Kirkus is looking for writers

Kirkus Editorial is seeking remote freelance writers to work on summary-writing projects on an ongoing basis. We’re looking for professional, organized individuals who can work independently to meet deadlines—writers who thrive on exceeding customer expectations.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

We’ve been part of the industry long enough to witness many changes, and we are sensitive to the evolving needs of both writers and readers. With this in mind, Kirkus expanded its coverage of the industry to self-publishing in 2005 and became one of the only industry giants to include independent authors. Almost 15 years later, we are recognized as the most respected curator of self-published content for industry decision makers. While Kirkus innovated new ways to help the authors it discovered market their titles to consumers and industry influencers, we also developed a book editing division that offered independent authors access to our vast network of editors working for the best publishing houses in America.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Reading a full-length text.
• Writing a chapter-by-chapter summary of the entire text. This summary should remain concise and objective and should not include the writer’s interpretation of either the text or the author’s views. These summaries should be between 6 and 8 percent of their book’s word count (therefore, an 80,000-word book would have a summary between 4,800 and 6,400 words).

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING UP

• 2+ years of professional experience writing for print or online media
• Exceptional writing skills
• Ability to meet deadlines while maintaining high-quality standards
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word
• Ability to condense information down to key ideas, written in a direct and objective style

WHAT TO INCLUDE IN SUBMISSION

• Write a short introduction about yourself
• Include a paragraph highlighting your writing experience, relevant credentials and publication credits
• Attach links to your strongest work or portfolio, and online profile.

COMPENSATION

• Kirkus pays $.01/word (based on the word count of the source book) for reading the manuscript and writing the summary (e.g., reading an 80,000-word book and writing the 5,600-word summary would pay $800).

CONTACT

For more information, visit their website.

Email all questions and submissions to rodell@kirkus.com