Enter the MFA. A master’s degree in creative writing can offer you all of these things and more. 

Let’s explore all aspects of this specialized degree, starting with the question that may be on your mind: “What is an MFA?”

What is an MFA?

A Master of Fine Arts degree provides an opportunity to study your art, and this art can be writing. 

It’s a graduate-level program, so you need a bachelor’s degree before you can get an MFA, but a fine arts degree doesn’t require you to take the GRE like many graduate programs. Not having to take the GRE can come as a relief for those of us (ahem, me) who aren’t good at standardized tests.

When you study writing in an MFA program, you have several choices, depending on the program: nonfiction, fiction, journalism, poetry, pop fiction, playwriting, screenwriting and more. 

Often, you can take a workshop or two in a genre other than your focus if you want to explore other areas of creative writing. Obtaining an MFA gives you the credentials to teach at universities and colleges if you want to go that route. A program can last between one and four years, but two years is typical. Costs vary widely depending on the program, but you should expect to invest a pretty penny into your degree. 

The 3 types of MFAs

Whether you’re working full time and want to get your degree on the side, like I did, or you prefer to dedicate your life completely to your writing, you have options.

There are three types of MFA programs:

1. Online residency

For an online degree, you complete it without having to travel or move anywhere. You can do all the work from the comfort of your home. 

This type of program could be excellent for working folks, parents or people who don’t want to spend the extra money on taking trips to residencies. 

2. Low residency

You also work mostly online with an assigned mentor in a low residency program, but it requires you to travel twice a year to residencies. 

Each residency lasts around 10 days and gives you a chance to mingle with other writers in your program. This type could be the perfect choice if you want to hold a part-time or full-time job but need writer-to-writer interaction. You might be surprised how quickly you can become best friends with people even if you see them only twice a year.

3. Full residency

A full-residency program is like a standard degree — you move near campus and commute into class to learn among your fellow students. 

This type of program could be a great choice for writers who want a normal college experience. You can work directly with your classmates, call on them for editing help and attend your professors’ office hours easily. Whether or not you can hold a job on the side is up to you. 

Should you get an MFA? Let’s weigh the pros and cons 

Deciding whether or not to go back to school can be a tough process. There are many positives and negatives that you need to weigh before making a decision. 

Here’s a breakdown of factors that I looked into that helped me make my choice.

Pros of getting an MFA

• You’ll form a tight-knit writing community. No matter the type of program you choose, when you share your art with each other, you will bond. Knowing other writers is invaluable — for everything from advice to emotional support to writing a blurb for the back on your book.
• A degree will probably save you time in the long run. Two intensive years of cramming everything writing-related into your skull will almost invariably lower the learning curve for you. Instead of teaching yourself how to write better over the span of 10 years on the job, a degree should expedite the process.
• You’ll dedicate time to honing your craft. Like me, you could consider a writing program a gift to yourself. You’re honoring your art by making space in your life to advance your skill.
• You’ll sharpen your grammar skills and become a better writer, editor, reader, and critic. There’s no doubt about it: No matter what form of writing you study, writing a lot makes you better at all of it.

Cons of getting an MFA

• It will cost you. The average cost of a full residency program is $20,180, and the average low residency program is $31,184. One thing to consider: Does your employer cover any tuition costs? Keeping a full-time job allowed me to pull from the tuition reimbursement that my company offered, which helped immensely.
• You may not gain the hard skills you’re looking for. The number one complaint in my program is a lack of focus on the tougher side of writing: how to market yourself, build your portfolio, deal with agents or publish a book. Instead, these degrees tend to focus on the craft and leave the hard skills for you to figure out.
• You’ll use up time and energy. Instead of spending two years getting a writing degree, you could be out there writing. Even though you would be starting with more of a blank slate, there’s absolutely no requirement to get a degree first to be a writer. You could instead put that energy into getting published or freelancing. 
• You may not need it. If you’re thinking of a career as a marketer, social media manager, publisher, or some other specific job, an MFA might not help you get there. It will teach you some things about the writing industry as a whole, but nothing you couldn’t learn from attending conferences and workshops outside of a degree program.

Is an MFA worth it?

So is an MFA worth it? The answer to this question is deeply personal, so I can only tell you my opinion. And my answer is yes. For me, an MFA was worth the time and money I spent. 

Two key things made the experience valuable for me: the writers I met and the confidence I gained. 

When I made the choice to enter the program, I knew I wanted to write for a living, but I didn’t know in what capacity. Sure, I wish I had a better baseline understanding of my goals when I started, but that doesn’t mean it was a waste of time. Some of my friends had no idea what to write when they started but ended up with a manuscript that turned into a published book a few years out. I gained a writing community that will be with me for life. These are friends who understand the struggles of the writer’s life.

Plus, I felt like the degree propelled me into “Real Writer” status. It doesn’t take a degree to become a writer, and I had already become one the day I started writing. However, I didn’t know that yet. I needed a confidence boost. I appreciated the backing of a degree before I went out to make a living at it. 

Alternatives to getting an MFA

If your gut is telling you not to go the MFA route, trust your instincts. 

There are so many other options out there. You could try freelancing for a while. Even if it doesn’t work out, there’s nothing stopping you from applying to a degree program later. Also, there are plenty aspects of an MFA program you could replicate on your own. You could read grammar and writing books on your own. Additionally, you could write a book in your spare time, take individual writing classes, or attend workshops and residencies. 

There’s even an entire course we’ve reviewed here at The Write Life designed to help you DIY your MFA.

There’s no one right answer. You can do several of these things at once. Take a class at your local writing center and become a member of a local critique group. The most important step in becoming the writer you want to be is to try something.

Photo via Areipa.lt / Shutterstock 

I have a confession — I don’t have a knack for organizing a business. 

Somehow, I’m obsessively tidy in my daily life (you should see my closets), but when it came time to launch my business, I struggled. 

I had to force myself to create Google Sheets to track client research and payments. And set up a separate bank account for business expenses. And figure out how to make an invoice. All of these steps felt like pulling teeth.

Yet they are all vital to be a successful freelancer, and I know I need to master this if I want to meet my income goals.

So I was a good fit to try out Creative Class, an online course that helps freelancers with all the aspects of running a business. 

Most freelancers are comfortable with how to do the work we’re hired for, whether that’s writing, marketing or another specialized skill. But what can be challenging when you first start working as a freelancer is all the pieces that turn your skill into an income-producing business: finding clients, figuring out how much to charge, invoicing, managing revisions, and more.

I was eager to see if Creative Class would help me solve some of those challenges, so I could get more clients and earn more money.

Why 2,400 freelancers have taken Creative Class

Creative Class is offered by successful freelancers Paul Jarvis and Kaleigh Moore, who have navigated many of these challenges themselves. 

Jarvis is the author of “Company of One: Why Staying Small is the Next Big Thing for Business,” and is the original course creator. Moore has been freelance writing since 2013. Together, they bring 25 years of freelancing experience. 

They understand that some parts of running a business — like connecting with clients and earning money in a way that feels right — can be intimidating for freelancers. “Action,” they say in the course, “is the cure for fear.”

The goal of the course is to help participants go from “typical freelancer” to “pro freelancer.” 

They define a typical freelancer as someone who bills by the hour, allows clients to control the work, has no onboarding or exit processes in place and gets burnt out easily. In other words, typical freelancers aren’t utilizing all the tools at their disposal to run an efficient, profitable business.

A pro freelancer, on the other hand, charges via project, knows how to shape feedback to benefit their work, has project processes in place and builds a long-term career. Otherwise known as a badass.

The course has been running since 2014 and more than 2,400 freelancers have taken it. For me, the number of graduates combined with Jarvis’ solid reputation in the writing space was a big selling point.

What do you get when you join Creative Class?

So we know what we hope to learn by enrolling in Creative Class. What do you actually get  with a membership? 

Here’s what’s included in the online course.

More than a dozen video lessons

Subscribers get lifetime access to the online course, which consists of 15 videos that walk you through how to create better systems for your freelancing business. 

The format is simple, but effective. In each video, Jarvis takes you through an easy-to-follow PowerPoint, explaining concepts along the way. You can watch each of the videos at your own pace, and return to them as often as you need.

The videos focus on four areas:

• Mindset: How to shift your thought process to that of a pro
• Management: The business operations side of things
• Connection: The part where you bring in clients
• Process: How to integrate systems that make your freelancing life easier

I learned strategies for increasing my rates, how to develop an effective mission statement, ideas for finding high-quality clients, and how to generate referrals. 

The course also goes into the nitty-gritty on specific situations most freelancers have to deal with over time, such as what qualities to look for in an accountant and how to respond if a client doesn’t pay.

The most helpful lessons for me:

• How to find clients. The creators offer ingenious but common sense ways of finding clients that I would never have thought of on my own. The steps are also easy to implement — no waiting for that networking event to happen to continuously refreshing your email inbox. They offer concrete actions that any writer can do right now to land gigs.
• Pricing, including the difference between cost and value. This lesson is a serious upper. You finish feeling like you are valuable and deserve to get paid well. The course offers detailed steps for presenting your work as a worthwhile investment. They also give advice for how to deal with the nerves and fear of pricing yourself fairly, which is probably a lesson we all need.

At the end of each video, the course provides a list of action items. These are helpful because you know exactly which exact steps to take to get your desired results. 

The videos themselves are brief, around 10 or 15 minutes on average. This worried me initially; I thought they might not provide enough useful information in such a short amount of time. And during the first area of study on Mindset, I wasn’t completely convinced that I would learn skills I couldn’t find elsewhere. 

But I stuck with it, and as the course went on, it did feel like true expert advice that I hadn’t heard before. 

Templates to customize for your own business

The course also includes 15 downloadable templates with email scripts, processes and spreadsheets for steps like pitching, client onboarding and a client follow-up script. I found these helpful because they showed me how to accomplish my goals, rather than just telling me. 

You’ll also find worksheets at the end of lessons, which provide a helpful starting point in terms of accomplishing suggested action steps.

(They also offer a lawyer-reviewed contract you can download to use, but that has to be purchased separately.)

An online community of freelancers

Along with your membership, you get access to a Slack group of 1,000+ members. There are several channels in the group, including one for copywriting and one for feedback. This is a great place to ask for help or suggestions. I noticed a number of freelancers who requested feedback on their websites or newly-created courses received thoughtful and helpful tips from other members.

Occasionally job opportunities are posted in Slack as well, but most of these seem directed at developers rather than writers. (Remember, all types of freelancers take Creative Class, not just writers.) Members post on the general channel almost every day, where the conversation skews heavily toward design. 

In addition to connecting with other freelancers who have taken the course, joining this group also gives you direct access to Jarvis. He’s quite involved in the group, so it’s an added value that he’s easily reachable that way.

How much Creative Class costs

So what’s your investment? The course costs $274. 

As a reader of The Write Life however, you get $30 OFF just for using code THEWRITELIFE.

While that can be a lot to spend when you’re just getting started as a freelancer, I recommend thinking through what you’ll get back from spending the time and money on this training. 

If you learn how to increase your rates, how quickly could you earn back that $274? Would you be less stressed if you knew how to deal with demanding clients or how to implement time-saving processes?

If you plan on sticking with freelancing as your income stream, the sooner you learn how to overcome these business challenges, the better. 

Is Paul Jarvis’ Creative Class the right fit for you?

This is the kind of course that freelancers could return to again and again at different stages of their career.

The course is useful both for new freelancers, and for freelancers who have been at it for a while, feel overworked, and aren’t landing the client or revenue they need.

I’m relatively new to the freelancing game, so I was grateful to have found this course before I put ineffective systems in place. Like if I was just learning to play tennis and taught myself to swing backhand like a fool, but by the time a good teacher came along, it would be too late because the wrong move would be committed to muscle memory. I avoided similar foolishness in my freelancing business by taking this course early on.

At the same time, some of the advice that’s included is too advanced for me at this moment in time, so I’ll keep on trucking and return to those lessons when I’m ready. I appreciate that the advanced tips are there for freelancers who are ready for it.

In terms of what could be better…The Creative Class interface is a bit tricky to navigate. The website has a simple black-and-white build, but it’s almost too modest. The first time I logged in to the lesson page, I was unsure how to begin the lessons or mark them as complete. A more obvious lesson plan might aid the user’s experience.

The course also includes a LOT of information. There’s no way I could process it all in one go. If you decide to join, know it will take some time — a few days or even weeks — to go through the class in a way that really lets you digest the information.

Overall, if you need help with the business side of freelancing, Creative Class is a high-value option and definitely among the better online writing courses out there. And because it’s on-demand, if you join now, you can return to it whenever you’ve got a sticky situation to figure out. 

I’m happy to have it as a resource as I grow in my freelancing career.  

Don’t forget: You’ll get $30 OFF when you use code THEWRITELIFE at checkout!

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Photo via GuadiLab / Shutterstock