How to Start a Writing Career

Hi! I'm Paula Diaco, and once upon a time, I was a newbie to writing. But attending a fortuitous workshop on magazine writing excited me so much that I started pitching article ideas to editors at magazines--even before graduating from college with a degree in Microbiology.

No doubt, growing up in a writing/reading/book-loving family influenced my interest in writing. But once I graduated from college, I worked hard to make a freelance career writing for magazines.

From there, I worked in corporate communications as an editor and technical writer, moved onto a job with an educational publisher, where I wrote and published a book while editing educational media, and completed my corporate career at a magazine publisher where I copy edited articles and wrote dozens of them, too.

I went on to run my own businesses--writing and editing--and eventually coaching business professionals and general nonfiction writers to write books, and book proposals, they would submit to agents.

You don't need a degree and laboratory experience in Microbiology to be a writer or be published. In fact, you don't need an English degree, either.

Just a desire to learn and the persistence to stay the course. Onward!