Editor Needed: Under 70 Need Not Apply
Marc Paulsen is looking for an editor. One catch: You have to be 70 or older. And work for free.
Paulsen, a Clackamas resident, posted an ad to Craigslist earlier this month titled: “Editor needed...over 70 yrs. old (NOT an EMPLOYEE).”
In it, he says that he is a 79-year-old “geezer” who needs help editing autobiographical stories ranging from 2,500 to 7,000 words.
The person he’s looking for “shall be (along with possessing intimate knowledge and understanding of correct composition, grammar and punctuation) financially secure and bored enough with retirement to undertake the work with no expectations of pay (this...because of discrimination rules...you older codgers will understand)...and will do the work for the joy of participation and personal achievement,” the ad reads.
The job offer gained a post from national media watcher Jim Romenesko on Monday.
When emailed for comment, Paulsen writes that he’s received many negative responses to his query, despite asking that job seekers “spare me your castigating comments! It is a waste of your time and mine.”
Paulsen says that he is a dropout after one year of high school, but has gone on to publish four books in five editions, including “The Amazing Story of the Medjool Date.”
Today’s teens with only a freshman year education can not string together a complete sentence, he writes, adding “(Of course, to do so...they would have to quit fiddling around with their snazzy little cellphone and look me in the eye).”
His 83-year-old former journalism major sister used to handle his editing, he says, until he found that he couldn’t shoulder her with the task any longer.
As to why his new editor must be over 70, his sardonic response was: “My preference? Are older people better editors? Uhhhh....like, yeah, you know...like, the old geezers, you know...uhhh....sorta, you know...had teachers who mustof learned, like, you inow...uhhh...more about talking...uhhhh, you know! I mean...English!”
For those who apply, he notes in his Craigslist post that “It is preferable that the editor live reasonably near (hopefully within ten minutes or less driving time) the intersection of highways Interstate Highway 205 and Oregon Highway 224.”
