Timewaster's Guide Archive

For HarperCollins, yes, I knew an editor at one of their imprints because we were guest editors together last summer at BYU Writing for Young Readers. I asked her who in HR I should address my email to and then mentioned her name. At Tor, well, I'm not sure if it's because I mentioned my former boss's name (who is friends with the person I emailed, but I'd also met her at shows before too) or because I worked for one of their rivals and she knows the kind of quality stuff we put out. Then she sent me down to the MacMillan HR dept, where she'd already sent my resume to. I know editors at almost every major house because I've been going to editorial retreats, making sure to have lunches with editor bloggers when I went to conventions, and in general just trying to network with other editors as much as possible.

Now, this is harder outside of the children's book world--people in the adult industry, honestly, aren't as nice, I've found--but yes, you talk to every editor you meet at cons, you go to lunch and compare notes, you ask to pick their brains on work issues ("did you ever run into an author who....?" kind of stuff, no specifics of course), you ask them how they got started. A blog helps, too--I've met many editors in the virtual world who are now real-life friends.

And yes, from my experience, the only way you get an interview, even with my experience, is by knowing someone in the house. I applied for four or five other jobs and asked for several more interviews before I went to NYC (mentioning "I'll be in town next week," etc.) and never heard back from those houses, including one I was sure I'd hear from because I know one of their high-profile authors well.

Stacer, how many jobs have you applied for? Do you...have some magical way to get an interview at companies that haven't asked you for an interview? >_>

I haven't applied for many jobs because my freelancing + severance has kept me afloat so far (though this month it's been tougher). I went to NYC last week and just networked, networked, networked. Over the last few years while I was at Mirrorstone I've made a lot of NYC editor friends and I've been able to contact them and ask them about openings, and they've been really helpful to get me on freelance lists, too.

But making a trip to NYC really made the difference. I applied for a bunch of jobs at various houses and never got a response, but when I planned the trip I got three interviews at houses that weren't even currently hiring. Now, that doesn't mean I'll get a job, but it does mean that when openings come up they'll know who I am and have personal contact with me.

As it is, I think I'll have enough freelancing to get me through the next month or so, and if not I will go to the local temp agencies and apply at B&N for holiday help. I have a friend here who thinks she can get me in for a temp day job, too. Just to get me by until the right opening comes up.

I was laid off from Wizards back in August and I'm freelancing for now while I look for a full-time position. I posted about it on both norroway.livejournal.com (personal and mostly friends-locked, but I think JK you're friended on there) and more professionally on slwhitman.livejournal.com.

Thanks for the fun night, Nessa! I had a great time.

I love this show. I actually think the characters are pretty well-depicted, though I do think that the episodic nature of the show can sometimes undermine large-arc character growth. I'm just so fascinated by the motion-capture form of animation--it really works for this setting because it's set in a science fiction world. And the worldbuilding is really first-rate--the kind of original SF idea I'm always looking for.

Hey, let me know if this works, because I'd start playing over on Nath more often again. I'd like a clear night to play, too, so that it's not so hit-and-miss whether anyone would be on.

I didn't read a word because I'm waiting for it to come out on BBC America or SciFi (whichever comes first--I think it's BBC America), and it'll be starting sometime in the next few weeks. Lalala I can't hear you!

It's unclear what exactly you're looking for. An acquisitions editor? It's much different than a copy editor. A little more information would be good so we know exactly what it is you mean.

If you mean that you want to interview an editor working in publishing, then PM me.