If a job you’re applying to requires a college degree, it probably also requires the ability to write well. If 8th grade geometry taught me anything, the transitive property of equality would dictate that graduating college also requires the ability to write well, but plenty of people graduate from college without knowing much about geometry either.
Basically, in the kind of job that most of us are paying a lot of money to be able to get, good writing will be expected of you. Though, the reason you probably won’t get fired for not being a great writer is that there’s kind of a nationwide dearth of people who can write well. (I’m writing this post kind of hurriedly as someone who has either disappointed himself/his profs in or dropped out of every writing class he’s taken at Calvin and who is struggling to figure out what he’s doing post-graduation. The irony is not lost on me, thanks.) It’s not like there are long lines of writers waiting to take people’s jobs, but if there are, I’m going to go stand in one. The fact is that many employers will tolerate mediocre writing because it’s just really hard to write well, and not that many people can do it. Not that many employers can do it.
So if you are a good writer, and good writers are pretty much universally needed, finding a job should be really easy, right? Click here. (Maybe there’s a job for me at BuzzFeed.) For one thing, a lot of people can write, or at least try to very frequently and loudly all over the internet, and that is going to get you noticed sooner than being good at it will. The other problem is that most companies don’t have a “writer” position available, even if they desperately need one. Even if you do manage to set yourself apart as a good writer, even if you are able to be the baby sand tiger shark that eats all of its peers in utero, it’s not like there’s a salary waiting for you. This is not to say that you can’t make money writing, but if that’s what you want to do, it will probably either be a lot of freelancing, not full-time, or grouped with a lot of other tasks like managing social media and cleaning out a coffee pot.
In short, you’re probably not going to get hired as a “writer.” But don’t let that discourage you; it doesn’t mean you’re not needed. It just means you’re not appreciated.
I came to the staff two years ago from a background in writing, not in design or illustration or photography. On most days, writing is the only thing I’m good for. On other days, it is unfathomably impossible. Like, I can’t even get my head around how terrible I am at it. Since I’m the editor-in-chief, it’s a good thing that I at least have experience. I need to email people, write editor’s notes, evaluate the writing in the magazine, copy-edit it, and figure out how everything fits together. There are plenty of things to do that require a writing mind, and obviously it’s a good idea to have writing-minded people working on a publication.
Unfortunately, unless you’re me, there’s just not a whole lot of writing-related things to do. It’s most efficient if I communicate directly with the people we need to contact, and ultimately, the curation and quality control of the journal is my responsibility. I wouldn’t trust someone who doesn’t write well to be the editor-in-chief, but not every writer who joins the staff can be. Unless/until they are, a lot of their talents are unfortunately going to have to wait. This is what happens when you only work with other people’s content. Obviously, it’s good to be able to evaluate the quality and fit of the writing submissions we get, but that’s why we have jurors (I would encourage all writers interested in joining the staff to apply there too. And if you really want to have your writing read, submit). The more visually-minded people on staff, though they are also dealing with other people’s work, have more obvious tasks and get to exercise more creativity: They get to design posters and lay out pages and make little doodles to hang on our office door.
But as valuable as visual people are, we can’t make a magazine without writers either. I don’t know exactly what those writers are supposed to do—I scream that question at God and maybe a few other deities at least once a week, but we hire them anyway because we believe that there’s a purpose for them. Sometimes, they have to discover that purpose for themselves. Rachel House, for example, came up with the idea to start a blog where we could have more of a forum for discussion about who we are and about the arts, and here we are. Sometimes, it just means hanging out, helping with little things, and being someone who cares about the arts. That’s important too, but I feel bad relegating staff members to that.
I’m telling you this not to discourage you but because I know how hard it is to be a writer. I just want to be honest with you that it’s not necessarily easier on the Dialogue staff. But we recognize that, and we care, and we want you to participate. And we want you be able to contribute, but we might not have a way for you to do that unless you come make one for yourself. The beautiful, frustrating thing about being a writer is that a lot of your creativity and perseverance has to go into finding an outlet for the rest of it. If you’re good, you’ll be amazed at what you might be able to do. And it will never be easy, but that kind of energy is exactly what the arts at Calvin need.
Basically, in the kind of job that most of us are paying a lot of money to be able to get, good writing will be expected of you. Though, the reason you probably won’t get fired for not being a great writer is that there’s kind of a nationwide dearth of people who can write well. (I’m writing this post kind of hurriedly as someone who has either disappointed himself/his profs in or dropped out of every writing class he’s taken at Calvin and who is struggling to figure out what he’s doing post-graduation. The irony is not lost on me, thanks.) It’s not like there are long lines of writers waiting to take people’s jobs, but if there are, I’m going to go stand in one. The fact is that many employers will tolerate mediocre writing because it’s just really hard to write well, and not that many people can do it. Not that many employers can do it.
So if you are a good writer, and good writers are pretty much universally needed, finding a job should be really easy, right? Click here. (Maybe there’s a job for me at BuzzFeed.) For one thing, a lot of people can write, or at least try to very frequently and loudly all over the internet, and that is going to get you noticed sooner than being good at it will. The other problem is that most companies don’t have a “writer” position available, even if they desperately need one. Even if you do manage to set yourself apart as a good writer, even if you are able to be the baby sand tiger shark that eats all of its peers in utero, it’s not like there’s a salary waiting for you. This is not to say that you can’t make money writing, but if that’s what you want to do, it will probably either be a lot of freelancing, not full-time, or grouped with a lot of other tasks like managing social media and cleaning out a coffee pot.
In short, you’re probably not going to get hired as a “writer.” But don’t let that discourage you; it doesn’t mean you’re not needed. It just means you’re not appreciated.
I came to the staff two years ago from a background in writing, not in design or illustration or photography. On most days, writing is the only thing I’m good for. On other days, it is unfathomably impossible. Like, I can’t even get my head around how terrible I am at it. Since I’m the editor-in-chief, it’s a good thing that I at least have experience. I need to email people, write editor’s notes, evaluate the writing in the magazine, copy-edit it, and figure out how everything fits together. There are plenty of things to do that require a writing mind, and obviously it’s a good idea to have writing-minded people working on a publication.
Unfortunately, unless you’re me, there’s just not a whole lot of writing-related things to do. It’s most efficient if I communicate directly with the people we need to contact, and ultimately, the curation and quality control of the journal is my responsibility. I wouldn’t trust someone who doesn’t write well to be the editor-in-chief, but not every writer who joins the staff can be. Unless/until they are, a lot of their talents are unfortunately going to have to wait. This is what happens when you only work with other people’s content. Obviously, it’s good to be able to evaluate the quality and fit of the writing submissions we get, but that’s why we have jurors (I would encourage all writers interested in joining the staff to apply there too. And if you really want to have your writing read, submit). The more visually-minded people on staff, though they are also dealing with other people’s work, have more obvious tasks and get to exercise more creativity: They get to design posters and lay out pages and make little doodles to hang on our office door.
But as valuable as visual people are, we can’t make a magazine without writers either. I don’t know exactly what those writers are supposed to do—I scream that question at God and maybe a few other deities at least once a week, but we hire them anyway because we believe that there’s a purpose for them. Sometimes, they have to discover that purpose for themselves. Rachel House, for example, came up with the idea to start a blog where we could have more of a forum for discussion about who we are and about the arts, and here we are. Sometimes, it just means hanging out, helping with little things, and being someone who cares about the arts. That’s important too, but I feel bad relegating staff members to that.
I’m telling you this not to discourage you but because I know how hard it is to be a writer. I just want to be honest with you that it’s not necessarily easier on the Dialogue staff. But we recognize that, and we care, and we want you to participate. And we want you be able to contribute, but we might not have a way for you to do that unless you come make one for yourself. The beautiful, frustrating thing about being a writer is that a lot of your creativity and perseverance has to go into finding an outlet for the rest of it. If you’re good, you’ll be amazed at what you might be able to do. And it will never be easy, but that kind of energy is exactly what the arts at Calvin need.
Jeffrey Peterson
Editor-in-Chief