Aspiring to Assume the Role of an Editor: What's the Next Step?
Want to become a professional editor? Here's a comprehensive guide to help you navigate your way through the process.
Education and Experience
- Earn a bachelor's degree in English, journalism, communications, or a related field. This education provides foundational skills in sentence structure, editing, and article composition [1].
- Gain practical experience through internships or work on school publications while studying. This experience helps develop writing, editing, and research abilities, and builds industry connections [1].
Acquiring Additional Skills
- Acquire supplemental skills such as computer literacy, proficiency with content management systems, and possibly graphic design or television production courses if relevant to your desired specialty. These enhance your marketability [1].
Entry-Level Jobs
- Obtain professional entry-level experience by starting as a writer, editorial assistant, or copy editor in news organizations, publishing houses, or online publications, to build your credentials and advance [1].
Entering the Freelance Market
For entering the freelance editing market initially, you should:
- Build a portfolio showcasing your editing skills and possibly writing samples [2].
- Choose a niche or type of content to focus on (e.g., academic, marketing, fiction) [2].
- Use freelance job sites such as Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer, or specialized editorial platforms to find initial clients and projects [2].
- Set clear freelance rates and maintain strong communication and organizational skills to succeed [2].
Additional advice includes attending workshops or certifications to improve specialized skills and networking with professionals in the editing and publishing industries to find opportunities and mentorship [1][2].
Key Points
- Understanding different types of editing and identifying which type you are best at is important in becoming a professional editor.
- Editing involves identifying consistency errors and becoming intimately acquainted with a writer's style.
- Understanding how to be a freelancer is crucial for editors to manage their business and finances effectively.
- Being a professional editor involves knowing proper grammar as well as style guides.
- Editors can use Elance to find their first editing clients, even if they are not yet qualified to make a significant income.
- Becoming a professional editor is not an easy path.
- Professional editing involves more than just catching typos or grammatical errors.
- Professional editing isn't always black and white, and it requires a lot of skill to enhance someone's writing without infringing on their style.
- Working with demanding clients on Elance can help editors learn to meet tight deadlines.
- Taking classes in editing can help editors improve their skills and become more qualified for higher-paying editing jobs.
- Elance jobs might pay low initially, but they provide a good opportunity for learning and improving editing skills.
- Starting with a job site like Elance can help new editors gain experience and practice their skills.
- Aspiring editors often think they can become professional editors based on their ability to catch typos or correct grammar.
This pathway lays a solid foundation to progress further, including roles such as editor-in-chief with additional experience and leadership skills [3].
[1] [Source 1] [2] [Source 2] [3] [Source 3]
To further enhance your career development as a professional editor, consider supplementing your education-and-self-development with career-development skills. Attend workshops or receive certifications that focus on series editing, book editing, or advanced proofreading techniques to improve your specialized skills [1]. Furthermore, skills-training in project management, business development, and leadership can help you advance to higher roles, such as managing an editorial team [3].
