Dreamspinner Press

[ritaxis]

So I have a freind who is an experienced editor and caught in the Vast Swirls of Unemployment and Underemployment that afflict the young folks these days. He applies to a lot of jobs.

Dreamspinner has an ad on their website claiming that they're looking for more editors. You take a test and they hire you or don't. My friend took their test. It was a four-page piece of terrible writing. He got back an assessment that said he had missed a whole long list of in-house quirks, and they weren't going to hire him, but they would deign to employ him as an unpaid proofreader. They hire from their unpaid proofreaders, they said.

Unpaid. Proofreaders.

Did I mention that the pay for editors is terrible anyhow?

Comments

[julesjones]

It is, alas, standard in the epub field to pay proof-readers in free copies. This does actually have some value for romance readers who get through vast swathes of books and can rack up a fair amount in staff discount, but it's not really of much value unless you'd be reading the books anyway.

There are also a lot of epubs that pay editors on royalties rather than flat rate. Which is fine if you happen to get one of the rare breakout books that earn serious money, but not so much if you find you're working for a house that thinks selling 50 books in the first year is a runaway success.

Having had a short story in Dreamspinner's most recent anthology, I can say that the editing was good and thorough, so they're obviously managing to get decent editors. But yes, in-house quirks.

Samhain was also looking for editors recently. (I note these when I see them because I know a couple of people who have medical issues making a 9-5 job unrealistic, and find even the paltry pay a useful supplement to their income.)

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tip! Yes, I noticed trhe royalties ones. That just seems absurd.