A writer can no longer succeed with just their writing skills in this digital age. Writers wear multiple hats now and you must expand your toolbox if you want to keep up with the others.
This applies to all kinds of writers, whether you’re writing fiction, nonfiction, news, or entertainment.
Essential Non-writing Skills
At different points in your career, you’ll find yourself taking on tasks that require you to learn new skills. A lot of these skills won’t necessarily be about writing but are crucial in building a sustainable and successful career.
1. Networking
Connecting with people in the same field is both valuable and necessary. They understand your journey and may know people and opportunities that can help you advance in your career.
Writers who are ahead in their careers can also mentor you. You can learn from their mistakes, get access to resources, and receive constructive feedback.
Apart from making genuine connections, networking also helps you stay informed on industry trends, opportunities, and shifts in reader preferences. This, in turn, keeps you relevant, competitive, and visible to the publishing community and your target audience.
2. Digital Marketing
You’re living in a digital world so it makes sense to know a couple of digital skills. As a writer, you’re also concerned with the development, promotion, and searchability of your work.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is how you optimize your website and content to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). You’ll need to learn how to do keyword research, on-page optimization, and improve your site’s structure.
Social Media Marketing is how you promote content, engage with your followers, and drive traffic to your platforms. These are done through social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Data Analytics is how you track and analyze your digital marketing performance. This helps you understand your audience’s behavior, measure ROI, and make data-driven decisions to improve your strategies.
These are just three valuable skills in digital marketing. You don’t need to be an expert, however, you do need to know the basics so you understand every step of the process.
3. Media and Information Literacy
Media and Information Literacy (MIL) is your ability to effectively find, analyze, use, create, and disseminate information through various media.
It’s a necessary skill as you are constantly overloaded with information, maybe even more so than the average person. Many of it will be false, unethical, misrepresented, illegal, and obscene.
MIL helps you identify and deal with these kinds of information. Parts of it are fact-checking your research, considering the ethical implications of your writing, and providing a balanced view of the topic to your audience.
Beyond your ethical responsibilities as a writer, MIL raises your quality of work. You can stay updated on media trends, remain competitive with fellow writers, and produce accurate, engaging content that encourages your readers to think critically.
4. Time Management
For many writers, writing means dealing with multiple clients and projects simultaneously. You need to be able to prioritize your tasks and manage your deadlines.
You can’t rely on sudden bursts of inspiration to write, otherwise you’ll keep missing deadlines. Once you fall behind, it’ll be hard to catch up.
Give yourself time to write every day until it becomes a habit. That way, you won’t find it hard to get in the mood for creativity. Create a schedule and stick to it.
5. Collaboration
There are many opportunities for you to collaborate with other writers for mutual gain. Being communicative, flexible, and easy to work with will ensure that success.
Collaborations can range from co-authoring books and articles to editing anthologies and being critique partners. You share skills, ideas, perspectives, and support to create works that are superior to what you can write alone.
It doesn’t even have to be other writers. Collaborating with other creatives can bring you new experiences that could result in new insights and opportunities.
6. Design
Design can range from knowing how to edit photos and videos to creating and maintaining your own website and social media platforms.
A well-designed, user-friendly website enhances your online presence. It makes it easier for potential clients, collaborators, and readers to find you.
This extends to your content. Having content that is consistent and visually appealing does well in establishing your brand.
And if you’re an author who wants to self-publish, having design skills can help you create more professional-looking books. Remember, your books need to have a proper layout and consistent formatting.
7. Business
Whatever type of writer you are, you’ll be dealing with a lot of business decisions. The most common ones you’ll encounter are contracts and intellectual property rights.
You should have a basic understanding of royalties, taxes, advances, and copyright. These are things you need to be on top of even if there’s someone already taking care of it for you.
8. Self-care
As a writer, you need to develop a thick skin. You’ll receive plenty of criticism, rejection, and ridicule in your career.
Develop coping strategies for when you’re struggling with your writing. Process your frustrations through physical activities or meditation—anything that you’ll enjoy, really.
It’s also important to have a healthy work-life balance. If you want a long-term writing career, don’t burn yourself out.
Give yourself frequent breaks from writing. Make sure you’re spending time doing other stuff and socializing with other people.
Learning Non-writing Skills as a Writer
You can’t rely solely on your writing skills to thrive. Like all other careers, you need to learn skills that support your core expertise.
These supporting skills add more value to you as a writer. They’ll help you position yourself in the market, make connections, and maintain a high quality of work. And the more skills you have, the better you are prepared to face the challenges of the writing industry.
What non-writing skills did you learn? Share your thoughts below!
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Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
