How to upskill and reskill as a writer

Are you a writer and worried that your writing skills are becoming obsolete due to the rapid development of artificial intelligence? If so, you’re not alone, as 34% of workers believe AI will lead to job displacement in the next five years.

And these fears are not unfounded when you consider that 72% of chief human resources officers at Fortune 500 companies predict that AI will replace jobs in their organisation by 2027.

The good news, however, is that experts argue that upskilling and reskilling leave little room for such concerns, as AI is actually not “replacing” jobs but “transforming” them. So if you adapt your skills to the new dynamics of the job market, you will not only survive, you will thrive.

The question now is: where do you start?

Before we turn to answering this question and explaining how InstaText can help you on your upskilling and reskilling journey, let’s take a look at what these terms mean, according to LinkedIn.

What is upskilling and reskilling?

Upskilling definition

When a worker undertakes further training to enhance their existing skills, this is called upskilling. These additional skills improve the individual’s performance in their current position and can help them progress in their career.

Example 1: Self-employed writer

Carlos, a freelance writer who writes food and restaurant reviews, decides to upgrade his storytelling skills. He enrolls in a creative writing course to create more compelling narratives. By incorporating vivid imagery and compelling storylines, Carlos improves the quality of his reviews, attracts a larger audience, and secures higher-paying clients.

Example 2: Employed writer

Sofia, a content writer at a virtual reality company, has been writing blog posts and whitepapers for two years. To improve her impact, she is learning search engine optimisation techniques in a workshop offered by her employer. Thanks to her better understanding of search engine algorithms, Sofia not only increases the visibility of her content, but also becomes the go-to person for SEO within the company.

Reskilling definition

Reskilling is about learning new skills that are not part of the worker’s existing skillset. These skills are often closely related to the person’s current role, but can also lead to a completely different path and transition to a new role.

Example 1: Self-employed writer

Amara, a freelance writer in Lisbon who specialises in travel blogs, notices that many local businesses are looking for Portuguese-language content to attract domestic tourists. She enrolls in a Portuguese course to improve her language skills and learns to use advanced translation and editing tools to refine her writing. With her improved skills, she starts offering travel content in Portuguese, which opens up new opportunities with local clients and businesses.

Example 2: Employed writer

GreenXLeaf Media, a content agency, introduces a new service offering: personalised email marketing campaigns using AI analytics. Jason, who has worked as a copywriter for the company for three years, is interested in learning email-specific writing techniques and how to interpret AI-driven insights. Instead of hiring a new specialist, the company funds Jason’s participation in a workshop on this topic. With his new skills, Jason moves into a hybrid role as a copywriter and email marketing specialist.

How to get started?

The seemingly endless list of the most in-demand jobs and the jobs that are most vulnerable to AI can be overwhelming. Different experts have different opinions, and there are many factors to consider, depending on your individual background and circumstances.

While we recognise that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to upskilling and reskilling, we would like to share with you our approach that may give you a new perspective, help you narrow down your choices, and identify where you can focus your attention and efforts more quickly and efficiently.

Authenticity and originality: Keywords to guide your decision

Our suggested approach is based on the fact that with the increasing integration of generative AI into various aspects of our lives, experts and researchers emphasise the growing importance of maintaining authenticity and originality while utilising technology.

“Balancing the use of artificial intelligence as a tool and preserving human identity remains a crucial issue in the future of content creation,” says the paper titled “The Influence of Artificial Intelligence on Creative Writing,” which explores the synergy between AI and creative authorship.

This is in line with the view expressed in a Forbes article entitled “The Importance of Authenticity in the Age of AI,” which emphasises the need to “embrace and reject AI in equal measure,” leveraging its strengths while avoiding its potential pitfalls.

“While AI performs admirably in many tasks, it cannot match human creativity and empathy in understanding emotions and crafting narratives that deeply resonate with people, trends, and cultural nuances. This highlights the critical role of human insight in effectively engaging audiences.”

And this opinion is shared by leading academic and non-academic publications that have banned or restricted the use of generative AI in their editorial policies as well as search engines that underline the importance of original content.

For example, in its updated guidelines on AI-generated content, Google provides a series of questions that creators can use to self-assess their content, including the following, which focus on originality:

Does the content provide original information, reporting, research, or analysis?
Does your content clearly demonstrate first-hand expertise and a depth of knowledge (for example, expertise that comes from having actually used a product or service, or visiting a place)?

What does this mean for writers?

If you are thinking about upskilling or reskilling in content creation—which is the foundation of many services or an inseparable part of others—you can focus on contexts where authenticity, originality, and authorship are valued and required.

Here are some potential areas where you can develop your skills in creating content—either for your own platforms or for others—that can be published in a variety of formats, including video, written content, audio, and more:

Academic ghostwriting and editing (as the use of AI is largely restricted or banned in academic publishing)
Ghostwriting thought leadership articles that contain personal insights
Storytelling and creative writing with a personal touch
Writing opinion pieces based on personal insights and experiences
Creating original journalistic content, especially in the field of investigative journalism and visual journalism
Crafting interviews with personalised questions
Developing content strategy consulting material, services, courses, etc. focused on authenticity and originality
Creating in-depth, technical, and long-form content, such as analytical reports, research articles, white papers, and case studies that require human insight
Writing original and authentic reviews of products, services, books, movies, etc.
Professional fact-checking (as AI tools can still make mistakes)
Writing original video and podcast scripts

What these areas have in common is that human insight is at the heart of content creation, while generative AI can support certain aspects of the process—such as brainstorming, data analysis, and outlining—without compromising the originality and authenticity of the content.

How InstaText help writers upskill and reskill

InstaText is an editing assistant that uses advanced language technologies, but not generative AI, to improve texts. InstaText does not create new content, but improves existing content in terms of clarity, readability, flow, structure, style, tone, conciseness, word choice, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and more during the editing and proofreading process.

This means that InstaText’s edits are not AI-generated, and the original tone of voice, style, and intent are only enhanced, not changed. This makes InstaText an ideal tool for contexts where authenticity, originality, and authorship matter, such as academic and professional contexts like those mentioned above.

InstaText not only helps you create polished, original content for different needs, but also supports the development of other skills that contribute to your professional growth. For example:

The fact that InstaText offers interactive feedback allows you to track the suggestions and accept or reject them. This will help you improve your English skills, especially your writing skills, over time if you pay attention to the edits.
Thanks to InstaText’s interactive feedback, the user is actively involved in the editing process, which is a creative activity, and can thus develop their cognitive skills, such as critical thinking.
InstaText’s suggestions for improving your text in terms of clarity, readability, tone, conciseness and flow can help you improve your communication skills if you consider the edits carefully.

Comparison: ChatGPT vs. InstaText vs. Grammarly

Tips for upskilling and reskilling

Whether you’re self-employed or working for a company, start by opening yourself up to learning, choosing to be adaptable, stepping out of your comfort zone, and identifying the skills you need—whether that’s improving your current skills or learning something new.

If you are a freelancer, look for resources such as tools, courses, workshops, or books and network with other professionals and mentors in the field you are focusing on. If you are employed, take the initiative and talk to your employer about the areas where you think you can add value and propose investments in tools and training that can support your career progression.

InstaText: A tool for upskilling and reskilling as a writer

If you value upskilling and reskilling as well as authenticity and originality, InstaText could be a valuable investment—for both freelancers and companies—when it comes to content creation. If you’re already using InstaText, be sure to check out our new blog posts to learn how to get the most out of InstaText. If you’re not a user yet, give it a try for free and see how it can help you upgrade your skills. Remember that we also have plans for teams, which you can learn more about on this page.

“I liked it so much, I subscribed to it mid-trial—and have been using it to proofread and edit all my content since. In case you’re wondering, that’s not something I say lightly: I run a few blogs and publish about a dozen or so articles in them every day, without exception.”

— Jim Stonos, Writer and Editor

“For me, InstaText has been a life changer. It’s way more than a writing and editing tool. It’s an experience. InstaText doesn’t have a multitude of functions, and that’s the beauty of it. It only does what it claims to do, and that’s to help you write more like a native speaker. And it does that in the best possible way.”

— Elham P. Mohammadi, Freelance Journalist, Writer and Editor

“InstaText is a great tool! I use it to improve English texts such as articles, projects and abstracts for conferences. The tool provides very useful suggestions that help me to translate the text to a professional level so that no additional review by “native speakers” is required. The time and money savings are obvious. I highly recommend it!”

— Dr. Janez Konc, Senior Researcher