Novelist
Impact: Cultural, Emotional
Novelists create original works of fiction, developing characters, plots, and settings. They conduct research, write, revise, and edit manuscripts, often working with editors and publishers to bring their stories to print or digital formats. This role requires significant creativity, discipline, and a deep understanding of storytelling.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Moderate
- Team vs solo
- Mostly Solo
- Client facing
- Rarely
- Impact visibility
- High
- Travel
- Low
- Schedule flexibility
- Flexible
- Remote work
- Fully Remote
- Typical work hours
- Flexible
- Stress level
- Moderate
At a glance
- Median salary
- $65,000
- Entry-level
- $35,000
- Senior
- $120,000
- Growth by 2033
- 2%
- Demand
- Stable
- Freelance potential
- High
- Salary growth potential
- High
- Typical student debt
- $30,000 - $60,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Storytelling
- Grammar
- Editing
- Research
- Publishing Software
Soft skills
- Creativity
- Self-Discipline
- Persistence
- Communication
- Research
Technical complexity: Low
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Bachelor's degree
- Licensing
- No
- Years to mid-career
- 5-10
- Years to senior
- 10-15
- Career switching
- Moderate
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- Self-published author, editor, literary agent, screenwriter
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- Low
- AI disruption risk
- Moderate
- Demand trend
- Stable
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 4/10
- Meaning
- 4/10
- Work-life balance
- 4/10
- Prestige
- 7.5/10
- Social perception
- High