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What will jobs and career paths look like for those working in the writing, editing and publishing world in the not-too-distant future? The Los Angeles Times has given us a clear-eyed look at one likely version of that future in a front-page article from March 6, titled “It’s Web 101 for This Experienced Intern.”

The story of a Lois Draegin, a former highly-paid magazine editor for TV Guide who lost her job in the spring of 2008, the article provides a unique glimpse into the ways editorial work is changing in the 21st century.

Gone are the former staples of story meetings at which editors debated only amongst themselves which stories to include in the magazine. These days, research using services like Google Trends — which provides insights into what users are searching for and thus, which stories are likely to capture the attention of Web surfers — fill up an increasing amount of every editor’s day.

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In reading a piece in the business section of today’s Sunday New York Times by Caitlin Kelly, a well-known New York freelance writer and journalist whose writing I admire, I came across her website and found that she’s put together a set of 27 essays on writing, the business of being a journalist and a freelancer, and just working and staying sane within the world of journalism.

My advice: read every single one of these essays, whether you’re an aspiring journalist or writer, or someone in mid-career. In these economic times we’re living through, pay special attention to “When The Going Gets Tough,” “Running a Home-Based Business” and “Getting Fired,” which many of us out there are going through these days, whether we call it getting fired, laid off or downsized.

You can read the whole list when you visit Caitlin Kelly’s website.

My apologies on the light posting as of late, the holidays were a bit busy! But I’ll be back with regular updates very soon. In the meantime, wanted to note that I installed a new theme look and feel for the site, which you can see now. Let me know if it causes any problems.

Though the posts here on JobsForEnglishMajors.com have been light as of late, that is changing as I’m planning a series of articles, features and tips on how recent graduates, mid-career professionals as well as anyone else with an English degree can pursue their dream job. What I plan on providing readers here is a combination of practical, tool- and tip-related items as well as explanations of the different kinds of jobs those with a writing, editing and journalism-related background do — what they’re like every day, the kinds of challenges people in these jobs encounter, and how to successfully seek them out.

In the meantime, here’s a rundown of the kinds of content I’ll be providing on this site, to give you a hint of what’s to come:

Job Categories & Descriptions

Aside from working for a news outlet, an advertising agency or within the corporate communications department of a large company, many people who hold writing-related jobs can’t easily describe what they do. For example, interactive copywriters and Web content strategists — what kinds of writing do they do, what does “content strategy” mean, and how does one find a job like these? We’ll provide articles with in-depth detail on the universe of jobs available to those with English degrees, including:

• Where to look for different categories of jobs
• The skills & experience needed for each
• What employers look for in job candidates for these jobs
• The pitfalls & challenges associated with each day-to-day

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