Le maudit Mo D.

careersy

I've decided to go back to publishing. As long as I don't have to live in NYC, I really want to do this. Here are the roads back that I could take:

1) FELLOWSHIP. Our local university press offers a fellowship to alums who want to work in publishing, mainly scholarly publishing.

PROS: In town, learning-on-the-job, will be able to form meaningful professional relationships on the job. At the end of the year, they send you out into the world with a good recommendation.
CONS: You are expected to go out and find a publishing career at the end of this. Meaning, if they don't hire you and the thought of working for HRW makes you panic (I had a horrible interview there once in which I was treated like an idiot and ganged up on by my interviewers), you're expected to relocate. I'm totally down with moving somewhere new, but hubby isn't. As much as I want this fellowship, I am afraid it will cause either a rift in my marriage or a rift between me and the nice editorial peeps who could have given my fellowship to someone else.

2) HOLD STEVE TO HIS PROMISE. When I departed the Dictionary, my boss, Steve, told me that I could have my job back anytime I wanted. Now that the economy's in the dumps, I don't imagine that he can be held to this. The Dictionary doesn't exactly bleed money, so when the economy hurts, the Dictionary doesn't hire.
PROS: Familiarity, I suspect I'd like this job way better at 32 than I did at 22, I love the Pioneer Valley. Major nerd cred. Nice people.
CONS: Really low pay. Bob doesn't want to move. A certain short bald man probably wouldn't be too happy to see me.
BONUS FOR BOB: It's up the street from gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson!

3) PUBLISHING COURSE (Denver or Columbia)
PROS: Four-week summer camp! Connections.
CONS: Costs thousands of dollars. They might have a problem with my "No NYC" rule. I already have experience, so why bother?

4) RESUME BLITZ. I've applied for pretty much every job at the university press that's come open in the last two years. I was one of the last two finalists at one point, but they hired the other candidate.
PROS: An honest way to get a job.
CONS: A lot of these jobs are word-of-mouth, you have to have an in type things.

I guess the main problem is that Bob doesn't want to move. I'm not too psyched about packing up our house or saying goodbye to my Austin pals, but at this point in life, I'm also not interested in being one of those "must stay in Austin at all costs" folks.

If Bob were ready to make with the U-Haul, I'd definitely go with Option #1 and barring that, I'd think long and hard about Option #2.

Hmmm...

Posted by Zerd at March 16, 2008 05:24 PM