In keeping with the new purpose of the ol' blog, I'll now explain to you how you, too, can reach the sensible, neo-lofty heights at which I now reside as a reality show lead story producer/lead story editor/whatever they're calling us this week.

As with most other jobs, you start at the bottom. In reality tv, you'll begin as a "logger." Logging isn't the most difficult job to land, because most aspiring film school types aren't beating the doors down to get jobs transcribing or (less painfully) summarizing hundreds or thousands of hours of source material so that the story department can more easily locate juicy moments.

In this position (which usually pays 500 to maybe 750 a week, you'll be a star if you can turn out a good number of tapes every day, show up on time, and use THE SIMPLEST LANGUAGE POSSIBLE when describing the action in your logs.

Pay special attention to that last bit of advice. No one in a log "saunters." They "walk" or "run," because when I'm still working at nine o' clock at night to find a shot the producer insists exists, I probably won't be running word searches on "saunters."

Also, if your spelling's not up to snuff, don't even think of going out for a logging position.

Once you start logging, get friendly with the story department. If you notice trends in action (as in, Participant X is never seen without the remote control in the house), point it out to your head logger or mention it in the breakroom to one of the story folks.

Once you've paid your dues as a logger, you'll likely move into an Assistant Story Editor or Assistant Story Producer position. Here, you'll get some light scenework thrown your way and probably make between $850 and $1200 a week while you help Story Editors or Story Producers review logs for action and possible storylines.

From there, you'll eventually get your break as a Story Editor or Story Producer at $1200 to maybe $1800 a week. You'll be placed in charge of either certain acts within an episode or full individual episodes, alternating those honors with your other on-staff story editors/story producers. You'll have about a fifty percent chance of interaction with the Exec or Co-Exec Producers and the occasional development person. Some will be awesome, some will drive you bats with their notes. Either way, remember the words of Dan O'Shannon, whose words for traditional scripted writers hold true for reality writers as well --- it's not about creating the best television possible, it's about pleasing your employers. Don't take notes personally, just address what you can and move on to the next episode or series.

Lead Story Producer and Lead Story Editor positions are hard to come by, largely because these gigs are filled by people who've been with the companies forever or are well-known to the EP's from other shows. Most Lead Story Producers and Lead Story Editors I know make between $1800 and $3000 a week, depending on whether the shows are cable or network and if they're prime time. They interact heavily with the EP's and co-EP's, and will almost certainly have some communication with the network development folks, who will inherently want to fiddle with your work --- so again, don't take it personally. I've probably oversimplified this, so if you have any specific questions, comment away.