Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers
Arts, Audio/Video Technology and CommunicationsO*NET 27-3043.05United States
Create original written works, such as scripts, essays, prose, poetry or song lyrics, for publication or performance.
- Median annual earnings
- $55,867
- Projected change
- +12.5%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 136.95K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
31.8% of the workforce
Growing to 154.01K by 2035
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The work
What poets, lyricists and creative writers do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Write fiction or nonfiction prose, such as short stories, novels, biographies, articles, descriptive or critical analyses, and essays.
- Develop factors such as themes, plots, characterizations, psychological analyses, historical environments, action, and dialogue to create material.
- Revise written material to meet personal standards and to satisfy needs of clients, publishers, directors, or producers.
- Choose subject matter and suitable form to express personal feelings and experiences or ideas, or to narrate stories or events.
- Prepare works in appropriate format for publication, and send them to publishers or producers.
- Conduct research to obtain factual information and authentic detail, using sources such as newspaper accounts, diaries, and interviews.
- Confer with clients, editors, publishers, or producers to discuss changes or revisions to written material.
- Plan project arrangements or outlines, and organize material accordingly.
- Follow appropriate procedures to get copyrights for completed work.
- Attend book launches and publicity events, or conduct public readings.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $19,291
- 25th percentile
- $32,378
- 50th percentile
- $55,867
- 75th percentile
- $94,411
- 90th percentile
- $170,670
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $55,867 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+12.5%faster than average
2025136,950 jobs
2035 projected154,012 jobs
17,062 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 31.8%
- Some college
- 27.3%
- High school diploma or less
- 22.7%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 18.2%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Speechwriters20 postings
- 02Blog Writers17 postings
- 03Technical Writers17 postings
- 04Content Writers4 postings
- 05Developers4 postings
- 06Entry Writers3 postings
- 07Office Directors3 postings
- 08Military Analysts2 postings
- 09Article Writers1 postings
- 10Bloggers1 postings
- 11Blogging Interns1 postings
- 12Composers/Lyricists1 postings
- 13Content Reviewers1 postings
- 14Copywriters1 postings
- 15Features Writers1 postings
- 16Home Remodelers1 postings
- 17Keynote Speakers1 postings
- 18Lifestyle Writers1 postings
- 19Review Analysts1 postings
- 20Script Readers1 postings
Top employers
- 01Edj Associates4 postings
- 02OSI Engineering4 postings
- 03Comic Book Resources3 postings
- 04Johns Hopkins University3 postings
- 05Vmd Agency3 postings
- 06DAL Global Services2 postings
- 07Gannett2 postings
- 08James Graves And Associates2 postings
- 09Skill2 postings
- 10Viderity2 postings
- 11Agile Business Concepts1 postings
- 12Alttrix1 postings
- 13C&S1 postings
- 14Colitco Media1 postings
- 15Contracting Resources Group1 postings
- 16Dcg Agency1 postings
- 17Dino Co.,Ltd.1 postings
- 18Ecu Communications1 postings
- 19Fedwriters1 postings
- 20Five Stones Research Corporation1 postings
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