisher. If it is any good at all, his comments on the context and interest value will be of great help to you. Many famous authors tell stories about their first rejection slips. You would also have to be able to take criticism and be prepared to re-write over and over again if necessary. The more information you have on your chosen subject the easier it will be to write about it.

All manuscripts have to be double spaced in order to allow the editor room to amend or add words or sentences. If your aim is to write for magazines, find out before hand how many words they require. Most short magazine stories contain approximately 1500 words. A paperback sized story contains about 70 pages (the size of a Mills and Boon romance) or 150 pages for a fat book! When you have printed your first page - using the appropriately sized font - you will easily be able to calculate the length of the story. This is not a hard and fast rule but a guide to a beginner.


Career Fields


Art and Creative
Film, Television and Radio
Journalism, Language and Communication
 

Courtesy: CareerExpo

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