Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Couple questions about career "experience"

This is topic Couple questions about career "experience" in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by TheoPhileo (Member # 1914) on :

At my job (in the publications office at a private athletic/social club), I currently edit (and code) a weekly e-mail newsletter. We also do a monthly magazine for the members, though I don't work on that; I may have the opportunity to write an article or two for the magazine, sans pay and on my own time.

A couple questions: Does editing experience bear any weight when submitting transcripts for publication? If so it worth mentioning and how do you do it tactfully?
Secondly, does writing an article (non-paying) for a very little-known magazine count for much? Is that worth mentioning?

I'm actually not all that interested in writing an article of this sort, but will ask for it if I think it will be helpful in getting published later in a venue that I do care about. Thoughts?

Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :

There are people here who can answer better than I, but I'd like to offer my 2 cents anyway.

I think the benefit is in the doing rather than in the advertising. That is, do it anyway for the inherent value of the experience, but don't depend on it to sell your writing.

Posted by Elan (Member # 2442) on :

I agree - I edited a newsletter for 2-1/2 years and wrote a good number of the articles for it to boot. It gave me confidence that my stuff was good enough to print, and it was heady when I got feedback from readers who said they loved it. Newsletters are a lot of work, but they are nice padding in your resume.

Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :

My understanding is that the editing experience should be something of a factor for articles in your field of non-fiction. Writing articles for a publication you edit is not. If you write them, you probably want to use a pseudonym.

Posted by TheoPhileo (Member # 1914) on :

What about writing for a publication that I don't edit, but is edited in the same office where I work? hehe

Posted by NewsBys (Member # 1950) on :

I'm in the same boat. I worked for a small, private medical journal for 4 years. I started as an Editorial Assistant and worked my way up to Interim Managing Editor. I also wrote articles. I just don't know if I should mention it in query letter or not.

Maybe KDW can help answer this. She edits a newsletter for the SF&F Workshop.

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

Did someone say KDW? (I feel like bursting into the Mighty Mouse song--"Here I am to save the day!" Yeah, I know, weird.)

It is best to only include in a cover letter (or query) credits that relate closely to the material you are submitting.

If you're submitting an article on nanotechnology and you have been a research specialist in that field, then, of course you would include that information. You would also include it if you were submitting a story about nanotechnology. You wouldn't include any information about having edited a scientific journal, though.

As close in some ways as editing and writing are, they really involve different skills and a great editor is not necessarily going to be a great writer (as well as vice versa).

I'd recommend only including information about editing experience if they ask you to send a short bio.

As for the second question, if publication in a nonpaying and little-known magazine is the only credit you have, I would recommend including it only if it is a niche publication that relates closely to the subject of your article or story. (If you're sending an article or story on nanotechnology to ANALOG and you've had an article published in the JOURNAL OF AMERICAN NANOTECHNOLOGISTS, a publication only known to and read by a few people in the English speaking world, you could include that credit.)

Most nonpaying publications are not taken seriously by paying publications, so such a credit will not help you much. If they're also very little-known, that's another strike against them. Only include credits that will help the editor decide that you are worth paying attention to.