Posts by author: Joe Wallace

A lot of people create elaborate resume sites to beef up their Google clout–after all, you never know who might be searching for an editor/writer and good Google results for your site could help you out in all sorts of unexpected ways. But Google can’t find you easily if you don’t make your site Google-friendly. Here are some tricks that can help:

1. Google loves sites that are deep and have plenty of content. If your site is light on the content side, try adding a professional-sounding-but-personable blog. You can update once or twice a week and see how it goes–just make sure to take the advice of the next step into consideration when writing it.

2. Use keywords the same way you would when writing or editing SEO content. Don’t skimp on the phrases that you want Google to associate with your resume page, but don’t stuff them in at every turn, either.

3. Name your images with Google-friendly file names. “Picture 1A.jpg” isn’t going to help you out much. “Freelance Editor at work.jpg” might be more helpful. Know what I mean?

4. In addition to posting your resume, work samples, and related material, try posting a page about your experiences. An about me-type page that’s tucked away somewhere on the site for the REALLY curious adds more keywords to your resume page and also gives a bit of insight into who you are, your work ethic and experience. Just don’t turn it into a commercial for yourself. Keep it personable and fun to read.

5. Get other sites to link to you–especially any professional organizations you belong to or other groups. The more incoming links to your resume page from legit sources, the better.

Hey editors, what does your online portfolio look like? Do you include before and after examples of your editing work? Why not take a page from Stephen King’s playbook and show what somebody else’s work looks like after you’ve gotten done with it?

In King’s book, On Writing, he throws in a few pages from his story 1408, showing the before and after from his own work–but you can do the same using one of your actual clients (with their permission, of course). Naturally if you can’t get permission you’ll have to edit one of your own first drafts, but this is a GREAT way of showing off your editorial chops.

It’s even better if you can also show a .jpg of a page you’ve marked up with editing symbols and such as an extra gimmick. Nobody edits much that way any more, but it’s a good visual and very effective when positioned properly.

Writers post writing samples, why not post editing samples? Something to consider next time you revamp your resume page.

Yes, EditorWriter.org had a brief hiatus there for a time due to, you guessed it, deadlines. We had to go down for a bit but we are back now. Look for more of your favorite resources and such coming to this space and thanks much for your patience!

In the meantime, here is a list of links we’ve been enjoying lately-there’s a bit of nepotism here with a couple of inclusions (friend blogs) but we found some interesting things to ruminate over here:

FreelanceWriterVille

The Writing Journey

A different (but valuable) perspective on the editing game–APhotoEditor.com

Find An Editor has promise but we’re not sure how current this is…

a 2007 article on hiring editors at Folio.com

It’s time for another round of hand picked editor writer jobs. If you know of any openings you’d like to share here, please drop us a comment and let us know!

Sumner Communications needs an editor with two years of experience updating websites and blogs for its business-to-business trade magazine operation. This is a full-time, onsite position  located in Bethel, Connecticut.

JournalismJobs.com lists an editor opening at MandateWire.com, which was purchased by Financial Times. MandateWire needs an editor who can manage its editorial resarch team.

Warner Brothers Games Inc. still needs a writer for its gaming community. You’ll be writing material for wiki entries, Twitter, Facebook and Myspace as well as guest blog posts and more. For some reason they want someone with a degree to do all this instead of a 14 year -old kid, but hey, it’s Time-Warner.

Does this one sound familiar? It does to us. Lawrence Berkeley Labs needs a public affairs writer/editor for a temporary assignment for about 900 hours of work in a one year period. There are multiple openings, so if you’re reading this late, apply anyway.

“Dear Editor: What’s the difference between an editor and an editor/writer? I see editor job ads that require writing, and get some that don’t list anything but managing and editing.”

Answering this question is tricky; there’s no standard job description for an editor beyond “someone who edits.” In my career, I’ve been an editor and a manager, I’ve done pure editing–as in, nothing else BUT edit. But that little slice of fun didn’t last long. I was soon pulled into many other duties.

In a bad economy, everybody’s expected to do more than they used to in any job, editors included. Chances are you’ll be called on to write, manage, even act in some kind of payroll capacity when it comes to making sure your writers get their due for the hard work.

That said, beware any job description that claims to make you an editor but takes you outside the pale of typical editor writer duties. There are some truly clueless people out there advertising job openings for editors and writers. They really want someone to edit their newsletter, but they also want that person to answer the phone. Um, NO. These people really want something ELSE, but they advertise for an editor or editor/writer because they don’t really understand the business.

On the other hand, don’t mistake some duties as being outside your responsibilities– things like attending trade shows or doing some kinds of promotional work for the company are often typical for certain types of editors. You might have to schmooze a bit at a convention on the company’s behalf or get involved in recruiting new talent. Be ready for these in case you are called upon to do so–chances are you’ll get wind of this sort of thing during an interview if the hiring manager is on the ball.

Short answer? Yes, as an editor you may also become a manager, a part-time PR person, part of your own writing staff and even payroll fixer-upper when the situation requires. It’s all in the game.

Any book that encourages writers to think more like editors is a good bet–this one gets strong reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal. Thinking Like Your Editor could make the difference for a new writer trying to land that first book proposal. This one’s not for magazine or blog writer/editors, it’s aimed squarely at the book writer.

So what’s this doing on EditorWriter? It’s our belief that any book explaining the editorial mindset is a valuable resource for people who want to make the leap from writer to editor or editor/writer. There’s a lot of initial self doubt that can come with your first journey towards editing someone else; it’s good to have a few references to help you understand what your colleagues in the industry are thinking when they get to work on other people’s writing.

And this book makes a good gift from a kindly editor to a new book writer…a gentle nudge in the right direction is never a bad thing.

Today’s round of editor/writer jobs are hand-picked and not copied/pasted from Craigslist. We hunt for editor jobs the same way you do–manual searches for the latest openings. If you’re looking for an editor job, you should consider this site as part of your list of resources rather than the be-all, end-all source–it’s surprising how many people use only one or two resources when hunting for editing and writing gigs. Why limit yourself?

Journalism Jobs lists an opening for an editor who can cover legal issues for America, Canada, and Central America for Thompson Reuters. You need at least seven years with a major news organization, but a degree is not a requirement if you have the right work experience.

URS needs an editor/writer who can handle PR and marketing issues, but this gig is unusual in that there’s a requirement that you have five years experience in the National Flood Insurance program. If that’s you, have a look at the other requirements and job description listed at URS and submit your resume online.

Spa Magazine has announced an editor position–this is a Senior Editor job that requires trade show attendance as well as the usual duties. Three to five years of experience are preferred.

Meredith seeks a Senior Deputy Editor for handling lifestyle, fashion and money topics. You need ten years of magazine and/or online editing experience.

by Joe Wallace

Here’s another round of hand-picked editor jobs. I don’t weed out the full time gigs from the part time or freelance editor writer jobs–I figure in this economy there are plenty of people on the fence about which way to go. As always, none of this is copy/pasted from Craigslist, scraped or otherwise auto-retrieved. I pick these out from my personal searches and post them. No software, no bots, no nothing–just me and the keyboard.

The American Association of University Women is still looking for a freelance editor/writer to work on several online and print projects. They prefer a degree, knowledge of AP style and the ability to juggle deadlines, yada yada yada. Send your cover letter, resume, clips to editor@aauw.org and be ready to complete a writing and editing test.

The Live Free Or Die Alliance needs someone to manage and edit its website or, um, die.  This is a nonprofit dot org but the ad states there’s a “competitive compensation package” available for the right editor. Not sure if that’s competitive for a non-profit or competitive rates for an editing job in general, but it could be worth checking out if you’re into the sentiment–and who isn’t, really? Live free indeed!

ScienceCareerSite.com advertises jobs in, surprise, science. There’s a temp position for a technical editor/writer listed there, but you may have to create an account to learn the full details. This opening is for Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory and while the requirements are fairly broad, you should have expertise in at least one “area of specialization” as the ad says.

Here’s a hot one if you’re all about the politics, but can manage to be non-partisan when the need arises. The Senate Select Committee on Ethics wants a non-partisan editor writer to revise the Senate ethics manual! You need a master’s in English for this one, but lawyers are also good candidates, according to the ad on LawJobs.com. Fax your resume to (202) 224-7416 or you can send everything via email to mailbox_office@ethics.senate.gov.

by Joe Wallace

Time for another round of hand-selected editor jobs. No Craigslist crap here–other sites have that editor writer angle covered so why should we bother duplicating the effort? Instead, what you get here is all HAND SELECTED editor jobs for a range of experience and expertise levels.

AOL Living needs a senior editor who can write for a female audience. This gig requires a well-connected person who has contacts in PR and with freelance writers who can make things happen. Beginners in the editing part of the editor writer equation are probably not the best candidates for this gig, but if you have a good track record you may yet get a foot in the door.

Crate and Barrel are looking for an editor to handle their catalog. This one requires a journalism degree according to the ad, but don’t let that stop you from applying if you don’t have one but DO have the right kind of experience.

CBS Interactive seeks a managing editor for BNET. You need five years experience as a story editor for a mainstream business website or newsstand publication.

More editing gigs coming soon…thanks for checking.

by Joe Wallace

I’ve been in the field since the last update, but rest assured, updates are indeed coming-including a brand new round of editor jobs. Thanks much for your patience!