First (and last?) published puzzle of 2023! If this were LinkedIn, I could claim to have been a professional crossword constructor for four years, since my first puzzle ran in 2020. Never mind that I only had one puzzle run that year, and it was published in late December. This is also my first (but hopefully not last) puzzle with Universal, a syndicate that runs in the Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer, and a bunch of other newspapers across the U.S.
I really enjoyed working with the Universal team (David Steinberg and Amanda Rafkin), in large part because the turnaround time was so much faster than normal - just over sixty days from initial submission to publication. The theme for this puzzle had sat half-baked with a bunch of other unprocessed ideas until I gave it a second look a few weeks before Thanksgiving and had some additional inspiration. I submitted the following theme query to Universal on November 5:
Title: Division of Labor
Theme Entries and Clues:
WORRIED SICK (11) [Very concerned]
JOIN THE CLUB (11) ["Same here!"]
TOO BIG TO FAIL (12) [Andrew Ross Sorkin book documenting the 2008 financial crisis]
SEARS CATALOG (12) [Iconic mail-order publication discontinued in 1993]
Alternatives:
CHAIN STORE [Mall anchor, often]
TAKES A RISK [Goes for it]
Amanda got back to me a few weeks later with an approval and a modified theme set:
WORRIED SICK 11
TAKES A RISK 10
DUAL NATIONALITY 15 or DUAL PERSONALITY 15
CHAIN STORE 10
JOIN THE CLUB 11
I love the efficiency that comes with being allowed to submit a theme query. It's tough to know exactly what an editor wants. If I could only submit a final puzzle, I probably would have made a crossword using my original set of four themers and maybe it would've been accepted, but more likely, I would have gotten a rejection or, at best, a request to start from scratch with their preferred set. Or maybe I would have decided that my theme idea wasn't dazzling enough to justify the time and effort of making a full grid with clues. Maybe I would've just left it in the "drafts" folder, where it would've languished forever. Instead, the low-cost option of submitting just a theme proposal brought this puzzle to life.
One other cool aspect of getting a theme approved is that you know when you're making your grid that it'll be published, so you're that much more motivated to put in extra effort polishing it. Fifty-seven squares devoted to theme entries can be tough to work with (for me, at least), so finding a smooth grid took time and work. After a few days, I submitted three variations of the same basic layout in order to give the editors some options. For the most part, they liked all of the grids but asked me to rework a few small sections (and gave some suggestions and how to improve the fill). I was happy to make the revisions and appreciated the feedback. A day later, I sent them two alternatives and one of them got approved as the final grid. Now, I just needed to write some clues.
I get the impression that most constructors find cluing a puzzle to be a slog, and I feel the same way. There's generally less room for creativity and besides, how many different ways can you clue EON, anyway. In my experience, it's even more of a slog when you know there's a 95% chance that the only people who'll ever see the clues you're laboring over are the few friends/family you can persuade to test-solve your puzzle. But man, when you know the puzzle is going to be published? It's like going from a dress rehearsal to a live performance (I assume, I've never done theater but I'm trying to branch out from sports metaphors).
What I like to do when cluing is write down all the answers on a piece of paper and carry that paper with me, filling in possible clues as I go about my day. I find considering and reconsidering the words helps me come up with fresh angles every once in a while. I was pleased with my [Hardy or Holland] triumvirate (known in the industry as a "clue echo") but thought it was probably too cute to get published - I was thrilled when David not only accepted it, but praised it!
All in all, I went from an accepted theme to a completed and accepted puzzle in about 15 days. It was awesome how responsive David and his team were. It really kept me motivated and kept the momentum going. Then, to my pleasant surprise, the puzzle ran a lot faster than I was expecting. I had a great time with this one and I hope you enjoyed solving it.
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