Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
A college degree is nice, but is it necessary to be a good author? I suppose that really depends on you and what you’re writing. Some of us will find great value in further education while others can simply wing it and still be successful.
The short answer to whether you need a degree or not is no. It’s not a requirement for you to have a degree in any field if you want to write about it.
However, there is a prominent caveat that you need to consider. If you don’t know what you’re doing, readers will be quick to point it out, especially online. There are a slew of people who are going to hate for the sake of hating. And they want nothing more than to poke holes in your manuscript.
Nonetheless, it is possible to be successful as an author or writer without having a piece of paper from a college or university.
There’s More to Writing a Good Book Than Just Story
The imagination can draw wondrous things in the real world. Whether you’re putting paint to canvas or words to paper, the human mind makes things come alive. However, it takes more than an active imagination to craft a good tale.
Well, at least put it together in a way that engages the reader. Not everyone is going to see the same story in your head.
The ability to write a good novel is the ability to describe and relay the story in a way that makes sense, is entertaining, and helps others visualize the layout.
In this case, colleges and courses that offer a degree can vastly improve how an author puts those elements together.
Character and Plot Development
There’s a bit of psychology that goes into writing a good book. Most people are driven by well-written characters and story arcs. Knowing how to develop these properly will ultimately improve the manuscript.
Are your characters and plots evolving or changing over the course of the book? Are the challenges your characters face relatable to the reader? Can you make people care about what happens to the characters in the book?
Now, you don’t need a college degree to answer all of these questions. But it can help you understand how to advance the plot overall.
Structure
Structure is a crucial element if you want to write a book that doesn’t confuse the reader. I’m talking more than just making sure commas are in the right place or some of the nuances of repetitive phrasing for accentuated effect.
Do you know how to slow and speed up the pacing of your novel? Do you know when it’s a good idea to drop certain descriptions in mid-conversation? How much movement do you have in your paragraphs? When should you use a short, single line of text for emphasis?
A well-structured book will keep readers flipping the pages.
Format
The format of a book is mostly for cosmetic appeal. Fonts, chapter headers, fancy in-page graphics, and more can really accentuate a book and add a bit of flair to the story.
For instance, some fantasy authors will use an Old English or Calligraphic drop-cap at the beginning of their chapters to add visual appeal while reading.
Format can also include where to put scene breaks, how they appear in print, not leaving a single word on a single page at the end of a chapter, and more.
The courses that usually follow a degree will show virtually any author how to properly format those elements.
The Pros of Getting a Degree
Let’s start with some of the greatest benefits of going to college to get a degree in writing. These are quite obvious and will greatly depend on where you go.
Not all colleges and universities are created equally.
Going Beyond the Story Itself
A good book begins with a good idea. You will see the story in your head, but how do you get it onto paper? That’s perhaps the greatest advantage to an education – showing you how to get the story out of your mind.
Then, you’ll learn all kinds of things from creating tension to realistic dialogue.
How do you gauge paragraph length? What elements do you need to drive a chapter forward? How do you properly implement foreshadowing? Learning how to do all of this will greatly affect your manuscript for the better.
Even in the masterclass I attended at the end of 2023, I learned far more about putting things together than I would have even thought about Googling!
Peer Support Structure in Class
There’s nothing wrong with going it alone and researching how to write a novel. However, there is something to be said about having a strong peer support structure from others in your class.
I met a lot of great authors in mine, and all of them were quite supportive of each other. Essentially, everyone wants to see you succeed.
Not to mention that you can gain quite a bit of insight into how others write their books. Some of those ideas may influence your own methods. In fact, I helped one student by simply suggesting reading the dialogue out loud to help her write better conversations.
The Final Piece of Paper
What drives a lot of people to get degrees is the ability to show off that piece of paper that proves they have one. But it can go a lot deeper than that if you think about it. For one thing, it’s a testament that you completed the course, which can boost your confidence.
Being proud of yourself and your accomplishments lays the groundwork for some great experiences. And it looks impressive on your wall during live streams and videos.
Personally, I would love a master’s degree in Creative Writing as an author. I simply don’t have the time to go back to school.
I’m sure a few people also love the idea of having bragging rights as an author with a master’s degree.
The Cons of Getting a Degree
Getting a college degree in writing isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. In reality, the cons of the process greatly outweigh the pros.
But for some of you, they may not seem nearly as bad. It all comes down to personal preference, really.
Costs to You
Perhaps the most profound con to any college education is the overall cost, no pun intended. Some courses and degrees are going to be quite expensive, and you could find yourself paying off tuition for the next 25 years.
Keep in mind that the average master’s degree costs around $35,700 per year. For many people in the US, that’s more than they make at their jobs.
For many creative writing programs, tuition may run closer to $20,500 per year. If you can’t find some grants, it’s going to hurt your wallet for years to come.
Time-Consuming
The average master’s degree program for Creative Writing is about two years long and takes 36 credits to complete. That’s the shorter of the many. A PhD could eat up four years while racking the costs up even more.
Now, two years might not sound like a lot of time to the average student. But when you also take into consideration your full-time job, caring for children, and everything else you have going on in life, it can be quite stressful to balance it all.
Not everyone has enough free time to really put towards classwork. I had to jockey all kinds of things just to take the masterclass for writing.
No Guarantees as an Author
Perhaps one of the most important things you need to keep in mind is that a degree is never a guarantee for success. This is true no matter what field in which you decide to study.
On average, about 52% of college graduates are working jobs a year later that don’t require their degrees.
From the perspective of being an author with a degree, you also have to take into consideration that writing a good book is subjective. Your success hinges on whether people like reading your stories or not.
The fact of the matter is that you can graduate with a master’s degree in Creative Writing but still not be interesting enough as an author for your audience.
Writing is a bit different from acquiring other skills and knowledge. Some things are easily objective, such as working to be a doctor or astrophysicist. Writing is more subjective as you’re pitting not just skill but style as well to attract an audience.
Finding the Best Colleges and Universities
There are colleges and universities all over the world that offer creative writing programs. The most difficult part is picking the ones that are going to deliver. As I said earlier, not all colleges and universities are created equal.
I was going to create a list of facilities to give you a bit of an idea, but there are so many that I could easily create an entire website focused on nothing but those creative writing courses.
Instead, let’s look at a few ways you can find the best college for your needs.
Things to Consider When Browsing
There are all kinds of colleges and universities that offer a decent education, including creative writing. In some ways, it’s a bit daunting as you want to attend the one in which you’ll get the most for your money.
With how expensive everything is, you don’t want to burn your bank account on a worthless degree. You want to invest in your future, right?
So, what kinds of things should you think about when looking at degree programs to be an author?
- Distance from you
- Online only courses
- Overall cost of attendance
- Reviews from students
- What the syllabus looks like
- An accredited college
- Flexible scheduling
These are just some of the things I can think of off the top of my head. You’ll undoubtedly think of a few more, and it’s important that you answer all of them according to your situation.
Google Is Your Friend – Kind Of
Google has a lot of information covering the sum of human knowledge. Although some of the results are less than ideal, it’s still relatively easy to find specific information about any given topic. In this case, you’re looking for the best college programs that offer Creative Writing.
When I searched “list of colleges that offer creative writing,” Google displayed more than 100 that were near Denver, Colorado – my current location.
One of the cool things about Google is that clicking on any of the schools in the list brings up some information, such as the average cost if available, graduation rate, and acceptance rate.
The view offered by Google is a good place to start if you’re not sure of your options. Each school has a bit of available information that will help you determine if it is one you’d like to explore.
Creative Writing Courses Online
What if you don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to dump into a degree to become an author? Some of us are struggling just to keep food on the table and the lights on, and tuition only covers so much.
Some of us will have to pay quite a bit out of pocket despite the various grants that are out there.
Online creative writing courses are often far cheaper while providing the necessary elements you’ll need to become an author. The biggest difference is that you won’t earn a degree, and some won’t even provide a certificate of completion.
However, a lot of them will easily get you started on the path to becoming a good writer.
Here are just a few of the online writing courses you will find during a Google search.
Reedsy Masterclass
I completed the Reedsy masterclass of How to Write a Novel, and it was perhaps one of the greatest things I’ve done as an author. The daily classes were informative, Tom Bromley was interactive, and it was just an awesome experience all around. The difference in my books has been night and day.
Udemy
Udemy’s classes are relatively cheap for creative writing, averaging less than $100. You can browse what’s available, organize by student rating of the course, see the syllabus, and get a feel for what the instructor will provide. If you don’t have a lot of money on hand, Udemy is a great place to start.
MasterClass
MasterClass has an ever-growing library of courses spanning all kinds of knowledge. Unfortunately, MasterClass is one of those sources that do not provide certificates of completion, at least from what I’ve read. Yet, it’s only $120 per year for access to all the classes, so you have a slew of options from which to choose.
Coursera
Coursera appears more like a curating platform for writing. You can filter classes by difficulty, level, and more. It has a lot of free courses available from various universities and colleges as well as a review system by students. Upon completion, you’ll receive a sharable certificate you can add to your LinkedIn profile.
Writer’s Digest University
Writer’s Digest offers a writing course through their University program, but it’s a bit on the spendy side. According to Intelligent, Creative Writing 101 runs at about $579.99 for the 12-week course. However, the reviews have been quite favorable and it does offer a lot of valuable information.
Googling What You Need to Know
I replaced my income and built a career as a freelance writer. Nowadays, I’m focusing on writing books. All of this happened because I spent countless hours researching everything I needed to know to succeed.
In fact, I still spend a great deal of time learning even more to this day.
Aside from the Reedsy masterclass, everything I’ve learned has been through Google search. Blogs and YouTube videos that appeared in those searches helped me quit my full-time job in 2013.
In the beginning, I didn’t know much about search engine optimization or how to properly structure AP-style English. But over the course of several months, I added to my knowledge and became an incredibly successful writer.
Then, I shifted a bit of my focus toward writing novels. While I didn’t earn a degree in this fashion, I did learn quite a bit about becoming an author.
The hard part about using Google to fill in the gaps is that you kind of have to piecemeal everything from a variety of websites and videos. It’s not like a course where you’re provided with all of the information in one sitting. Plus, there’s a good chance you’re not going to know all of the elements to search for being an author.
Not All Sites Are Informative
One of the most important things you need to keep in mind is that not all results are going to offer the best information. Between anecdotal evidence and outright fabrication, you need to be vigilant about weeding out the nonsense.
Also, there are a lot of bad actors out there who just want to sell you things. So, they’ll tell you what you want to hear in the hopes that you buy their tools, services, apps, or products.
Still, I am a testament to what you can learn on your own. It’ll just take considerably longer to get to a point where you can call yourself a financial success. And that also depends on how motivated you are to keep learning.
Nonetheless, due to the sheer amount of information that is available on the Internet, you can learn damn near anything without having to spend a single dime.
Never Use AI-Generated Content
The use of AI to write essentially nullifies the need for a degree in anything, let alone being an author. As I am a strong proponent of learning in all forms, generative AI is a tool that I just can’t get behind.
You can’t really call yourself an author if you use generative AI to write any part of your book. In that instance, you become nothing more than a prompt jockey. It’s the bot who wrote the novel, not you.
This is aside from the argument that AI-generated content is a morally grey, and often hated, area by most authors. If you use AI, you’re demonstrating to the rest of us that you’re:
- Incapable of learning how to write.
- Too lazy to put in the effort to learn or create.
- Just looking for a quick and easy payout.
- Creatively bankrupt and have no original thought.
- Nothing more than a tool for the bot to create for you.
I know, I’m pretty hard on AI-generated crap. But that’s because I believe artists should be praised for their contributions to the world.
I’ve spent a lot of time learning how to be the best blogger, writer, and novelist I can be, and I’m not about to let some online app take away that accomplishment.
What Are Acceptable Uses of AI for Me?
There is a massive difference between AI-generated text and images versus using it for data purposes. For one thing, AI can process numbers and data far faster than I can with a spreadsheet. It can find problems in the grammatical structure of a book in less than a minute. And it can provide ideas of what to create next based on the stats of real readers and viewers.
Although I would never use AI to write a single line of text or create a book cover, I will use it for analytical purposes. And sometimes, it can be fun just to goof around with on your own.
However, I often use AI for:
- Coming up with video ideas based on what my viewers like most.
- Analyzing my book for repetition and redundant words.
- Scanning my blog posts for spelling and grammar issues I might have missed.
- The stills in the background of a writing sprint on YouTube.
That’s about it. AI will give me an idea, but it is I who writes the text and video scripts.
In the future, I might use AI to add special effects to videos. But that’s mostly because I am currently poor folk. I don’t have the money to hire the developers I would like. Rest assured, though, that I would rather toss money at a person than a program.
Anyone Can Write a Book, But Will It Be a Good Book?
I’m a firm believer that anyone can write a book. All it takes is the dedication to learn and the motivation to write. However, not everyone will write a good book.
In reality, the term “good” in this sense is more subjective than anything. Everyone will like different authors for varying reasons. This is aside from the fact that you cannot please 100% of the people 100% of the time. And a degree isn’t going to guarantee your success as an author.
Having that piece of paper from an accredited college will surely help clear your path. But you still have to walk it with your own story, which can still be covered by debris and obstacles.
Not everyone is a good storyteller, and that’s fine. Not everyone is skilled enough to be a star quarterback for the Denver Broncos, either. A good idea can only go so far, especially if you don’t have the knowledge to make it logical for a reader.
Becoming a good writer without a degree requires that you be motivated, determined, and open to continue learning. And never underestimate how valuable continued practice is while finding your voice.
That’s one of the first things I suggest to a lot of new writers – practice, practice, practice.
I can’t count the number of blog posts, books, short stories, and more that will never see the light of day. They were all practice pieces that helped me sculpt the writer I am today. Am I perfect? Absolutely not. But I can say that I am a damn site better than I was 10 years ago.
And that’s the point. I’m always developing and learning, which only adds to my strengths with each blog post and book.
Would I like a degree to hang on my wall as an author? Sure. It would be a nice addition to the background in the videos, and I would love the conversation piece at family get-togethers that I had a master’s degree. But I’m not going to let the lack of one stop me from writing.
Based on what my beta readers have said, especially with Shadows of Atlantic City, I’ve done amazingly well for someone who didn’t have a formal education in creative writing. Those are some of my favorite compliments from readers, actually.
Degrees Help But Are Not Mandatory!
At the end of the day, a degree as a novelist will help you write a better book. However, you can still write a good book without having formal training as long as you’re willing to research what is needed.
You can’t just slap a bunch of words together, cross your fingers, and hope for the best. Structure, flow, character and story development, pacing, and more are vital for putting together a good book that people will enjoy reading.
Not only that, but a lot of courses and classes will teach you how to avoid things like writer’s block. So, you’ll also gain some practical knowledge outside of how to structure a book.
To make a long story short, the work you put toward a degree will get you to where you want to go quicker than if you try to go the self-taught route. But you can still become successful as an author without a degree. It mostly comes down to how seriously you take yourself and whether you’re willing to research and grow.
If you plan on self-publishing your books, the biggest thing that will hold you back is marketing. But I’ll cover that topic later.
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