The Handy Job Hunter for Writers

Handy Job Hunter for Writers 9 (June 2005)

2005-06-01T12:00:00Z

HANDY JOB HUNTER FOR WRITERS
ISSUE #9 (June 2005)
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Compiled by Michael Arnzen, Ph.D.
http://www.gorelets.com

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Approaching Brand New Markets
by Michael A. Arnzen

When you freelance for magazines for a few years, you eventually notice that there's a relatively high "churn rate" for new titles. Almost every month new journals are launched, taking the place of others which quickly fade into distant memory. This is as true of the slick national mags as it is of little fiction journals: editorial ventures come and go with the tide.

It seems as though popular magazines have a worse half-life than sitcoms, and it's kind of sad, really. But the constant influx of new markets can also be a boon for the writers willing to keep their eyes open for good opportunities. A new magazine offers a tremendous chance to "get in on the ground floor" of one of the magazines that survives the churn. A new magazine has the potential to grab a new set of readers, which means it can help you reach a new or larger audience -- and you might even cultivate a following that you wouldn't otherwise. Indeed, if your submission is well-received, you'll be poised to become a regular contributor and part of the editor's "reliable" stable. And, generally speaking, new magazines are often ripe with space to fill, since fewer writers are competing for it and the editors are far more needy (and receptive to their slush pile) than they will be later on, when their mailbox is overflowing with material. Getting a foot in the door early mean
s getting a leg up on the competition...and possibly your own key to the backdoor.

On the other hand, like all new enterprises, dealing with a start-up magazine can be very risky. They're unproven. The editorial staff (if they even have a "staff") might have all the best intentions, but be totally composed of rookies who are flying by the seat of their pants. They might not know the professional protocols, and you'll have to exercise patience (and advice) while you wait for them to tip past the learning curve. The magazine won't likely be paying writers as much as they should, due to tight budget controls and a lack of capital -- indeed, many new magazines don't pay at all (and I recommend you avoid them). Once they launch, they might not ever really reach the audience they intended or gather up the advertising revenue they were counting on; heck, the magazine might never get off the ground at all and subsequently tie your work up in contractual purgatory while you endlessly wait for publication or something remotely resembling a kill fee. Or if they do pay
and publish, they might not know what they're doing on the production side, and through association, leave an indelible stain on your reputation. Anything could happen.

If you're wondering about how to approach these new markets, you have to develop knowledge about your own capacity to endure risk. I err on the side of giving new markets a chance, often because I feel that by taking a chance on me they're entering into a relationship of trust and I like being part of a magazine's early history. But I don't jump blindly on to any new cart that's traveling by...I try to think strategically about which carts are the best ones to help me take my career where I'd like it to go.

I tend to find out about brand new markets by word-of-mouth in the writer's organizations I belong to, through direct solicitation from the editors themselves, or in listings that the magazines have sent out to trade magazines and venues, like the Gila Queen's Guide to Markets or other sources regularly listed in the Handy Job Hunter for Writers. Unlike veteran markets, new magazines that are hungry for material go "fishing" for unsolicited talent, and the smart ones go to the right fishing holes where writers gather, looking for bait. But once I spot one, a process of analysis begins that tries to determine whether the market is professional first, and then whether it's a good match for my work, secondly. The fact is, there are plenty of compatible markets for a writer's work already available and it's EASY to get published by an unprofessional magazine that doesn't pay and doesn't edit and doesn't do jack squat for a writer's career. Although every writer wonders if a magaz
ine will "take a chance" on an unsolicited manuscript, with new markets the first question should not be "Will they take a chance on me?" but "Is it worthwhile to take a chance on them?" If you are a brand new writer, it's probably more worthwhile to try to get published in established magazines first, even though it is true that newer magazines will often be willing to take risks on unproven writers. But the fact is, it's the proven writers that they want -- and many new magazines usually directly solicit a few veteran writers and pay them handsomely -- whereas some established magazines often pride themselves on discovering new talent, which often comes cheap.

In the established magazine category, it's a buyer's market. That is, the publishers control it. In the new magazine category, it's still a buyer's market, but it's as close to a seller's market as magazines will ever get. And you're the seller. Whether you're new or well-published, you've got more power when dealing with new mags than you do with the venerable establishment. Remember that. But know what you're getting into.

If you're analyzing a brand new market, the first thing to do is to closely read the new magazine's guidelines, trying to intuit their editorial slant and publication value. This should be obvious; since there is no "sample copy" available, the editorial guidelines may be all you have to go on when deciding whether you want to do business with them or not. You can rely on market listings and trade magazines to find these guidelines, but you might want to also check the publisher's websites and even write them by mail. A block of text in Writer's Market only gives you language -- the publication's website or printed matter will give you insight into their "image." You might also find that "on site" they're offering more in-depth guidelines, messages from the editors, or even a list of specific editorial needs -- information you wouldn't find in the market listings themselves.

When you get your hands on the guidelines, the first thing you are likely to look for is remuneration: whether or not the market is paying a decent fee, advance, or royalty. When you go shopping and find something brand new on the shelf, you look at the price tag before investing time in considering whether or not you really want to buy the item. The same goes here, in terms of submitting your work.

Assuming that the magazine is offering respectable payment (whatever that means to you), you should spend some time reading the guidelines closely. Read them straight before you try to read between the lines. New ventures tend to incorporate "mission statements" in their guidelines, and they usually spend a lot of time crafting them to give them a sense of mission and personality. It will give you a good idea of the magazine's editorial slant and general scope. Chances are good that they mean precisely what they say, so if they say something like "no werewolf poetry," don't assume that they might be open to your latest hirsute sonnet just because they're brand spanking new. As I said, read them straight. And if you spot any grammatical errors along the way, listen to that voice in your head that whispers: "danger." Even one misplaced modifier could be a symptom of a larger weakness in the editorial staff (whether apathy, ignorance, or simply poor spell-checking software). Don
't buy into the myth that editors are failed writers: good editors are good writers, without exception, and if they are careless with their own prose, they'll be careless with yours.

Check the guidelines to see if the market is part of a larger conglomerate. See if it's a new title among a whole slew that they publish. If it is, then they have money and experience -- and they're probably going after a new demographic. They also might be shuffling around their editorial teams, so knowing a thing or two about the other magazines down the hall will benefit you. You also might eventually find a way in to those other magazines that way -- good pieces get passed around.

If editors are named, and they should be, you might spend a little time researching them. For all you know, they actually are writers, or have worked for other magazines, or have edited books and anthologies -- and having some familiarity with their past work will give you a sense of their preferred style or focus. If an "editorial board" is listed, check the names: they might be novelists or pundits who are lending their clout to the magazine and this list of luminaries can give you a clue about what sort of writers the editors admire.

Guidelines that are too lengthy are not always the most helpful. Like resumes, they should be short and to the point. Long-winded guidelines that come across as far too detailed are usually written by either amateur publishers who don't recognize the protocols of business or new editors with unrealistic demands and/or grandiose plans: they are trying too hard to convince the publishing community that they know what they're doing, and chances are good that those editors are the controlling sort who might overstep the boundaries between "editing" and "rewriting." Guidelines are not a place to rant; guidelines that read too much like manifestos are probably markets to be avoided. A single page is standard; anything longer than two pages is probably over-doing it. Good editors know that "less is more" and that a good description of needs can communicate a magazine's needs while still remaining open to some interpretation by the writers. Editors want to do their jobs -- invite con
tributors and then judge what's right for their readers -- not prejudice the slush pile out of fear by rattling off what will and won't work for them.

Some magazines post "media kits" and "advertiser info" on their websites or by mail. Get your hands on them and see how they are framing themselves and their target audience. See what kind of money they're bringing in that way. It could be eye opening. For example, you might learn that a magazine is predominantly targeting men or conservatives or retirement age readers, and such things might not be clear in the guidelines themselves.

Sometimes it's good policy to just be patient. Wait until the first issue has been printed before submitting. Get it hot off the press and analyze it as you would any sample copy. See if they followed their own guidelines, or if they're looser than they seemed to be. Think about the types of submissions they chose to accept and consider why. Pay attention to the advertising they relied on and use that to try to judge the demographic target audience they're going after (ads are a great way to determine this). Do a modicum of research to see if any reviewers have commented on the magazine. If they're positive, or if your own analysis of the magazine is positive, submit as soon as possible.

If you get good at placing your work in new magazines, remember to leverage some of that experience and to submit to some of the more established journals as well. I could name a handful of writers who always seem to appear in new fiction magazines in my genre, but rarely appear elsewhere. It's as though they only submit to the latest market listings that are circulated in the trade. These writers are experiencing success, true, but they're probably not reaching the core, established audience for the genre that way, since readers are conservative and stick with what they know. Since new magazines come and go with the tide, their careers are like boats that sway in the dock: in motion, churning along with the market, but never really setting sail.

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NOTE: It's been awhile since the last issue -- and that's because I have changed the publishing schedule for this newsletter. Although the "churn rate" for new magazines might high, the number of new job listings and market resources for writers is fairly steady, and there just isn't enough change to justify a bi-monthly release of the Handy Job Hunter. I'm planning to send out just two or three issues per year from now on, but take heart: I am always keeping my eyes open for new material and you'll find that most of the links that follow are updated on a weekly basis. If you discover any good resources for the newsletter, please send them along to me at arnzen@gorelets.com.

Thanks for subscribing. Expect issue #10 in the early Fall.

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THE HANDY JOB HUNTER FOR WRITERS

key
± = new/revised entry
SF/F/H = Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror
UK = England-centered
$ = requires fee or subscription
Likely Dead = website non-responsive

>>GOOD OVERVIEW TO GET STARTED<<
Writer's Guide to Finding Jobs Online
http://www.sunoasis.com/tutorial.html

>>JOB OUTLOOK FOR US WRITERS<<
Bureau of Labor Statistics on Writers/Editors
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos089.htm

>>CAREERS IN WRITING<<
WRC's Glossary of Writing Careers
http://www.poewar.com/articles/careerlist.htm

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>>JOURNALIST-ORIENTED<<

Power Reporting
http://powerreporting.com/category/Journalism_shoptalk/Jobs

Journalism Jobs
http://www.journalismjobs.com/

Job Link for Journalists (Newslink.org)
http://newslink.org/joblink/

Detroit Free Press Jobbank
http://www.freep.com/jobspage/

J-Net
http://journalism.berkeley.edu/jobs/

Journalism Net
http://www.journalismnet.com/jobs/

Media Bistro
http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings/

New York Times Media Jobs
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/jobs/jobs_media/index.html

Society for Technical Communication ($)
http://www.stc.org/

Sun-Oasis Job Bank
http://www.sunoasis.com/

Nat'l Diversity Newspaper Job Bank
http://www.newsjobs.com/

JournalismNext for Persons of Color
http://www.journalismnext.com

NewsJobs
http://www.newsjobs.net/usa/default.asp

Nat'l Assoc of Broadcasting Career Center
http://www.nab.org/bcc/

Publishing News (UK)
http://www.publishingnews.co.uk/pn/pnc/index.asp

American Copyeditors Society Job Bank
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ACESjobs/

Non Profit Times Jobs Bank
http://nptjobs.nptimes.com/search.cfm

Just Tech Writer Jobs
http://www.justtechwriterjobs.com/JSSearchJobs.asp

American Society of Business Publications Editors Job Bank
http://www.asbpe.org/jobs/joblist.htm

TV Jobs
http://www.tvjobs.com/jbcenter.htm

Editor and Publisher Career Center
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/classifieds/index.jsp

Paying Writer Jobs
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PayingWriterJobs/

Association of Alternative Newsweeklies
http://aan.org/gbase/Aan/helpWanted

Jobs for Writers
http://www.klariti.com/jobs/index.shtml

The Media Network (UK)
http://www.tmn.co.uk/vacancies.asp

± Investigative Reporters and Editors Job Postings
http://www.ire.org/jobs/look.html

± JOURNet Listserv Archives
http://eb.journ.latech.edu/jobs.html

± Write Link Job Board (UK)
http://writelink.co.uk/index.php

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>>CREATIVE WRITING-ORIENTED<<

The Write Jobs
http://www.writejobs.com/jobs/

WriterFind Jobs
http://www.writerfind.com/freelance_jobs/

About.com's Job Listings
http://freelancewrite.about.com/cs/assignmentboards/index.htm

Preditors & Editors
http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/pubjob.htm

Telecommuting Jobs for Writers
http://www.tjobs.com/new/writers.shtml

Writer's Resource Center
http://www.poewar.com/jobs/

Creative Hotlist
http://www.creativehotlist.com/index.asp

Sharp Writer
http://www.sharpwriter.com/jobmarket.htm

Burryman's Freelance Opportunities
http://www.burryman.com/freelance.html

Work for Writers Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WorkForWriters/

Support for Writers Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/supportforwriters/

Craig's List - Community Classifieds by City
(check New York for publishing house needs)
http://www.craigslist.org/about/cities.html

Writer's Weekly
http://www.writersweekly.com/markets_and_jobs.php

Publisher's Marketplace Jobs
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/jobs/

Artist Resource
http://www.artistresource.org/jobs.htm#Writers

Creative Writer Listing at Jobs.com
http://creative.writer.jobs.monster.com/

WritingClasses.com Classifieds
http://www.writingclasses.com/writersnetwork/classifieds/index.html

The Writer Gazette Job Listings
http://www.writergazette.com/jobf4m.shtml

Pif Magazine's Writers' Only
http://pifmagazine.com/writers_only/

AuthorLink
http://authorlink.monster.com/

Society for Scholarly Publishing
http://sspnet.org/i4a/classifieds/?pageid=3276

± Absolute Write Water Cooler
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/

± Book Jobs
http://www.bookjobs.com/

± PW Job Zone
http://www.publishersweekly.com/index.asp?layout=channel&channel=industryResources

± BookBuilders West Job Bank
http://www.bookbuilders.org/JBnk-list.html

± Career Magazine
http://careermag.com/JS/Action/Searchresults.asp?q=y&key=Creative%20Writer&TYP=4&I1=22

± Editor's Only Classifieds
http://192.188.192.107/editors/eoclas.shtml

LIKELY DEAD: WriteMovies Job Board

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>>GENERIC JOB-HUNTING<<

Monster.com (aka Jobs.com)
http://www.monster.com

HotJobs (@ yahoo.com)
http://www.hotjobs.com/

Career Builder (aka Headhunter.net)
http://www.careerpath.com/

JobHunt.org
http://www.job-hunt.org/general.shtml

Job Hunt Resources by Academic Major
http://www.uww.edu/stdrsces/career/jobsearc/d12.htm

Job Star
http://www.jobstar.org/

Dice
http://www.dice.com

4Jobs
http://4jobs.com/

JobPilot: European Job Market
http://www.jobpilot.co.uk

Job Hunter's Bible resources
http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/jobs/regions.shtml

± Internet Job Source (StateJobs.com)
http://64.106.252.140/search.cfm

± Spherion
http://www.spherion.com/corporate/careercenter/home.jsp

± Recruiters Online
http://www.recruitersonline.com/jobs2/frameset_candidates.php

± Employment Guide
http://www.employmentguide.com/

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>>GUIDELINES & MARKET LISTINGS<<

Writer's Write Paying Markets
http://www.writerswrite.com/paying/

Poets & Writers Classifieds
http://www.pw.org/mag/classifieds.htm

Writer's Weekly Updates
http://www.writersweekly.com/markets/markets.html

Writer's Digest Guidelines
http://www.writersdigest.com/guidelines.asp

Worldwide Freelance Writers
http://www.worldwidefreelance.com/

Art Deadlines List ($)
http://artdeadlineslist.com/subscribe

Mary Wolf's Guide to E-Book Publishers
http://www.maryzwolf.com/epub.html

Piers Anthony's Survey of Electronic Publishers
http://www.hipiers.com/publishing.html

Gila Queen ($)
http://www.gilaqueen.us

Ralan's Extravaganza (SF/F/H & Humor)
http://www.ralan.com

Write Market
http://www.writemarket.com/

The Market List (SF/F/H)
http://www.marketlist.com

Fleming's List of Markets (SF/F/H)
http://home.att.net/~p.fleming/Sfmarket.html

Speculations Rumor Mill (SF/F/H)
http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/

Hellnotes (H/$)
http://www.hellnotes.com

Horror Scripts (H)
http://www.tcnj.edu/%7Eberes/horror.htm

FlashFictionFlash (very short stories)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FlashFictionFlash

Funds for Writers
http://www.fundsforwriters.com

Places for Writers
http://www.placesforwriters.com/archives/cat_calls.html

StoryPilot
http://storypilot.com/

Dark Markets (H)
http://www.darkmarkets.com/

Spicy Green Iguana (SF/F/H)
http://www.spicygreeniguana.com/index.asp

SpecFicWorld's Market Listings (SF/F/H) ($)
http://www.specficworld.com/sfme.html

Tucows News Directory
http://www.newsdirectory.com/

Writing for Dollars
http://www.writingfordollars.com/

The Eternal Night Chronicle (SF/F/H)
http://www.eternalnight.co.uk/chronicle/c34/markets.html

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>>WRITING TEACHER ORIENTED<<

Chronicle of Higher Education
http://chronicle.com/jobs/

Academic Position Network
http://www.apnjobs.com/

Association of Writing Programs
http://www.awpwriter.org/careers/careerlinks.htm

Adjunct Nation
http://www.adjunctnation.com/jobs/

Internat'l Teacher Recruitment
http://www.teachers.eu.com/

Academic360
http://www.academic360.com/

Agent K-12 (Education Week)
http://www.agentk-12.org/

± Inside Higher Ed
http://insidehighered.com/jobs

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>>FREELANCING FOR HIRE<<

Elance -- Auction Your Services
http://www.elance.com/c/static/main/displayhtml.pl?file=eol.html&module=home&;;

Guru.com (fmr. e-moonlighter)
http://www.guru.com/

LIKELY DEAD: Freelance Work Exchange

Recommended Reading:
"Your Worth as a Freelancer" by George Sheldon
http://www.fwointl.com/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=1&num=72

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>>ACADEMIC PUBLISHING CALLS<<

UPenn's Calls for Papers
http://www.english.upenn.edu/CFP/

E-Server's Calls for Papers
http://eserver.org/calls/

Tech Comm Calls for Papers
http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Academic/Calls-For-Papers

Custom Conference Alerts
http://conferencealerts.com/

Papers Invited
http://www.papersinvited.com/

APA Online
http://www.apa.udel.edu/apa/opportunities/conferences/

± Professional & Scholarly Publishing Openings
http://www.pspcentral.org/index.cfm?left=job_openings&page=/home/openings.cfm

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>>INTERNSHIPS<<

Internships.com
http://www.internships.com

College Central
http://www.collegecentral.com

Internship Programs
http://www.internshipprograms.com

Get That Gig
http://www.getthatgig.com/media/index.html

Envision
http://www.e-magnify.com/envision/

BackDoor Jobs -- Adventuring
http://www.backdoorjobs.com/

Journalism Internships
http://www.journalismjobs.com/Search_Results_Internship.cfm

The Mighty Internship Review
http://www2.daily.umn.edu/~mckinney/indexwof.html

± Internships @ Book Jobs
http://www.bookjobs.com/internships.php

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Compiled by Michael A. Arnzen, Ph.D.
http://www.gorelets.com

Look into the low residency Master's Degree program
in Writing Popular Fiction @ Seton Hill University:
http://fiction.setonhill.edu/

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE UPDATES
roughly every four-to-six months:
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Like the bizarre? Like it free?
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http://www.gorelets.com

******************************************************
>>ADVERTISEMENT<<

Dream of pursuing a successful writing career? If so,
subscribe to "WriteSuccess," the fr*ee biweekly ezine
of ideas, information and inspiration for writers. Visit
http://writesuccess.com and sign up today!

******************************************************
>>MICHAEL ARNZEN'S LATEST<<

PLAY DEAD: A Novel
Coming August 2005
http://www.rawdogscreaming.com
http://www.store.yahoo.com/shocklines/pldenobymiaa.html

"Las Vegas is as diseased a city as there is, and Mike Arnzen knows this as well as anyone. In Play Dead, he distills its essence down to a uniquely brutal game and brings together as fascinatingly repellent a bunch of losers ever to make a grab for the corroded brass ring. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas? Jesus, let’s hope so." -- Brian Hodge, author of DEATHGRIP and WILD HORSES

To be published in trade hardcover and a limited run of "sculpture-bound" collector's editions. Preorder for $27!

***
100 JOLTS: SHOCKINGLY SHORT STORIES
Current Finalist for the Bram Stoker Award!
http://www.rawdogscreaming.com
http://store.yahoo.net/shocklines/100jobymiaar.html

A collection of one hundred dark flash fiction stories.

"Name your nightmare, Michael Arnzen delivers... 100 Jolts is a substantial library of horror fiction in one book." -- Bruce Holland Rogers

"Arnzen could probably find a way to scare us with punctuation." -- Horror World

Trade paperback ($12.95) and free teacher's/reading group guide available at Raw Dog Screaming Press

***
FREAKCIDENTS
http://store.yahoo.com/shocklines/freaksursidb.html

Thirty disturbing -- and perversely hilarious -- poems of mutancy by Michael Arnzen, the Bram Stoker Award-Winning author of Grave Markings, generously illustrated with the bizarre imaginings of GAK.

"Michael A. Arnzen, award winning poet and fiction writer, can always be counted on to approach the grotesque and the visceral with wit and, often, compassion. Freakcidents is smart, nasty, and very well-written -- horror poetry doesn’t get much better than this!” -- Tim Pratt, Star*Line

Signed Trade Paperback $9.95 | Lettered Hardcover $50.
Available now from Shocklines Press http://www.shocklines.com

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"It is only too true that a lot of artists are mentally ill -- it's a life which, to put it mildly, makes one an outsider. I'm all right when I completely immerse myself in work, but I'll always remain half crazy."
-- Vincent van Gogh
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Handy Job Hunter for Writers 8 (Nov 2004)

2004-11-01T12:00:00Z

HANDY JOB HUNTER FOR WRITERS
ISSUE #8 (November 2004)
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Compiled by Michael Arnzen, Ph.D.
http://www.gorelets.com

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Proofing Your Galleys Like a Pro
by Michael Arnzen

Any writer worth their salt already knows how to proofread. It's a necessary step in the self-editing process before submitting a manuscript. And anyone who neglects to proofread only increases their chance of being rejected on superficial grounds. Most writers are smart enough to know that they shouldn't expect a publisher's copyeditors to do all the "scut" work for them and they know that if a work makes its way to print full of typos, they really only have themselves to blame. The reader will likely blame the author, anyway, so who wouldn't want to check a piece for errors before it went to press?

But the way galleys (or "proofs") are handled by publishers has changed over the years, particularly given the increased reliance on the internet to exchange documents via e-mail. And new writers who have yet to publish a book may find the process strangely unfamiliar once they're mailed a set of proof sheets to correct. Having just copyedited the final galleys for my next dark suspense novel, Play Dead [ http://www.rawdogscreaming.com ], I found myself reflecting on the process of proofreading and I thought I'd share some anecdotal experiences and advice for writers who are either new to the process, or interested in picking up strategies for excelling at it. Lord knows I'm not perfect at proofreading -- indeed, I suspect this newsletter will have typos here and there that I missed -- but since such topics are rarely covered by popular "how-to" books in the writing industry, I thought it would make for a worthwhile discussion. Moreover, the galley correction stage is an oppo
rtunity to make a good impression on your editor, and if you work quickly and professionally, it will help cultivate your relationship and make them all the more likely to want to work with you again on your next project.

The urgency required in getting things done quickly yet proficiently is the first hurdle a writer has to deal with when correcting galleys, especially if they are for a whole book. Back in the early 1990s, when I was first getting started, I recall receiving an early printing of my first novel's layout by FedEx. I was thrilled to hold a preview of my novel, Grave Markings, in my hands -- to seem my dream of being a published novelist move one step closer to reality. But I was also a little daunted by the finality of it all and the unfamiliarity of the process. I knew that this might be my only chance to catch errors, and I also had to resist the urge to rewrite the book. I worried whether I could really proofread the whole thing -- almost four hundred typeset pages -- since I only had one week to hand-correct it -- and this was during a time when I was travelling to a convention. I was nervous about the irrevocability of it all -- and the contractual obligation to pay for any
changes I made if they comprised 10% or more of the text was somewhat frightening. The level of attention to detail this task required, under the pressure of a short deadline and the impetus to resist major changes made me a little weak in the wrist as I held my red pen. I recall chatting about this anxiety with another Dell author at the con, a much more experienced writer who I admired greatly -- Dennis Etchison -- who looked me in the eye and put it simply: "Oh, it's no sweat. You can do it. Hell, you can do it in a day if you have to. And someday you might have to." That stuck with me. Not just because it boosted my self-esteem to hear that a writer I respected believed in me. It was the way he said it. As if this is simply something that writers do. And he was right: if you can get a book to the galley stage, then you're probably already something of an expert in editing.

Marking up the galleys themselves really isn't difficult. You'll be tempted to use a pencil, but I recommend committing with a pen. Pencil marks fade and erased penciling always make the typesetter wonder if you really intended the correction or not. If the manuscript or galleys arrive with a first round of editorial corrections already scrawled on the page, choose a different ink color than the editor's (and note on the cover page some indication of which color is yours (e.g., "blue=Arnzen")). When you hand-edit a printed galley, be consistent in the way you write them on the page. Write horizontally rather than vertically. Make changes in the margins, rather than shoving text in between the lines; use a carat (^) beneath the line where insertions are to be made. Remember that it's easier to delete text than to add it. Deletions will rarely incur typesetting charges. Additions could push you over that 10% maximum. If you need to add a passage, type it out and add a pointer t
o the extra page where it should be inserted. Usually these additional pages are numbered by adding a letter to the page number of insertion.

If you're working with the increasingly popular "electronic galleys" -- typically an Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file, sent via e-mail -- you will be tempted to read on screen and type out your corrections in a separate document. I recommend that you print out the electronic galleys and make hand corrections, then type out the changes to e-mail back to your publisher. While this is a little burdensome (and you have to pick up the printing cost), you'll be able to proof on the run and you will probably catch more errors on the printed page than you would if you were scrolling around on a computer. You can "bookmark" places when you take a break. You'll also have a fixed, permanent record for your archives (more on that later). When you type out your changes, give every change a brief heading, or reference slug. I mention always page number and paragraph number (assuming that the text at the top of any given page "counts" as a paragraph, even if it is only the latter half of one). Som
etimes -- and always with poetry or other non-standard formats -- if I want to be very specific I will refer to the number of lines down the page or up from the bottom of the page where I want a change to be made. With a book, I might also include the chapter title/number. It is a good idea to contrast what is given against what you want to appear (e.g., "pg. 10, para 3, line 11: "over-the top" should read "over-the-top"). Chances are good that your publisher will run a "find and replace" in their editing software, and you want to be clear about what they should be "finding" and accurate about not only what changes are to be made, but where they are located.

When scanning page proofs, you often can't make any major changes, but you should be on the look-out for more than just a misplaced hyphen here or a stray comma there. Look for any potential stumbling block that might throw a reader off. Sometimes commas can replace dashes; sometimes ellipses can simply end with a period; sometimes a simple sentence added to a paragraph can clarify a vague idea. Put on your editor's hat, and read it like you were Joe Schmo on the street. Read slowly. The mistakes will pop out at you. If you're having trouble concentrating at the sentence-level -- getting swept up, no doubt, in the awesome flow of your prose -- then try reading the manuscript backwards, sentence by sentence. You'll learn a lot about how much one idea hangs on the peg of another one in the piece, and this might frustrate you, but it will also keep you focused on editing one sentence at a time.

If you encounter a questionable area, and you're not quite sure whether you should commit to a change or not, flag it with a sticky note, and keep reading. Give yourself permission to go read through it a second time and to rethink the hazy areas later. You can also always call the editor, or consult with a friend, or simply put a question for the copyeditor on a sticky note (or in your typed list of corrections, if doing this electronically), and they can decide about the final correction themselves. You probably won't get a "final final copy" of page proofs, but if you're ahead of schedule, or making an index as a separate document, it can't hurt to request one.

Proofing isn't just a matter of correcting text. Sometimes book designers, copyeditors, and those who layout text either make incorrect assumptions about what the writer intended, or else they don't think about the intentions at all. I recall hearing Ramsey Campbell once talk about how a copyeditor "Americanized" his British style to the point where the text didn't make sense, and the corrections he had to make to fix it were massive (beyond the limits of his contract). Sometimes a story or chapter can be placed on the page in a way that detracts from the story's impact, too. I've seen or heard of mistakes like chapter subheadings appearing on the bottom of a page, poems being centered to look pretty when they were originally left margin-flushed, and inconsistent use of chapter break marks. My colleague at Seton Hill University, YA writer Lee McClain, reports that her latest "Alt.lives" novel galleys had several paragraphs repeated verbatim, back-to-back, as though the typese
tter had accidentally pasted a block of text twice. Her typesetter also incorrectly assumed that Down Syndrome was supposed to read "Down's syndrome" and since one of McClain's major characters suffered from this condition, she had to painstakingly scan for every single change to switch it back.

It will save you headaches (and time) if you master the language and conventional approach of copyeditors. Not just superficially -- you should really study their work. When you first receive galleys, ask your publisher if they provide a house style guide, and if so, follow it like a bible. If they don't provide guidelines for copyediting, you should be able to find basic help in any of the major writer's reference books. But don't settle for hasty overviews. The Chicago Manual of Style has an excellent discussion of proofreader's marks (educator Mark Zobel provides an abridged summary online [ http://www.markzobel.com/home/student/guide/proof.htm ]. The proofreading section of the CMS is well worth a read for the insight it gives into the publisher's side of the equation, since many editors are trained to follow it. If you don't have access to the Chicago Manual of Style, some publishers keep copyediting guidelines online (a quick Google search turns up a good one at Northea
stern University -- [ http://www.neu.edu/styleguide/ ] and there are plenty of writer's reference sites online (for example, JustWriteNow.com offers a free handout of copyediting and proofreading symbols in Adobe .pdf format -- [ http://justwritenow.com/downloads/JWedit_symbols.pdf ]). It helps, too, to see them put into action: look for an example of a copyedited page in writer's reference books (or ask a published author for an actual sample, if you're friends with one) so you can see how they're applied in a real world example. You might not have aspirations to become a copyeditor, but that doesn't mean you can't know their trade, particularly by hunting down instructional books, like the very insightful guide, The Fine Art of Copyediting by Elsie Myers Stainton (Columbia University Press, 1991), or Karen Judd's Copyediting: A Practical Guide (Crisp Publications, 2001).

You should put the most commonly used copyeditor's shorthand into practice in all your manuscript editing so that the style becomes second nature, regardless of whether you're doing it for an actual publisher or not. Use it for your own proofreading and put it into practice when critiquing manuscripts for workshops and colleagues. It'll ultimately save you time, since it's a code. It's much easier to write a number sign (#) than it is to write out the phrase "insert space here."

Save your corrected galleys in a personal archive. Make a photocopy for yourself if your publisher wants you to send the hand-corrected version back to them. Sometimes things get lost in the mail or during transmittal in the publisher's own house (it's rare, but this actually happened to me with the second corrected version of my manuscript at Dell -- they lost it in the copy room (yikes!) but luckily I had my own "backup" photocopy to resend to them. This saved me a LOT of stressful work and kept the printing on schedule). Keeping an archive of your galleys on hand -- whether electronic or hard copy -- gives you something of an "advanced review copy" you could provide reviewers or potential blurb providers in the future. Long term, hardcopy archives are important because you might reprint the manuscript with another publisher some day in the future, and it will be helpful to have those last minute corrections you made available to type back into the manuscript. (I had to do
this with the Tenth Anniversary Edition of my novel, Grave Markings [ http://www.deliriumbooks.com ], earlier this year -- the galleys saved me the trouble of comparing my computer files against the published pages of the book). Be sure to date the galleys before you stow them away, and go ahead and sign them: they're potentially collectable materials you might later sell on eBay or pass down to your heirs. That might sound awfully egotistical, but it's important to think about your literary property as a legacy of sorts. Although it's rare, I have personally been contacted by quite a few fans and collectors over the years who were looking to acquire hard-to-find documents I'd created -- "anything with my handwriting on it," in their words -- and old, autographed galleys fit the bill.

******************************************************
UPDATE:
Those who are collecting these newsletters take note: the web archive includes a slightly expanded version of last month's article, "Branding Burns." You can always access the complete archives in case you missed any back issues or if you deleted an issue that you want to return to. The archive is available here:
http://gorelets.com/cgi-bin/mojo/mojo.cgi?f=list&l=writerjobs

******************************************************
THE HANDY JOB HUNTER FOR WRITERS

key
± = new/revised entry
SF/F/H = Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror
UK = England-centered
$ = requires fee or subscription
Likely Dead = website non-responsive

>>GOOD OVERVIEW TO GET STARTED<<
Writer's Guide to Finding Jobs Online
http://www.sunoasis.com/tutorial.html

>>JOB OUTLOOK FOR US WRITERS<<
Bureau of Labor Statistics on Writers/Editors
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos089.htm

>>CAREERS IN WRITING<<
WRC's Glossary of Writing Careers
http://www.poewar.com/articles/careerlist.htm

******************************************************
>>JOURNALIST-ORIENTED<<

Power Reporting
http://powerreporting.com/category/Journalism_shoptalk/Jobs

Journalism Jobs
http://www.journalismjobs.com/

Job Link for Journalists (Newslink.org)
http://newslink.org/joblink/

Detroit Free Press Jobbank
http://www.freep.com/jobspage/

J-Net
http://www.journalism.berkeley.edu/jobs/

Journalism Net
http://www.journalismnet.com/jobs/

Media Bistro
http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings/

New York Times Media Jobs
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/jobs/jobs_media/index.html

Society for Technical Communication ($)
http://www.stc.org/

Sun-Oasis Job Bank
http://www.sunoasis.com/

Nat'l Diversity Newspaper Job Bank
http://www.newsjobs.com/

JournalismNext for Persons of Color
http://www.journalismnext.com

NewsJobs
http://www.newsjobs.net/usa/default.asp

Nat'l Assoc of Broadcasting Career Center
http://www.nab.org/bcc/

Publishing News (UK)
http://www.publishingnews.co.uk/pn/pnc/index.asp

American Copyeditors Society Job Bank
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ACESjobs/

Non Profit Times Jobs Bank
http://nptjobs.nptimes.com/search.cfm

Just Tech Writer Jobs
http://www.justtechwriterjobs.com/JSSearchJobs.asp

American Society of Business Publications Editors Job Bank
http://www.asbpe.org/jobs/joblist.htm

TV Jobs
http://www.tvjobs.com/jbcenter.htm

Editor and Publisher Career Center
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/classifieds/index.jsp

Write Link Job Board (UK)
http://www.writelink.co.uk/Jobs/jobs.html

Paying Writer Jobs
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PayingWriterJobs/

Association of Alternative Newsweeklies
http://aan.org/gbase/Aan/helpWanted

Jobs for Writers
http://www.klariti.com/jobs/index.shtml

The Media Network (UK)
http://www.tmn.co.uk/vacancies.asp

± Investigative Reporters and Editors Job Postings
http://www.ire.org/jobs/look.html

± JOURNet Listserv Archives
http://eb.journ.latech.edu/jobs.html

******************************************************
>>CREATIVE WRITING-ORIENTED<<

The Write Jobs
http://www.writejobs.com/jobs/

WriterFind Jobs
http://www.writerfind.com/freelance_jobs/

About.com's Job Listings
http://freelancewrite.about.com/cs/assignmentboards/index.htm

Preditors & Editors
http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/pubjob.htm

Telecommuting Jobs for Writers
http://www.tjobs.com/new/writers.shtml

Writer's Resource Center
http://www.poewar.com/jobs/

± Society for Scholarly Publishing
http://sspnet.org/i4a/classifieds/?pageid=3276

Creative Hotlist
http://www.creativehotlist.com/index.asp

Sharp Writer
http://www.sharpwriter.com/jobmarket.htm

Burryman's Freelance Opportunities
http://www.burryman.com/freelance.html

Work for Writers Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WorkForWriters/

Support for Writers Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/supportforwriters/

Craig's List - Community Classifieds for the City
(check New York for publishing house needs)
http://www.craigslist.org/about/cities.html

Writer's Weekly
http://www.writersweekly.com/markets_and_jobs.php

Publisher's Weekly Job List ($)
http://publishersweekly.reviewsnews.com/index.asp?layout=classifiedsJobsPub&category=Publishing+Jobs&publication=publishersweekly

Publisher's Marketplace Jobs
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/jobs/

WriteMovies Job Board
http://www.writemovies.com/jobs/

Absolute Write Water Cooler
http://pub43.ezboard.com/fabsolutewritefrm29

Artist Resource
http://www.artistresource.org/jobs.htm#Writers

Creative Writer Listing at Jobs.com
http://creative.writer.jobs.monster.com/

WritingClasses.com Classifieds
http://www.writingclasses.com/writersnetwork/classifieds/index.html

± The Writer Gazette Job Listings
http://www.writergazette.com/jobf4m.shtml

± Pif Magazine's Writers' Only
http://pifmagazine.com/writers_only/

± AuthorLink
http://authorlink.monster.com/

******************************************************
>>GENERIC JOB-HUNTING<<

Monster.com (aka Jobs.com)
http://www.monster.com

HotJobs (@ yahoo.com)
http://www.hotjobs.com/

Career Builder (aka Headhunter.net)
http://www.careerpath.com/

JobHunt.org
http://www.job-hunt.org/general.shtml

Job Hunt Resources by Academic Major
http://www.uww.edu/stdrsces/career/jobsearc/d12.htm

Job Star
http://www.jobstar.org/

Dice
http://www.dice.com

4Jobs
http://4jobs.com/

JobPilot: European Job Market
http://www.jobpilot.co.uk

Job Hunter's Bible resources
http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/jobs/regions.shtml

******************************************************
>>GUIDELINES & MARKET LISTINGS<<

Writer's Write Paying Markets
http://www.writerswrite.com/paying/

Poets & Writers Classifieds
http://www.pw.org/mag/classifieds.htm

Writer's Weekly Updates
http://www.writersweekly.com/markets/markets.html

Writer's Digest Guidelines
http://www.writersdigest.com/guidelines.asp

Worldwide Freelance Writers
http://www.worldwidefreelance.com/

Art Deadlines List ($)
http://artdeadlineslist.com/subscribe

± Mary Wolf's Guide to E-Book Publishers
http://www.maryzwolf.com/epub.html

Piers Anthony's Survey of Electronic Publishers
http://www.hipiers.com/publishing.html

Gila Queen ($ -- delayed)
http://www.gilaqueen.us

Ralan's Extravaganza (SF/F/H & Humor)
http://www.ralan.com

Write Market (SF/F/H)
http://www.writemarket.com/

The Market List (SF/F/H)
http://www.marketlist.com

Fleming's List of Markets (SF/F/H)
http://home.att.net/~p.fleming/Sfmarket.html

Speculations Rumor Mill (SF/F/H)
http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/

Hellnotes (H/$)
http://www.hellnotes.com

Horror Scripts (H)
http://www.tcnj.edu/%7Eberes/horror.htm

FlashFictionFlash (very short stories)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FlashFictionFlash

Funds for Writers
http://www.fundsforwriters.com

Places for Writers
http://www.placesforwriters.com/archives/cat_calls.html

± StoryPilot (fmrly. Engen's SF&F Market Engine) (SF/F/H)
http://storypilot.com/

Dark Markets (H)
http://www.darkmarkets.com/

Spicy Green Iguana (SF/F/H)
http://www.spicygreeniguana.com/index.asp

SpecFicWorld's Market Listings (SF/F/H) ($)
http://www.specficworld.com/sfme.html

Tucows News Directory
http://www.newsdirectory.com/

± The Eternal Night Chronicle (SF/F/H)
http://www.eternalnight.co.uk/chronicle/c34/markets.html

Likely Dead:
Writing for Dollars
Writer's Resource

******************************************************
>>WRITING TEACHER ORIENTED<<

Chronicle of Higher Education
http://chronicle.com/jobs/

Academic Position Network
http://www.apnjobs.com/

Association of Writing Programs
http://www.awpwriter.org/careers/careerlinks.htm

Adjunct Nation
http://www.adjunctnation.com/jobs/

Internat'l Teacher Recruitment
http://www.teachers.eu.com/

Academic360
http://www.academic360.com/

Agent K-12 (Education Week)
http://www.agentk-12.org/

******************************************************
>>FREELANCING FOR HIRE<<

Elance -- Auction Your Services
http://www.elance.com/c/static/main/displayhtml.pl?file=eol.html&module=home&;;

Freelance Work Exchange
http://www.freelanceworkexchange.com/

Guru.com (fmr. e-moonlighter)
http://www.guru.com/

± Recommended Reading:
"Your Worth as a Freelancer" by George Sheldon
http://www.fwointl.com/artman/publish/article_72.shtml

******************************************************
>>ACADEMIC PUBLISHING CALLS<<

UPenn's Calls for Papers
http://www.english.upenn.edu/CFP/

E-Server's Calls for Papers
http://eserver.org/calls/

Tech Comm Calls for Papers
http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Academic/Calls-For-Papers

Custom Conference Alerts
http://conferencealerts.com/

Papers Invited
http://www.papersinvited.com/

APA Online
http://www.apa.udel.edu/apa/opportunities/conferences/

******************************************************
>>INTERNSHIPS<<

Internships.com
http://www.internships.com

College Central
http://www.collegecentral.com

Internship Programs
http://www.internshipprograms.com

Get That Gig
http://www.getthatgig.com/media/index.html

Envision
http://www.e-magnify.com/envision/

BackDoor Jobs -- Adventuring
http://www.backdoorjobs.com/

± Journalism Internships
http://www.journalismjobs.com/Search_Results_Internship.cfm

± The Mighty Internship Review
http://www2.daily.umn.edu/~mckinney/indexwof.html

******************************************************
Compiled by Michael A. Arnzen, Ph.D.
http://www.gorelets.com

Look into the low residency Master's Degree program
in Writing Popular Fiction @ Seton Hill University:
http://fiction.setonhill.edu/

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE UPDATES
roughly every three months:
http://gorelets.com/cgi-bin/mojo/mojo.cgi

Like the Bizarre?
Subscribe to The Goreletter -- Winner of the 2003 Bram Stoker Award!
http://www.gorelets.com

******************************************************
>>MICHAEL ARNZEN'S LATEST<<

100 JOLTS: Shockingly Short Stories
http://store.yahoo.net/shocklines/100jobymiaar.html
http://www.rawdogscreaming.com

A collection of one hundred flash fictions designed
to horrify, disturb and stun by the award-winning author
of Grave Markings. High voltage fiction!

"Name your nightmare, Michael Arnzen delivers... 100 Jolts is a substantial
library of horror fiction in one book." -- Bruce Holland Rogers

"Michael Arnzen's writing is a tremendous amount of fun to read, and horror
enthusiasts everywhere should pick up a copy of 100 Jolts....This book is
great if you only have a few minutes to read during the morning commute or
if you have an hour to read every story in succession. I'm sure if you're
like me you'll be groaning in disgust, looking over your shoulder in fear,
and smiling with enjoyment all at the same time." -- SpecFicMe

"Arnzen could probably find a way to scare us with punctuation." -- Horror World

Available now for just $12.95!
Raw Dog Screaming Press | April 2004.
Cover Art by Matt Sesow
ISBN 0-9745031-2-6 | 156 pp. trade paperback

Available at your favorite online bookstore.

***
FREAKCIDENTS
http://store.yahoo.com/shocklines/freaksursidb2.html

Thirty disturbing -- and perversely hilarious -- poems of mutancy by award-winning writer Michael Arnzen, generously illustrated with the bizarre imaginings of underground artist, GAK.

"The human scab, the boy with a face full of eyes, the self-eating man -- proof again that Arnzen's outrageous imagination is mainlining our culture's nightsweats to engender a beautiful aesthetics of monstrosity. These poems are maniacally energized, transgressively funny, and perpetually haunted by the saddest awareness of all: freaks are us, only inside out." -- Lance Olsen, author of Hideous Beauties

"Mike Arnzen's Freakcidents is a wickedly gleeful kaleidoscope of hideous horrors. And yet amidst all this colorful carnage, one will find a heart -- beating with sympathy, even affection, for the bizarre characters that make up this amazing poetry collection." -- Mark McLaughlin, author of Once Upon a Slime

"I imagine that if the British poet Ted Hughes had written the Garbage Pail Kids those cards might have read very much like Michael Arnzen's Freakcidents. These poems are cruel and sad at the same time. These figures appall us the way those kids in school appalled us: if we possssed a modicum of decency at that age (always debatable), we didn't know whether to laugh at them or cry for them. They wore their scars on their sleeves. They saved us from being embarrassed by our own wounds." -- Steve Rasnic Tem, author of The Man in the Ceiling

Coming this December from from Shocklines Press in remarqued hardcover ($50) and signed trade paperback ($9.95). Preorder now at Shocklines.com!

******************************************************
>>YOUR NEW COUPON FOR SUBSCRIBING<<

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WordToys is available in a very generous shareware version that includes all the basics. But the professional upgrade includes many significant enhancements that every writer should have on their machine and I know that if you give this program a try, you'll be upgrading as soon as possible. As a kind gift, programmer Romke Soldaat is offering all Handy Job Hunter subscribers a 25% discount off the pro upgrade price of $20! Use this private link to register the software and when the form asks for a promotional code, enter TOYS-UN2I to claim your $5 off:

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Be sure to review the program requirements and test drive the "free" version first; the software only works with more recent versions of Microsoft Word for Windows.
http://www.wordtoys.com

******************************************************

"We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out."
-- Ray Bradbury

******************************************************

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