Comments From a Publisher
September 22, 2006 by Anne Wayman
Filed under Jobs
I was talking with one of the publisher’s who sends me job postings from time-to-time. He told me that of the resumes he receives when he needs a writer, only about a quarter to a third are actually qualified. Which actually isn’t too bad, and close to my experience as an editor of magazines and newspapers.
But that means a whole lot of folks out there think they are qualified to write and they are not. No way to prove it but I’d bet at least half of those aren’t truly serious about writing. That is, they think it looks easy so apply for awhile then, hopefully, give up and do something else.
The other half is more serious but haven’t yet paid their dues by writing and writing and writing. Half of these may continue and actually make some progress, but only one or two will persist long enough to truly succeed.
Which doesn’t mean you have to be super qualified for every single writing job you apply for – but you should know something about the topic and be able to demonstrate that either through clips or through your dynamite response to the posting.
Write well and often,
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Interesting article, Anne. What truly *does* constitute a writer? I mean it’s not like there are any certification exams you can take that permit you to tack the title “Writer” after your name. Early in my career, I often doubted my capabilites. Then I was praised often enough that I concluded I must have at least *some* talent. Occassionally I still wonder, although those moments are fewer and far between as the years go by. I make a good living putting words on a pages, so I *guess* I’m a writer. But, who am I to say? LOL