New writer

July 11, 2009

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We’re pleased to announce the addition of Jonna Wibelius to the staff of The Soap Boxers.  Jonna will write a monthly column that shares her thoughts of a US or world event from the perspective of an internation observer.  Jonna does not profess to be an expert on world affairs, and this is one of the reasons we wanted her to fill this role.  She will give the viewpoint of how an average citizen in another country may view an event.

Jonna is originally from Sweden,  but has also lived in England, Australia, Finland, and China.  Her current long-term base of operations is in China, but she is in Finland this summer.  Jonna details her adventures in China (and, now, in Finland) in her blog SHEinChina.

The Soap Boxers published a review of SheInChina back in May.

Catch Jonna’s columns beginning in August.

More writers!

July 7, 2009

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In addition to the changes announced last weekend, we’ve added a couple more writers to the staff.

  • James Bathgate will be writing a monthly column on technology.
  • Gabe Tyndal will be writing a monthly column on science and nature.

We’re still looking to round out the staff. We’re looking for these roles:

  • A weekly entertainment writer – to write about new movies, books, video games, leisure activities.
  • A weekly writer who writes about issues from a woman’s perspective. The role is fairly flexible at this point. Currently, every writer we have is male, and we are looking for something that will bring a fresh viewpoint.
  • A monthly writer who will give an opinion of US and world events from an international point of view. We are looking for someone who is a native of a country in Europe, Asia, Africa, or Australia. We are NOT looking for a US citizen living abroad. If English is not your primary language, do not allow this to become an obstacle – we can work with you to edit your article.

We are pursuing specific people for each of these roles, but do not currently have firm commitments.

If you’re interested, send an email to kosmo@observingcasually.com. Note that you would not be paid for your work, but there would be future profit sharing, if and when profits occurs. More details via email.

OK, so what the heck are we doing with all the changes?

The goal of The Soap Boxers is to be a source for a variety of different topics. news, sports, science, technology, politics, entertainment, international viewpoints, fiction and more. We style ourselves after a magazine such as The New Yorker or Reader’s Digest or a newspaper such as USA Today. Flip through our pages and you’ll see a wide variety of interesting articles – not just articles one particular topic.  We eventually reached a point where one or two writers couldn’t cover the variety of topics we wanted to cover.

For those of you who have been loyal readers – we thank you for your support. These changes are designed to bring new content that is more rich and diverse that it has been in the past. We hope you enjoy the new topics and the new writers!

The schedule may change a bit, but this is the current schedule:

  • Monday: News
  • Tuesday: Sports
  • Wednesday: Monthly columns (politics, technology, science/nature, world view)
  • Thursday: People, places, history
  • Friday: Fiction Friday
  • Saturday: Flex topic
  • Sunday: Canada

Editorial Shakeup and Writing Opportunities

July 3, 2009

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Note: there will be no new articles on Saturday or Sunday.  We will resume our regular schedule on Monday.  Scroll down to see the Fiction Friday story “Check, Mate” from earlier today.

In an effort to continually improve the product that we bring to you, we don’t let the grass grow under our feet.    We have several staff changes to announce, and hope to announce more in the coming days.  My long term goal for the magazine is to develop something that gives readers the variety of articles that the see in The New Yorker

Staff changes

  • Entertainment Editor Bob Inferapels, has been waylaid by “life” and has notified us that he will not be able to contribute on a weekly basis.  We are, however, keeping him on board as a contributor.  We hope to see more of his articles in the future, and perhaps a return to a larger role at some point.
  • To bring non-U.S. viewpoint to The Soap Boxers, we are pleased to announce a Canadian presence on the staff.  Tyson Turner will write a weekly column on Sundays.  His primary focus will be the issues, events, and places that are prominent in the lives of Canadians.
  • Peter Rabbit will become a contributor on a monthly basis.  Peter will focus on politics and international issues.

What are we looking for?

We are still looking to add some writers to our team.  We are looking to fill several gaps in our coverage.  Could you be the right candidate?

  • All of the current staff writers and contributors are male.  We would like to include a female writer on the staff, in order  to bring a different perspective.  Essentially, I’m looking for a softer, feminine edge to the blog one day a week.  If you are interested in this role, but don’t want to do an article every week, contact me anyway.  I could set up some sort of rotation if we have multiple people interested.  This is the only weekly spot I am looking for fill.  The other roles would all be once a month, or less often.
  • Since a significant portion of our readers are from outside of the United States,  I would like to include some international contributors to write about one article per month.  In particular, I would like to  like to engage some folks from Africa or Asia.  If English is not your first language, don’t let this discourage you – I can edit your article to remove any awkward spots.
  • Do you have an interesting role within our society?  College student?  Fireman?  Aspiring actress?  I’d love to see some article about your experiences.
  • Are you a senior citizen who would like to tell people about things that happened when you were younger?
  • Are you a poet or a cartoonist?  Perhaps we could feature some of your work.
  • Articles will typically be in the range of 500 – 800 words.  We’re looking for opinions, in addition to facts.  Anyone can go to an encyclopedia for the facts – but only you can give your opinion.
  • Reliability is key.  I understand missing an occasional deadline, but if you miss four deadlines in a row, that can be disruptive to the schedule.

Benefits

Why would you want to want to write for The Soap Boxers?

  • Money – Well, this probably isn’t the right reason.  When profits emerge, I’ll share proportionally, after covering overhead costs (I can discuss this more deeply if you have sincere interest – it’s actually fairly simple).  At this point, we haven’t turned that corner, so don’t make money the reason why you would join the staff.
  • Audience – You would have a built in audience from day 1.  We don’t have a huge audience, but it is steadily growing, and we do have a core group of folks who come back every day.  If you’re thinking about blogging, but don’t want to blog to an open room, this opportunity gives you and audience from the beginning.  If you later decide to launch your own blog, go ahead and jump ship – certainly some of the audience will also read your new blog.  If you decide that blogging isn’t for you, you can step away easily.
  • Easy – You don’t have to know anything at all about blogging.  If you’re familiar with WordPress, I can get you up and have you compose articles on the site.  If you’d prefer to just email me your work, that’s also fine.  All you need to do to do is write.
  • Resume builder – Will writing for us ensure that you get your dream job when you apply?  Of course not – but it’s something interesting to mention during interviews.  There are a lot of skills that come into play, such as meeting deadlines and working with minimal supervision.
  • You get to work alongside a guy who uses lots of bulleted lists.  Talk about a barrel of fun!

What’s next?

  • OK, so you’re interested.  What are the next steps?
  • Send me an email at kosmo@ObservingCasually.com.  Tell me what sort of position you are interest in, describe your qualifications, and include a writing sample (this may be a link to a web page where you have some of your work).
  • I will take a look at your work, compare it to the other submissions I receive, and decide if you are a good fit for a recurring column.  Even if you aren’t selected for a recurring column, I may be able to use your work on an occasional basis.

The process will be relatively painless, I promise.  I’m a very easygoing person, and I’m not going to rake you over the coals.  If I don’t think we’re a good fit, I’ll tell you that and move on.

Thanks for reading!