How to become a creative writer

Official title: Creative writer

Also called: Writer, Author, Poet, Novelist, Playwright, Dramatist, Children's writer

Creative writers produce original written works like books, editorial articles, screenplays and poems.

Main tasks

• Write material for artistic or entertainment purposes
• Edit written materials
• Discuss production content and progress with others
• Determine presentation subjects or content
• Conduct research to inform art, designs, or other work
• Co-ordinate artistic activities
• Obtain copyrights or other legal permissions
• Promote products, activities, or organisations

How to become one

You usually need experience to become a creative writer and a qualification may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 3 to do the study or training for this job. Other requirements: experience in similar work; a relevant tertiary qualification in language and literature or similar area.

See the full Tahatū profile

Ways in

• University: Arts & Humanities degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

• Median pay: $67,000 a year, a TEC estimate before tax.
• Upper: $151,000 a year
• TEC shows pay for this job by the hour: median $32.21 an hour.
• TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
• Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Increase (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
• People employed in the group Authors, and Book and Script Editors: 1,764 at the 2018 Census and 1,485 at the 2023 Census (-15.8%). Past change, not a forecast.
• Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

• About 230 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
• In the group Authors, and Book and Script Editors, 61% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
• Where people in the group Authors, and Book and Script Editors work (2023 Census): Auckland 37.4%, Wellington 19.2%, and Canterbury 10.3%.

Related jobs

• Visual effects artist and animator
• Producer
• Director
• Radio and TV programming director
• Casting director
• Media technical director

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Questions people ask

How do I become a creative writer?

You usually need experience to become a creative writer and a qualification may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 3 to do the study or training for this job. Other requirements: experience in similar work; a relevant tertiary qualification in language and literature or similar area.

How much does a creative writer earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $67,000 a year, before tax.

Has the number of people working as a creative writer grown in New Zealand?

It has grown: TEC records an increase in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Will AI change the work of a creative writer?

Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
• Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
• Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026