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Writing some crossword puzzles for the Times is about the smallest quantum amount of "juice" a person could possibly have.

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How does someone get such a job? It’s not like the nyt puts out an online app, screens thousands, then picks a random individual. It’s always going to be through personal networks.

I mean there's only like one person who has the job of "Crossword Making Guy" and it's Will Shortz, the crossword editor for the NYT.

If you want to get your crossword published by the NYTimes, all you have to do is write a good one and submit it.

I've met a guy who has a couple of crosswords published by them. He didn't have personal connections with anyone, he's not anyone special, he's a regular guy with a regular job. What did he have to do? He liked crosswords and tried writing them, then submitted them. They got accepted and published, that's it. There's no shadowy cabal of crossword writers secretly running the world.

I don’t know if you’re being sarcastic or not, but the NYT crossword does in fact accept, use, and even encourage random people to submit crosswords.

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