Day jobs for a publisher

[Michael Hopcroft]

What is the best kind of day job for a publisher/business student to be looking for at this time (given that there is essentially no economy in Oregon, where I have the misfortune of living)?

I have the problem of finding a job that would have to make room for both my academic and travel schedules while still earning me enough money to pay the rent (although I do have a supplemental income, it's not large enough to pay the rent).

I'm job-hunting pretty heavily and could use the advice. What do you guys all do when you're not designing games? What pays the bills?

[Jason L Blair]

I used to do DSL network operations then manuscript editing for a legal publishing house.

I'm starting new work on Monday, though. ;)

[Mike Holmes]

Any IS monitoring job (like Jason's previous one, and mine) is cool. Gives you time to work on things that you like.

Mike

[Le Joueur]

How about freelance editor or writer?  I should think those would help you network and sharpen your skills for pay.  Then there's always help needed at printers (might get a discount or experience).  I should think there are a lot of positions working for other people doing what you want to do for yourself (to learn the ropes from the pros).  Opportunity is where you find it.

Fang Langford

[greyorm]

I'm a freelance "technical consultant" (mostly)...this means I pretty much do anything related to computer needs that a client needs done. Thus far, this has involved: network administration and troubleshooting, website design and maintenance, database development, various types of training, computer repair, business hardware upgrade suggestions, and software customization, etc.

My arts and writing/editing background has also resulted in my creating for-print ads, flyers, brochures and "information" booklets (ie: 32-page advertisements), which has also indirectly led me deep into the seedy and expensive world of running successful on-line advertising campaigns. So I've got solid graphic design and advertising/business experience now, too.

The good thing here (besides the all the experience)?
I work around my own schedule. If I can't work one week or some day because someone fudges up the daycare schedule or we go on vacation, I'm free to do so. As a contractor, you are hired to complete a specific project before a specific time -- unlike an employer-employee relationship, the client does not (actually, can not, for legal reasons -- at least here in MN) set the schedule or tell you how or when to work.

If you're not tech savvy, freelancing in some trade is still the way to go if you want to be able to write your own schedule.

But considering the economy is crap, I have to do other things to pay all my bills: art and illustration, the very occasional game design, an odd job here and there, and babysitting for a neighbor. That and I'm trying to start my own hopefully-more-regularly-paying business in my "spare time."

Most of the self-employed contractors I know are in similar situations. The "main" job, then a few occasional spares on the side. Ultimately, though, you'll have to do something you enjoy, or you'll burn out on everything, even the stuff you enjoy.

[Paul Czege]

How about freelance editor or writer? I should think those would help you network and sharpen your skills for pay.

I was a reference book editor for a number of years. It is quite possibly the worst job I've ever had in terms of negative impact on my personal writing projects. When you spend eight hours a day looking at text, reworking and indexing text, the last thing you can bring yourself to do when you sit down after dinner is write text.

Paul

[geekspeakweekly]

I hope no one at work reads this, but Libraian works out good.  You soend a awful lot of time sitting at the desk waiting for people to ask you questions.  If you can get on as an electronic reference person, you sit and wait for calls to come in.

Teacher aint bad, you would get the summer off for conventions. I am both, a high school librarian.  And there is a prescedent for it.  Elizabeth Danforth and Ken St. Andre (of Tunnels and Trolls fame) are both librarians.

[Darklance]

I'm a college student majoring in Japanese in New Zealand. Is my RPG company career doomed?

[Clay]

Let me recommend against anything to do with computer programming.  It follows me home every night.  My employer is good about not forcing late nights, but after working all day one someone else's project, I wind up having my own programs that I want to write.  I wrote fiction copiously before I became a programmer, and dropped off very quickly as soon as I got my first programming job.  When I left programming for six months or so I wound up picking it up again (and have since dropped it).

[Luke]

Forgive me for taking this in a slightly different direction, but discipline and profession are two different things. No matter what you do for rent, always make sure you keep doing what you love. Sit down every night and design, or draw, or fiddle.  No matter how hard it hurts, do it. To paraphrase Dave Sim, you have to work hard every day to become a successful genius. (And to quote his figures, he "could have made more money babysitting the first five years" he was doing self-publishing. I am sure that goes for most of us.)

That said, take a job that will pay you scads of money for little effort :-). Barring that, take a job where you will learn skills. Copyediting, pre-press, web-design, advertising, freelance writing are all good places to start. And if you don't like it? Quit.

In my own experience, I started working in film production--hated it--and decided to teach myself desktop publishing/design. Stayed 6 hours late nearly every night for a year, both working on my games and learning the dtp programs. (And walked home uphill in the snow backwards, too! ;-) ) Once I had enough experience, I bluffed my way into a low-rung professional pre-press job. After that I kept bluffing into better jobs--trying to balance my work/rent priorities with my self-publishing aspirations. I didn't make as much as I would have if I sold my soul to Wall Street, but I did learn all the skills necessary to self-publish just about anything. Which was exactly what I set out to do. And I've retained my soul, and self-published an rpg.

Didn't mean for that to sound self-congratulatory. Just trying to say that "it" can be done. And anyone can do "it." And trying to give examples of "it."

-Luke

[Michael Hopcroft]

OK, now we know what kind of day job I need -- any kind. It doesn;t matter what I do to pay the rent as long as I hold to my guns and keep publishing. Now, how to get it in a dead economy in a dying state....

I did something really deseprate tonight and placed a classified ad in a local computer magazine. I'm no geek, but I've done tech support before and have studied technical writing. If I can put together an RPG manual, I can certainly help out explaining how to make a complex process simple. I just hope I can convey that in a 25-word ad. Teach me how to do something, and I can teach someone else who knows even less about it than I do -- that's what four months of tech support have taught me.

I'm thinking of placing other "position wanted" ads as well. Not neccesarily for writing, but for other jobs. Since I'm about to start school, I can say "Business student/entrepenuer looking for part-time clerical work -- Has accounting diploma -- Very trainable."

[clehrich]

For a few years, anyway, a lot of folks like me pull it off by being graduate students in the humanities, i.e. PhD students who don't need to spend time in some lab somewhere.  You'd be amazed at how little it takes to get funding for a few years (three or four), which will at least keep you eating and out of debt, if little else.  Besides, your time's generally your own, and you can write write write.

Of course, eventually people start asking you about things like qualifying exams, and if you don't finish relatively early you have to get more funding somewhere, and if you do get a PhD you're pretty much unhirable for the rest of your life.  So unless you want to be an academic (i.e. unless you're a sick maniac like me), you can get along as a grad. student for about 3-4 years, if that helps.  Just be sure not to accept anything that doesn't have enough financial aid.

[Michael Hopcroft]

Well, my travel schedule has dwindled to almost nothing and business school petered out over financial aid. But I did get that day job at long last.

I enter training next tuesday to be a janitor for the Portland Public Schools (through a subscontractor). I find this highly ironic, as the first RPG publisher I ever worked for 9and one of my best friends to boot) was head custodian at a Portland school while he was running his game business and lost his job last summer to contractors -- contractors like me. (The guy is teaching now, so I've been told not to feel too guilty about taking his old job. besides, I won't start out heading all the custodians at a school!).

The only problem with this job is that the usual work hours are expected to be from 2:00pm to about 10:30pm every weekday, which is pretty much prime-time for the Internet. I'm compensating by moving my chats and other stuff to the weekends and switching over to e-mail and PMs for a lot of my buisiness stuff.

It's not just a job; it's $7.20 an hour to start after four weeks basic training 9which starts Tuesday!).

[Dav]

I do mainly new business developmental consulting and I trade in the weather pits here in Chi-town.

I like both because they take up either all of my time, or none of my time, and never anything in between.  With the trading, I'm finished by 3, and with consulting, it is always short-term gigs.

And whoever said: always do what you love... I wouldn't listen.  Do what pays the bills for a living, keep what you love as a hobby, or it'll burn you out.

Dav

[Chris Passeno]

And whoever said: always do what you love... I wouldn't listen.  Do what pays the bills for a living, keep what you love as a hobby, or it'll burn you out.

I couldn't agree more..

I'm suprised that no one has suggested this before.  How about getting a job as a Printer.  You learn a valuable skill for a publisher, someone else pays for you to do it, and you really can't beat the knowledge and discounts.

Later,
Chris