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Authors and Writers
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Researched by Baylee B.
2001-02 |
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Introduction
Writers create poems, books, novels, magazines, plays and reports. Writers
also review or critique music, drama, and other artistic presentations.
The first books and novels were written in about 1300 in China. Books were
copied by hand onto parchment in the middle Ages. The development of the
printing press was in the middle of the 15th century. Johannes Gutenberg
invented the printing press. The first authors worked directly with printers.
The modern publishing age began in the 18th century. Printing was mechanized,
and the novels, magazines, and newspapers rapidly developed. The American
colonies appeared in the early 18th century, but it was Benjamin Franklin
who, as editor, and writer, made the Pennsylvania Gazette one of the most
influential in setting a high standard for his fellow American journalists.
Writers normally work indoors, in one location, unless they are reporters.
Kinds of Authors
Some specific kinds of categories of writers are: newspaper reporters,
novelists, Poets, technical writers, playwrights, TV/movie scriptwriters,
and more.
Authors Tools
Writers use pencils, paper, pens, computers, and things around them.
Sometimes Authors also use their imaginations to write their stories.
Subjects to Study
Subjects to study in high school to become a writer are writing and
journalism. The minimum education level is twelfth grade and a high school
diploma.
Licenses You Would Need
You do not need a license to become an author, although a degree would
be helpful. You need to be able to write well to be an author and you need
to be able to work in a hurry. These classes will help you to become an
author: Reading, Journalism, and English.
Salary
Authors earning range from $21,000 to $75,000 dollars a year. Some
of the time authors use the money that they earn to go on a trip and get
ideas for their next story.
Outlook for the future
The job outlook for writers in the future is "faster then average"
growth in jobs.
Famous Authors
A writer who was most famous in the past was William Shakespeare. J.K.
Rowling is now very famous, especially for children’s books.
Related Jobs
A related job to writing would be a news reporter because they have
to take notes on events and then they write something like a report to
say on the TV.
Getting the Job
To get the job of being a novelist you need to write a book then go
to the publisher and see if it is good enough to be published. Reporters
usually apply for a newspaper or magazine job and go through an interview.
Advancement for the Job
If you wrote for a newspaper for a number of years then the advancement
to that job would be to be able to write a book.
Good Web-Sites
The best web sites to get information about Authors are: www.HarryPotter.com,
www.J.K.Rowling.com, and www.Writers.com.
About J.K. Rowling
Some writers like J.K. Rowling like to travel to get their ideas for
their books or newspaper. J.K. Rowling writes 9 to 11 hours some days and
on other days it just depends.J.K. Rowling says the best thing about her
writing is letting other people read her stories. J.K. Rowling says that
one bad thing about being an author is being in a competition with someone
else.
My
Interview of Randy Luvass
On December 20th, 2001, I interviewed Randy Luvaas at 11:00 AM Randy’s
full name is John Randall Luvaas. Randy writes for the Yakima Business
Journal. He has one brother and three sisters. Randy normally never has
to rewrite a story. Randy writes a lot. Randy’s dad, Jay, also is a writer.
Randy’s favorite book is "All the Kings Men" because "it has a great story
and beautiful writing" says Randy.
His job title is the managing editor but he is also a writer. Randy
has been involved in writing for 24 years. He currently writes half of
the articles in two newspapers and he is a reporter. Randy wanted to become
a writer because he loved to read. He also loved the English language.
Randy majored in English and that was his training to become a writer.
Randy said that the best part of being a Writer is that he gets to find
out things that other people don’t know.
Randy started writing for the newspaper 24 years ago. Randy said the
thing that has changed the most in the past in writing is that people use
computers now instead of writing with your hands. He said that a lot of
people are getting laid off from their writing jobs. A lot of people will
like to read in the future predicted Randy. Randy said that the things
that will change most in the future for Books are that the books will go
on the Internet. He said that some of the major advantages of being an
Author are to speak your mind. Randy loves to write articles for the newspaper.
He says the best thing about his job is getting to learn something new
every day. Randy says the one thing he does not like about his job is DEADLINES.
Randy writes an average of three to four hours a day. Randy said that
you do not need any special training to become an author but spelling,
English, and grammar will help. Randy was a good choice because he answered
a lot of my questions.
My Interview of Stephanie Earls
On December 22, 2001 I interviewed Stephanie Earls over the phone. Stephanie
is a feature writer for the Yakima Herald Republic. She has been involved
with writing for about ten years. Stephanie currently writes stories for
the newspaper.
She wanted to be a writer because she liked to write. Stephanie went
to journalism school and took English classes to become a writer. She said
the part she enjoys most about being an author is being able to talk to
other people. She thinks the most important author in history is Shakespeare.
Stephanie started writing when she was 12. She says the thing that has
changed the most in recent years is that it is harder to write. Stephanie
said the thing that is new to writing is that writers experiment more with
writing. She says that some of the major organizations for writing are
the poetry prizes.
Stephanie said that the thing that she thinks will change the most in
the future is books will turn into "computer books." Stephanie says that
authors will put their books online. She says that some of the major advantages
of being an author are getting to do what you love. Stephanie says she
loves writing. She also writes a lot. Stephanie said the one thing she
does not like about her job is OFFICES. On average she writes about 6 hours
per day. She said that you do need special training to be an Author. Stephanie
has had to rewrite a story only about once. Her favorite book is "Mystery
in Pittsburgh."
She was a good choice for my interview because she knew a lot of answers
to my questions and she did not make answers up.
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Bibliography
Cosgrove, Holli R. [Editor]. "Authors." Encyclopedia of Careers
and Vocational Guidance 2000. Volume 4.
Cosgrove, Holli. [Editor]. "Writers." The Career Discovery
Encyclopedia. 2000. Volume 8. Pp. 118, 119.
Earls, Stephanie. News reporter for the Yakima Herald Republic. Phone
interview on December 20, 2001.
Frasier, Lindsey. Conversations with J.K. Rowling. New York: Scholastic
Press 2000.
Kurshan, Barbara. Exploring Creative Writing. 1994. Pp 12,
14-18.
Luvaas, Randy. News reporter for Yakima Business Journal. Personal interview
On December 20, 2001.
Shapiro, Mark. J.K. Rowling The Wizard Behind Harry Potter.
2000.
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