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Topic: How do you know where you belong?
| Author | Message |
| liagd | Posted – 7/22/2006 10:27:56 PM | show profile How do you know what you're qualified to do? I have an MFA in writing-creative nonfiction from an Ivy league univ. at which I got tons of editing/critiquing/research experience, have experience -- through classes or employment-- in most aspects of publishing from contracts to bookselling, have worked at a reputable literary/academic bookstore for the past 4 1/2 years plus I've been published a few times and am working on my first book, a historical memoir. Now, because I haven't had a paid editorial position I tend to apply for the entry-level editorial/literary asst. positions but I haven't had much luck. I get the feeling they're not considering me b/c perhaps I appear overqualified. In the one recent interview I've had, the editor pretty much told me that I was, but she was still very interested in hiring me. (I turned it down) So should I be applying for slightly higher level postions? I also have a 10 yrs of working for nonprofits and would love to put all my pieces together to work for a literary nonprofit,i.e., poets & writers, clmp, pen american. Any ideas how to market myself to them/how to get in? |
| argh | Posted – 7/24/2006 3:03:46 PM | show profile If you list all this on your resume for an EA job, it probably screams "I am just looking for work in publishing so I can find somebody to publish my book. I will spend all day in my cube working on my novel until I get a book deal, at which time I will quit and leave you high and dry." Which may not be the case at all... but editors and agents generally aren't looking for assistants who are just biding their time in a field related to the primary love -- they want to believe you're going to go on in the biz and that you really buy into the whole "apprenticeship" aspect of it all. I have heard editors warn people to never reveal their interest in becoming authors if they want to work at a publishing house, and I'm inclined to agree it's maybe not the best fit. Publishing books is very different from writing them... Sad to say it, but I think you might want to edit some of the stuff out of your resume if you're really hoping to land an assistant position in book publishing (though I'm not sure you actually are after that so much as feel it's what you ought to aim for...) More vague positions like "publishing coordinator" might give you more chance to demonstrate your talents, but read job descriptions carefully to see if they're just advertising a glamorous title for a straight admin. job or not. You might have better luck with some literary agencies -- I've known some that specifically look for people with MFAs to, ahem, "help" their authors with writing proposals. And they tend to be a little less focused on the linear path to editorship, which would be good for someone like you looking for a more in-between position. As for the nonprofits, I might go with the cold-calling them route if they aren't advertising any open positions at the moment. There aren't that many literary non-profits, so you could really target your pitch to them, I'd think. |
| liagd | Posted – 7/28/2006 10:26:23 AM | show profile thanks for that. Anybody else have ideas? Do I really have to remove stuff from my res? |
| midwestwriter | Posted – 7/28/2006 1:34:20 PM | show profile I think the more focused a resume is the better. You don't want to assault people with how awesome you are. Rather, focus your resume and cover letter to meet the specific need they are looking for. I always tweak my resume to better match a job description. IE) generalize on a job that wasn't quite related and then use the space to highlight the job that is related. Also, use your cover letter to point out the things in the resume they should be looking at. And what you learned from the jobs that weren't quite related that will make you successful and the job you are looking for. This is not to encourage you to be misleading, but you can generalize a little more and focus your resume around your experience that will show them you can do the job. No doubt with all your writing skills you can come up with something :) |
| Little Fingers Make Magic Happen | Posted – 7/30/2006 12:04:02 PM | show profile | email poster another tack... You could also try scheduling some informal interviews, either with HR departments at prospective employers or with editors. If you tell them you're interested in working in publishing and that you'd like to take them out to lunch (the editors, not HR--HR will often meet you in their offices, since it's their job), you'll likely get a good response. This way, you can bring a copy of your resume and talk freely about your interests. Maybe someone will have more advice for you about where you fit in. There are tons of jobs in a large publishing house...maybe an EA position isn't right for you, but another one is. In fact, there are editors on Media Bistro. Maybe you could start a new thread looking for people willing to meet with you. I've made some good contacts here. |
| overthehillwriter | Posted – 7/31/2006 2:17:49 AM | show profile | email poster Definitely tailor your resume to suit the job. If you go in with a bombardment of talent and potential, employers may worry that they can't possibly have something that will keep your interest etc. I had a great interview for editor of a regional trade pub go seriously south when it came out that I'd had a book published (unrelated topic of the job, of course) and that I do plan to do more book writing! Unfortunately, authoring a book may be one of those things that although it makes you a better editor, ends up looking like a liability. Others don't agree with me on this. I think it depends on the industry as to whether or not it's a liability, perhaps. |
| mailbag | Posted – 7/31/2006 9:43:18 AM | show profile | email poster Not making sense I don?t understand why you would ask the general public what you are qualified to do?and yet you turned down an editorial job offer. |
| liagd | Posted – 8/1/2006 8:31:13 PM | show profile Yeah, mailbag, I thought someone would call me out on that. Actually, it was that interview and opportunity that made me ask the question. The editor I interviewed with really made it clear that they would be honored to have someone who has my experience fill an ED position. So it made me think maybe I'm selling myself short, thus I turned down the position to go for something I reallywant that would be more fitting w/ my skills. But I still don't know what else besides the EA/Lit asst stuff I might also be qualified to do. |
