Being Deadline-Oriented
There's very little to be said here except to caution you that publishing works on deadlines and you will be expected to make your deadlines if you have them. Sometimes deadlines given to manuscript readers are arbitrary; that is, nothing is actually going to happen to the manuscript on January 27, the day that you're supposed to return your work. It may sit on an editor's desk for weeks after that. Nevertheless, people in the publishing industry are serious about deadlines, and you can quickly develop a bad reputation if you habitually fail to return your work on time.
In order to avoid deadline problems, don't bite off more than you can chew, particularly while you're still inexperienced. It's better to be without work for a few days than to have work you can't finish by your deadline. After a while, you'll have a feel for the amount of manuscript reading you can do comfortably in a given period of time.
Freelancers often succumb to the temptation to take all available work because it's there. They worry that if they don't agree to read this book, there won't be another one later. If you don't want to drive yourself crazy and kill yourself with overwork, don't fall into this trap. No matter what, you can't make all the money there is to be made in manuscript reading. Somebody else is going to get some. So you might as well relax and accept a sensible amount of work that permits a sane life-after-reading. (You're probably thinking, "I should have this problem," and in the beginning, you most likely won't. Later on though, especially if you've made a lot of contacts, you may find yourself under pressure to do more reading than you'd like.)
The Resume
Whether or not you have previous job experience in any area, you have certain skills, activities, and life experiences that are valuable assets on a resume. Before you actually write the resume, make lists of your formal training, special skills, community work, hobbies, and other experiences even if they don't initially seem relevant. You might ask a friend or family member to help you with this since others may be better able to see talents you take for granted.
Generalize your personal characteristics where it would be applicable. Are you a meticulous housekeeper? Then it would be reasonable to state on your resume that you are "extremely detail-oriented." Does your age make you nervous about being hired? If you think you're too old, then you have "seasoned judgment." Too young? You will bring a "fresh approach" to your work. Play around with this way of looking at your life and you're sure to come up with suitable qualifications.
When you apply for work in any area related to the written word, it is absolutely mandatory that your resume be neat, well-organized, and free of typographical errors or misspellings. Even if the personnel department receives your job application first, the person who will ultimately make the decision on whether or not to hire you makes her living looking for writing that's done properly. By nature, she usually has a pathological hatred of sloppy pages. For some jobs, a little white-out on the resume might not be noticed, but don't chance it with an eagle-eyed editor.
Don't make your resume too long. Succinct, well-done resumes rarely exceed one page. If yours is longer, pare it down by deleting excess verbiage. Prepare your samples with the same attention to neatness that you gave to the resume. If you're putting the samples in a notebook, it's nice to protect the pages with clear plastic covers. The reviews stay fresh, and the portfolio looks more professional as well. As you acquire actual samples through work that you've done, you can gradually replace the "phony" reports with real ones.
This is a good place to mention the importance of making copies of all your work before you return it to the employer. Many a novice has discovered to her horror that she mailed back that really smashing report on what promises to be a blockbuster book without a thought for its future value as a sample.
You'll have plenty of chances to show the entire portfolio at personal interviews, but you'll also need samples to send through the mail. Pick out three or four of your best reviews and have some high-quality xeroxes made. Always keep at least one copy of everything-this goes for the resume too-tucked away in a safe place so that you can make fresh xeroxes when your supply runs out.
Cover Letter
When you send your resume and samples to a prospective employer, you should always include a cover letter. Unless you have another contact, address it to the editorial director when soliciting publishers and literary agencies. Try to get the editorial director's name if possible. If the cost of the call isn't prohibitive, this is easily accomplished by calling the company and asking the switchboard for the name.
Never send a xeroxed cover letter or one in which the name and address are filled in. Even if you use a relatively standard format, always type a fresh copy each time you apply for work. Ideally, you should target your letter to the specific employer you're courting.
Let your personality show through in your cover letter.
Useful Publications
Let's review the publications that might be useful to you:
- Publishers Weekly
- Writer's Market
- Literary Marketplace
- The Elements of Style
- Variety
- The Writer
- Writer's Digest
You may be hired to read manuscripts either before or after they are published. There is far more demand for readers of unpublished manuscripts than for those that are already published, so let's talk about those first.
