Making a Living as a Writer in San Diego
According to Glassdoor, content writers in San Diego earn an average of $54,540 per year. In addition, Content Managers in San Diego earn an average of $69,974 per year, salaries with are highly competitive on a national basis and allow for a reasonably-comfortable standard of living in San Diego.
With San Diego’s economy booming, and with new companies moving to the city every year, opportunities for content writers in San Diego are only set to increase in the future.
On a more macro level, the demand for talented content writers is growing as well. In addition to a 33% increase in the number of content marketing jobs from 2017 to 2018, the content writing and copywriting industries are projected to see an 8% to 9% annual growth rate over the next decade.
Educational Opportunities for Writers in San Diego
San Diego is, among other things, a college town. The world-renowned University of California San Diego and the increasingly-impressive San Diego State University are bedrocks of the San Diego college community, with more than 100,000 undergraduate and graduate students combined. Each university has extensive writing and marketing programs, including extended studies programs ideal for full-time workers looking to improve and modernize their skill set. Other local universities include CSU San Marcos, University of San Diego, and Point Loma Nazarene University.
Colleges here aren’t just names on a brochure, either. Local reading series like “So Say We All” sometimes team up with university professors and students, blending academic resources with the rest of the city’s creative messiness. Sure, you can take a class on narrative nonfiction or digital storytelling, but a lot of real growth happens in those after-hours discussions at a café in Hillcrest. Sometimes, finding your writing voice is about more than cranking out degrees; it’s about who you meet and what you listen to in this kind of lively, weirdly welcoming academic scene. The universities seem to recognize that too, sprinkling their calendars with visiting writer events and local collaborations.
Writing Meetup Groups in San Diego
The vibrant writing community in San Diego is active on Meetup. A few popular Meetups include the San Diego Writers and Editors Guild, Publishers & Writers of San Diego, and Women Who Wine and Write.
Writing Conferences in San Diego
San Diego also has an abundance of writing events and conferences. These include:
- The SDSU Writers’ Conference
- Southern California Writers’ Conference
- La Jolla Writer’s Conference
The Best Places for Writers to Get Work Done in San Diego
San Diego is well-known for scenic vistas, a youthful and vibrant population, and an environment that inspires creativity. It should come as no surprise that San Diego is teeming with excellent locations for getting some writing done.
And speaking of inspiration, you’ll notice writers everywhere—some hammering away on laptops, others working on something mysterious in spiral notebooks. There’s an energy to the scene that you can’t really fake. Even if you’ve only just moved here, it almost dares you to start your own project, or at least to leave a half-finished story on the table after three cups of something overpriced. If you care about seeing what local talent is up to, check out poetry slams or short-story readings at one of the microbreweries (yes, with actual beer). Those evenings tend to get loud and weird and, yeah, sometimes a little too honest.
Co-working offices are an increasingly popular option for writers and entrepreneurs of all stripes. In fact, co-working spaces have grown by an annual rate of more than 200% globally over the past 5 years, and San Diego is no exception to this trend.
The following are a few of the most popular co-working spaces for writers:
- Union Cowork, located in Encinitas, North Park, and East Village
- Desk Hub, located in Little Italy
- WeWork, located in numerous locations through the city and San Diego County
If you aren’t ready to commit to a co-working subscription, there are plenty of cafes and coffee shops available to write in.
There are plenty of Starbucks locations in San Diego, so you’ll never be far away from a hot cup of coffee and a place to write. In addition, there are countless small-chain and family-owned coffee shops and cafes to choose from as well. A few popular options include:
- Dark Horse Coffee Roasters – Located in Normal Heights and home to some of the best coffee in the city.
- Bird Rock Coffee Roasters – Located in Bird Rock, La Jolla
- Lestat’s – Located on Park Ave in University Heights, Adams Ave in Normal Heights, and in Hillcrest
Local Companies Hiring San Diego Writers
There is no shortage of places for writers in San Diego to find work. Here are a few examples:
Digital Marketing Agencies
At the heart of many content opportunities is a digital marketing agency working on a content marketing campaign for a client. As a hub for digital marketing agencies, San Diego is full of opportunities for writers. Even digital marketing agencies who have writers in-house tend to utilize freelance writers for some of their client work.
A few of the most notable digital marketing agencies in San Diego Include:
- Siege Media – An Inc. 5000 company founded and run by the highly-regarded digital marketing expert Ross Hudgens
- Ignite Visibility – An industry leading agency which specializes in PPC campaigns
- Power Digital Marketing
Content Platforms
- APPLY NOW!
- Skyword is a collaborative content marketing platform that can claim some major companies as its clients, including IBM, Tom’s of Maine, and Anthem.
- Scripted is a Bay Area content platform that helps connect freelance writers with businesses and agencies looking to increase their bandwidth. The general consensus is that they are a relatively difficult platform to get accepted on, but once accepted they offer a variety of diverse assignments for writers.
Join the Ranks of Some of the Best Writers in the World
San Diego is one of the most desirable locations to live in the United States. Freelance writers are fortunate in the sense that their work can, by and large, be done from anywhere. This is why so many freelance writers and other location-independent workers continue to choose San Diego.
