I am an American developer working in france and I though I could give you some tips.
First of all, the visa and work situation is nothing like the US. It is very easy to get a work permit if you are a tech person. Basically, you find a job and then you worry about the papers.
The best places to find a job are in "Le Monde Informatique" and "01" published by La Figureo. Look at www.01net.com. These are glossy sunday supplement style weekly magazines that adverstise hundreds of tech jobs. People still use the newspapers here to find work. Fire your resume off to all the ads and you should get calls within a day. Your resume can be in english, but you should get a short french cover letter to go with it. There is a strong demand here and if you do not find something within a week, then you are probably doing something wrong (change your cover letter - keep it short and don't flaunt your ignorance of the language).
If a company balks at paying for the visa, just tell then that you will pick up the tab. It only costs between 5000 and 10000 francs (about 7.5 franc/dollar). It takes three to four weeks to get a visa. The american consulate in paris can mail you a list of english speaking attorneys who do this work. Watch out as the cost and time estimates can vary by as much as 2000 percent. Shop around.
When you have your visa, you basically have a green card. In theory, you could quit your tech job and drive a bus or work in a bar. You can do everything a french citizen can do except vote. You get the health benefits, unemployment, etc. On the whole, these are better than in the US.
Pay is 250000 to 300000 francs per year. Low by US standards, but the cost of living is so much less that I feel I have more money. I live in a very nice part of paris and the cost feels like a small town in Oklahoma. Also, you don't need to have a car. Your employment is much more secure.
You need to speak french to live and work here. The company will probably tell you this is not necessary - but they will be wrong. They will also regret telling you this after the first month. Everyone here knows two or three hundred english words, but very few people really speak english. You will be a lonely outcast and third rate employee until you learn the language. Don't kid yourself, it will take six to eight months of daily hard work - this assumes that you have had some highschool french and know the verbs, etc. Be prepared to eat some crow as less skilled people pass you by in the first few months - they can communicate with the co-workers and you will not yet be able to do this.
It is even easier to find a job in England, but the visa is not nearly as good (only good for the job. The wages are much higher in london, but the cost of living is so high that I actually had much less money when I was there. The people were very nice and I actually felt much more confortable in my work environment. France is very microsoft oriented. England seems to have a stronger open source base.
People who relate stories of the endless round of rejections usually don't have a finished product. Often they have little more than a "concept" and a few finished pages. They want somebody to give them an advance to develop, i.e, "finish" the project. If you have a finished book and are reasonable in your expectations, you have an extremely good chance of finding a publisher. They are looking for you. You are a rare item and can really talk turkey with them. Get an agent. Here is how you do it: Write to the authors who have written books similar to yours. Send them a sample of your work and ask them to help you get represted. Most will be glad to help you.
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I am an American developer working in france and I though I could give you some tips. First of all, the visa and work situation is nothing like the US. It is very easy to get a work permit if you are a tech person. Basically, you find a job and then you worry about the papers. The best places to find a job are in "Le Monde Informatique" and "01" published by La Figureo. Look at www.01net.com. These are glossy sunday supplement style weekly magazines that adverstise hundreds of tech jobs. People still use the newspapers here to find work. Fire your resume off to all the ads and you should get calls within a day. Your resume can be in english, but you should get a short french cover letter to go with it. There is a strong demand here and if you do not find something within a week, then you are probably doing something wrong (change your cover letter - keep it short and don't flaunt your ignorance of the language). If a company balks at paying for the visa, just tell then that you will pick up the tab. It only costs between 5000 and 10000 francs (about 7.5 franc/dollar). It takes three to four weeks to get a visa. The american consulate in paris can mail you a list of english speaking attorneys who do this work. Watch out as the cost and time estimates can vary by as much as 2000 percent. Shop around. When you have your visa, you basically have a green card. In theory, you could quit your tech job and drive a bus or work in a bar. You can do everything a french citizen can do except vote. You get the health benefits, unemployment, etc. On the whole, these are better than in the US. Pay is 250000 to 300000 francs per year. Low by US standards, but the cost of living is so much less that I feel I have more money. I live in a very nice part of paris and the cost feels like a small town in Oklahoma. Also, you don't need to have a car. Your employment is much more secure. You need to speak french to live and work here. The company will probably tell you this is not necessary - but they will be wrong. They will also regret telling you this after the first month. Everyone here knows two or three hundred english words, but very few people really speak english. You will be a lonely outcast and third rate employee until you learn the language. Don't kid yourself, it will take six to eight months of daily hard work - this assumes that you have had some highschool french and know the verbs, etc. Be prepared to eat some crow as less skilled people pass you by in the first few months - they can communicate with the co-workers and you will not yet be able to do this. It is even easier to find a job in England, but the visa is not nearly as good (only good for the job. The wages are much higher in london, but the cost of living is so high that I actually had much less money when I was there. The people were very nice and I actually felt much more confortable in my work environment. France is very microsoft oriented. England seems to have a stronger open source base.
People who relate stories of the endless round of rejections usually don't have a finished product. Often they have little more than a "concept" and a few finished pages. They want somebody to give them an advance to develop, i.e, "finish" the project. If you have a finished book and are reasonable in your expectations, you have an extremely good chance of finding a publisher. They are looking for you. You are a rare item and can really talk turkey with them. Get an agent. Here is how you do it: Write to the authors who have written books similar to yours. Send them a sample of your work and ask them to help you get represted. Most will be glad to help you.