My work week: Seza Waller, puzzle and game creator

Professional puzzle creator Seza Waller discusses her work, her life and her dreams.

By YOCHEVED MIRIAM RUSSO
Seza Waller 521 (photo credit: Chen Leopold (flash 90))
Seza Waller 521
(photo credit: Chen Leopold (flash 90))
Job description: I create word and number games. Since I began publishing them in 1994, I’ve created more than 42 different kinds of word and number games. Some (“Anagrams,” “Cryptorelated” and “Pathways”) can be played online, and others (“Medley,” “Crossgrams” and “Trivia”) can be printed out and done with a pencil. All are available on my two websites. Others appear in newspapers and magazines around the world.
Education: Just high school. I married very young and had children very young.
How did you get into this? My native language is Turkish, not English, but as a teenager, I was poring over English puzzles, using a dictionary. I’d been doing puzzles for years and years, until one day my husband said, “Why don’t you create some puzzles of your own?” “You’re kidding me!” I said, but he insisted, “No, try.” So I created a few and submitted them to a publication where they were promptly rejected. But then I submitted them to different publication and every one was accepted. I spent 10 years creating puzzles for them, the kind of puzzles they wanted. Then I set myself free and started working for myself. That’s where I am now.
First job: Accounting. I was 16 when my father gave me a summer accounting job at his factory.
Worst job? Working in a boutique. It was torture. I lasted about a month.
What kind of people like puzzles? Curious people. People who want to learn. Every time you do one of these, you learn something. You don’t have to be smart, IQ wise. It’s a different kind of smart. Some people are better with numbers than others, but generally, people of all ages, kids to grandparents, love puzzles.
High moment? When the Vancouver Sun agreed to run 12 or 13 of my puzzles every week in their Sunday supplement. I loved that. I also love it when some newspaper drops my puzzles, and then the readers object so much they have to bring them back.
Low moment? When the Vancouver Sun went out of business, as did a couple of my other publications. This last year in the North American publishing industry has been brutal. Still, Globes runs one of my games every Thursday, and they’ve appeared in Calcalist, too.
Where else have your puzzles appeared? For a while, I published a free magazine available on trains – the Canadian railways took it for a year, but then I had to give it up. I didn’t have time to line up the advertising that paid for the publication.
How long does it take to create a puzzle? Some of the word games take two to three hours, with all the checking and rechecking. Others can take as little as a half hour. On rare occasions it happens that I get stuck myself. It’s because I’m trying to complicate them, and then I have to go back and start again.
Do you work other people’s puzzles? Of course. My son says he’s never seen anyone do the same thing as a hobby as they do for a profession.
Is anything you do controversial? No, not at all. There are no offensive words, no religious words, no political words. I work at not offending anyone.
What are the perks in your job? Satisfaction – that’s about it. It’s not a high-paying job, and I know I can be dropped by newspapers any day. But how much fun it is to get an email from someone saying, “I did it! I solved it!” How do your puzzles differ from anyone else’s? Mine tend to be a little bit tricky. I like to build in a little twist at the end – so sometimes with mine, you have to go back and start again.
What’s your favorite puzzle? I like the number ones best. “Pathways” is my own creation, as is another one called “RoundAbout.” But I like them all. I’m really passionate about puzzles of all kinds.

What do you see yourself doing in five years? I’m working on two applications now for iPhone and iPad – games and puzzles are perfect for those devices. And of course if people buy them, I’d make money. All the puzzles on my websites are free.
What’s your dream? I want all my games online so people can print them out. I know I won’t make any money with that, but I will enjoy having people solving my puzzles.