I always thought the hard part of the NYT’s crossword puzzle was on my end. Never doing one in ink, and simply forgoing Sunday’s as it was more mental heft than I could muster. But now I read what makes for an even harder part of the puzzle—and feel the pay increase is warranted for the those who create it.
The New York Times crossword puzzle is giving its constructors a raise next year. Puzzle editor Will Shortz announced that the rates for a weekday puzzle would increase from $300 to $500, and for a Sunday (which are bigger) from $1,000 to $1,500. Constructors earn even more once they’ve published 10 puzzles in the paper — $750 and $2,250, respectively.
If you think the job is easy and it would be no problem to get a puzzle accepted by the paper, well, think again.
The competition is fierce. We get 10 or more submissions for every one that we accept.
CAFFEINATED POLITICS 