Writer’s Block Magazine is looking for fresh, enthusiastic and creative editorial board members! Do you like writing and editing? Do you have any journalistic aspirations? Then join the Writer’s Block editorial board!
What/who is Writer’s Block?
Writer’s Block Magazine is a student-run magazine at University of Amsterdam. We have an international readership and contributors from across the globe. In our magazine, which is released every 3-4 months, we publish articles, essays, reviews, interviews, short stories, poetry, photography, and artwork. Even though the magazine is published in English, we also encourage students from outside the English department to join our board, so it doesn’t matter if you study astrophysics, law, pedagogy, history, or play the clarinet in the national orchestra—everyone is welcome at Writer’s Block.
Why should you join the Writer’s Block board? What do we offer?
Joining our editorial board gives you the opportunity to improve your own reading, writing, editing, and organizational skills greatly. You will not only be doing editorial work for the magazine but you also get the chance to use your creativity in writing monthly website articles. Joining Writer’s Block is also a nice addition to your CV, since it shows experience in writing and editing in English for a media platform, as well as experience in the management of a small student organization. More importantly, you will be working with a close-knit team of fun and creative people.
What are your tasks at Writer’s Block?
Apart from the role-specific tasks (see below for descriptions), your general tasks as a board member are to attend weekly meetings, write a monthly website article (of around 750-2000 words), and to provide the magazine submissions with feedback, edits, and suggestions.
As for the meetings, we have a two-hour meeting every week. Of course, we take everyone’s work and study schedule into account when planning the meeting, and during busy periods (like exam weeks or deadlines) there will be room for you to focus on your studies. Apart from the meetings, you are expected to write a website article every month which can be on any topic, as long as it is non-fiction. You will receive feedback from your fellow board members and, in turn, give feedback on their work as well. Lastly, as a general member of the editorial board your task is also to give good, useful, and constructive feedback on magazine submissions. Overall, your tasks at WB will take up 4-6 hours per week.
How and where do you apply?
If you are interested in joining the 2020-2021 editorial board, send in your application together with your CV, a motivation letter, and (optionally) a piece of written work of no more than 800 words[1] to info@writersblockmagazine.com. You can submit a general application or you can have a look at the list below to see if a specific function in the editorial board has your name written all over it. The deadline for the applications is Monday June 1st at midnight. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
For more information, please check out our social media:
Facebook: @wbthemag
Instagram: @wb_magazine
Twitter: @wb_magazine
Secretary
Are your notes flawless? Do you always answer your emails within 1 or 2 business days? Are your emails eloquent and well-structured? Do you like having an overview of things?
A secretary plays a crucial role in any organization. In Writer’s Block you will be the right hand of the Editors-in-Chief, supporting them by keeping a clear overview on what is happening in the board as well as outside the board. Practically this means that your job is to keep track of the email and make sure that nothing remains unanswered. You will manage most of the email by yourself and keep the Editors-in-Chief informed about our contacts. Additionally, you will be responsible for taking the minutes during our meetings.
May be suitable for those who
- Are precise, alert, and an attentive
- Like to have a clear overview
- Can be active and assertive in supporting the Editors-in-Chief
Treasurer
Do you tend to spend your money wisely? Can you keep a financial overview? Do you enjoy keeping things nice and organized?
As a treasurer you will be in charge of the financial side of Writer’s Block. Your job is to keep a financial overview of Writer’s Block’s incomes (from donations, UvA subsidies, earnings from advertisements) and expenses (from magazine printing, promotional material, events) throughout the year. You will be responsible for our subsidy application in October and February, and together with the Editors-in-Chief you will attend the Alpha meetings which take place about four times a year. You will be working closely with the treasurer of Etcetera (the study association of English at the UvA).
May be suitable for those who
- Are precise and are good at keeping a (financial) overview
- Are good with numbers (though we don’t require a mathematical genius)
- Are orderly.
Final Editors (2 positions)
Is your writing always flawless? Do you have an eye for grammatical mistakes and spelling errors?
The final editors are responsible for making sure that the pieces in our magazines are absolutely flawless. Together with your fellow final editor you will be correcting the grammatical errors and spelling mistakes which may have been overlooked in the general editing rounds, making sure that the magazine is absolutely perfect before it is sent to the printer.
May be suitable for those who
- Have a sharp and critical eye for bad grammar and typos
- Are fluent in the English language
- Have a strong grasp of spelling and punctuation
Website Manager
Are you familiar with WordPress, or are you willing to master this easy-to-learn web blog software? Can you easily spot spelling mistakes and grammatical errors?
As the term suggests, the website editor maintains our website. This means that your task is to post our magazines and the monthly articles of the editorial board on our website. Simultaneously, you will also play the role of the final editor of our website articles, making sure that our web posts don’t contain any grammatical errors and spelling mistakes.
May be suitable for those who
- Have experience with WordPress, or are willing to learn to work with WordPress (which is super easy!)
- Can correct texts from spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.
Promotion/Social Media Manager
Are you a social media butterfly? Can you make 20 hashtags out of two-word sentences? Do you have ideas on how we can turn Writer’s Block into a trending topic?
Being on the promotion side of Writer’s Block, you will be in charge of our social media accounts. Your main goal is to generate likes, views, shares, retweets, etc., anything basically to make Writer’s Block known to the world. At the moment we work with Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook but if you have more ideas on how to get Writer’s Block ‘out there’ we would love to hear them from you!
May be suitable for those who
- Are frequent users of social media
- Are creative, original, and innovative
- Have ideas on how to further promote Writer’s Block on social media.
Graphic Designer
Do you enjoy thinking about what makes a stand-out visual? Do you like working with programs like Photoshop and Indesign, or would you like to learn? Do you think you can help the team set a vision for that Writer’s Block “look”?
As our graphics designer, you get to be in charge not only of designing posters and other visual material for Writer’s Block, which we like to keep updated at least once a year, but you will also have a lot of freedom in making the lay-out of the actual magazine. This is a large responsibility, but one that comes with a lot of satisfaction when you have the final product in hand.
May be suitable for those who
- Know how to work with Indesign and similar programs, or are willing to learn (not all that hard!)
- Are creative and original
- Have a feeling for visuals
[1] Sending in an example of written work is not compulsory but it can play a decisive role in our decision-making process. We’d also just like to read your work!
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