Literary Agency by Jeff Fischer

One of the least written about careers toward which English majors might naturally gravitate is the literary agent. Though literary agency, or literary representation, is not a subject normally taught in school, literary agents are as much a part of the book business as are writers and publishers. What some English majors who are starting to think seriously about a career path may not know is that literary agents are indispensable in the ever churning mill of the book business.  Literary agents are the brokers between authors and publishers.  Literary agents find emerging writers and help those writers prime their work to a saleable product while at the same time finding saleable authors for commercial publishing companies who rely on agents for this service.

Music Journalism- By Devan Cook

To put it simply: music journalism, or music criticism, is reporting about music.  Critics of popular music will often write album reviews, song reviews, concert reviews and previews, band/artist profiles, music related news, etc. While music journalism is most frequently associated with magazines like Rolling Stone and Spin, music critiques can be found everywhere from local weeklies, television broadcasts (this once included MTV, back when the “M” actually stood for music), websites and blogs, and major newspapers like the New York Times.

Beer Career by Michel Entler

            I know what you are thinking “I love beer so much I wish there was a way to combine my skills as a writer with my love of beer.” Well never fear because there is a lot of options for writers in the world of beer. You have to think of brewing as a business and a big business at that in fact, INBEV (owner of Anheuser-Busch) in 2008 was an 11.6 billion dollar company.  Like any big business they need people who are creative and are able to produce something that can market their product.

Now that I have sold you on the beer industry here are a few options for you: First is marketing, English majors are great when it comes to marketing products. Companies desire someone who can be creative with word play, lettering design, and descriptions of the beer to put on the side of the box. The problem with people who have marketing degrees is that they can provide a brilliant look web site or box design but fail at providing the content needed to keep the interest of the consumer. One great example of that is the “Prost” underneath any Widmer cap. Those catchy phrases are more than likely written by someone who is good at writing.

Copywriting; Every Word Has Its Price by Brittany J. Barron

Recently, we had a guest speaker in class whose “Real job” is copywriting. To be perfectly honest, I have never really considered copywriting as a job. I just assumed that a marketing agency handled any and all advertising elements. How wrong I was. Our speaker introduced us to her career by explaining that she works side by side with corporations, as well as smaller mom and pop companies. She described that she does everything from writing in-house memos for large corporations, to writing those pesky text messages you provider sends you, ordering you to, “Upgrade now for unlimited text messages,” and so on and so forth. Although this part of the speech seemed incredibly unappealing and very much like, “selling out to the man,” it is just one element of her job. Wikipedia defines copywriting as, “The use of words to promote a person, business, opinion, or idea.” This demonstrates the wide range of ways one can utilize their skills in this type of industry. Just like anything else in life, this career is what you make it, and you can gear your business to your capability. Plus, there's money in it!!!!

News Papering-- by N Otis Richerson

Maybe you smoked too many cigarettes when you were in High School You sat around, inside dark rooms with your dork friends watching the sliced onion smoke curl up to the dim fluorescents, talking about how great it must have been back then—all high ideals. Maybe, you like the look of the Fedora; you like the look of the dark trench coats with the belt pulled tight against your sides, with the rain pouring down. Maybe, you’re all grand notions of changing the world through noble questions.

Whether it’s your misguided conceptions of temporary cool or your overwhelming need to know–you crave to write for the daily news. Just how do you go about doing that? In the time of free untrafast Internet news, is it even worth the trouble? What’s the gig? Is there a career in daily news? How do you get into it?

Screenwriting - by Craig Looney

There’s an old legend among filmmakers and film students alike: It’s the first day of class at one of the country’s most prestigious film schools.  Excitement is high.  200 students chatter amongst themselves, telling one another the types of movies they want to make, why Aronofsky is the next Kubrick, and debate as to when Spielberg lost his edge.  The professor walks in, the embodiment of their hopes and dreams and asks, “How many of you want to make a movie?”  Two hundred hands shoot into the air.  “Ok, everyone put your hands down, except you,” he says, pointing at a kid in the front.  “And that’s if you’re lucky.”
          

The world just came to an end for 199 students.


To say screenwriting is a difficult industry to break into, is like saying the sun is hot.  It doesn’t capture the shear enormity of it.  But to say it’s impossible would be incorrect as well, because a new legend is growing.

Book Editing, by Jennifer Anderson

“I suppose some editors are failed writers; but so are most writers.” - TS Eliot

What do doctors, lawyers and editors all have in common?  A well-known stereotype for each profession has leaked into the social consciousness. Doctors, sterile and comforting with a white lab coat; lawyers, stiff and exacting with a business suit; editors, red pen wielding tyrants, armed with cutting remarks. Perhaps unfortunately for us, not every doctor is patient and kind, nor is every lawyer prepared and articulate. With that being said, editors are far from the angry-faced grammarians their reputations suggest. They are largely unseen, and as writer and editor, Jodi Brandon calls them, “the unsung heroes” of the publishing industry. Acquisition, copy and structural editors are the men and women behind-the-scenes working to make sure that books are found and promoted; have continuity and correct grammar and spelling; and the pages, fonts and layout of the book are easy to read. 

Music Journalism- By Justin Hoyt

For musicians, creating a brand for oneself is the most important factor in becoming a recognized and revered artist; the same goes for music writers. However, the art in music writing is a reaction, a gut feeling everyone gets when they listen to a song is put into words and hopefully understood by the reader. In a clogged market for music writers though, being able to define the way one feels about a song or album isn’t enough; you need to be able to define it quickly in an age where new music spreads across the internet at a stellar pace. It’s kind of petty but seems crucial that music writers know about the next big thing before everyone else does. It lends them credibility and in many cases is what defines a music writer’s career, allowing them to ascend in what is an incredibly competitive field. Take for example Seattle Times music writer Andrew Matson and Seattle hip-hop group Shabazz Palaces. Shabazz Palaces (pictured above) was and still is a relatively unknown hip-hop group from Seattle’s Central District. The group has no MySpace page, and were cloaked in mystery for much of their early existence. Matson was one of the first to publicly write about them and has championed the group ever since, even bestowing them the honor of his “Best Album of 2009”. Recently the group was discovered, in part due to some of his Twitter updates, by Larry Fitzmaurice of the mighty online music site Pitchfork. Matson immediately went to work blogging about blogging. A portion of which is below:

Grant Writing: Making a Difference-By Sara Lindsey

A grant writer is an artist, a researcher, a public relations specialist, and a meticulous, detail oriented writer. You’ll be working with various clients to develop a grant proposal to present to an ideal funder, the more conviction you put into it the more likely you will be in receiving the grant. Getting to that point will involve consulting with your clients, determining their needs, and brainstorming project ideas and ways to make those proposals as appealing as possible. Grant Writing can be a very rewarding and fun career, but it certainly isn’t a cake walk; each situation will present a new challenge, whether you’re working with a large company, a university, or a small non-profit organization.

Working Your Skills: What does it take to be a fantastic Grant Writer?

            A grant writer performs a very important role for many charitable institutions and non-profit businesses (such as, animal shelters, community outreach programs and cause related assistantships.) Additionally, they may work with universities, colleges, and community alternative education programs. Due to the lagging economy, grant money has become far more difficult to obtain from private philanthropic foundations, cooperate foundations, and individual donators. On one hand, this makes the grants harder to get a hold of, however, the role of a highly skilled grant writer has become a far more valued profession in the job market.