Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Yes, The New Yorker

Jared Gottlieb, one of my talented Johns Hopkins students, passed along this Twitter trail of what it’s like to write non-fiction for The New Yorker…not all peaches and cream, apparently, at least not according to journalist Dan Baum.

Here’s an excerpt from the beginning:

First, a little about the job of New Yorker staff writer. “Staff writer” is a bit of a misnomer, as you’re not an employee,

But rather a contractor. So there’s no health insurance, no 401K, and most of all, no guarantee of a job beyond one year.

My gig was a straight dollars-for-words arrangement: 30,000 words a year for $90,000. And the contract was year-to-

Year….