Many young authors and aspiring novelists wonder if they should get a college degree in creative writing or English.

But many famous, bestselling authors did not study literature or writing in college. 

* Robert Ludlum studied drama.* Harper Lee dropped out of law school.* Michael Crichton studied biological anthropology.* John Grisham studied accounting.* Danielle Steel studied fashion design but never received a degree.* J.K. Rowling studied French.* Arthur Conan Doyle studied medicine.

Is a college degree a good investment for young novelists? And if not, what is the best path to publishing success?

To help us debate the issue, I interviewed Brett Harris. He’s the bestselling author of Do Hard Things and the co-founder of The Young Writer’s Workshop and The Author Conservatory. He’s helped hundreds of young writers publish their work.

Do novelists need a writing degree?

Thomas Umstattd, Jr.: Do novelists need a degree in fine arts, creative writing, or literature in order to pursue a career as an author?

Brett Harris: The short answer is no. They don’t need one. But I think that question can be a distraction. When I say a student doesn’t need a creative writing degree to be an author, people assume I mean a degree is not good.

That’s not the case.

Some writers earned a degree and thought it was helpful in one way or another. Some English majors found it helpful to have received feedback from their peers and professors. Others were helped by reading great literature.

Is a college creative writing degree helpful for novelists?

Brett: It quickly becomes a debate about whether an English or creative writing degree is helpful.

So, if you ask, “Is a university degree in English or creative writing or literature helpful?” then the answer is, “Yes. It’s absolutely helpful.”

The better question is, “Are college writing programs coming anywhere close to adequately preparing a student for a career as a novelist?”

That is the question we need to be asking.

How to Evaluate Comparative Advantage in Education

Thomas: I like to address questions like this with the mindset of comparative advantage.

Ask yourself, “What’s my next best alternative?”

When you have limited time and money, and you’re trying to decide what to do, you must determine the comparative advantage of your options.

If you spend a day standing on the street corner with a cardboard sign selling your book, you will probably sell some copies.

But is that the best use of your time and money? It probably won’t waste money because cardboard signs are cheap, but it will probably be a waste of time. You’ll get a better return on your time if you do something else.

When evaluating your return on a writing degree, the question is not about whether you’ll learn something....

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Releasedatum: 26-10-2022 09:06:00