Editors are responsible for overseeing the quality of publications, whether in print or online. Editors read manuscripts for conformance to the publication style, for grammar and for factual accuracy. They may select works for publication, assist in the publication design and deal with other matters related to the publication. If this kind of work interests you, here are steps to take to become an editor.
Edit Part One: Putting in the Necessary Work
- Read voraciously. In order to hone your craft, you’ll need to develop an eye for good grammar, punctuation and syntax, as well as a sense of how text flows. Reading good quality content will help you sharpen these skills to a razor’s edge.
- Read newspapers for structure. Newspapers do an excellent job of structuring information from most important to least important. Read newspapers to get a sense of the lede, or main idea of the story, which usually occurs at the beginning of each article.
- Read fiction for creativity and empathy. Works of fiction tend examine the role of human relationships in shaping meaning and creating happiness (or taking it away). In addition to making you more socially attuned, it can even temporarily boost your empathy.[1] These skills are important for the worldly editor.
- Read nonfiction for historical context and informational insight. Nonfiction explores the stories of real events and people, which are often stranger than fiction. A good editor will use nonfiction to place stories in historical context and derive useful information from them.
- Write every day. You may think that as an editor, you won’t be doing much writing. Disabuse yourself of that idea. Although they aren’t always acknowledged as writers in their own right, editors spend time as much time toying with phrases and molding language to fit their will. Write something every day, whether it’s the casual reminiscing of diaries or the formal analysis of an essay, and stick with it. Don’t make excuses for why you can’t write. Make excuses for why you write as much as you do.
- Study vocabulary (even if you know you won’t use it). Vocabulary is an essential part learning how to be well-read and sharp-penned. Editors who constantly play with new words and discover new meanings in words see the world in a more nuanced way. Being a more nuanced thinker is what will set you apart as an editor.
- Carry a dictionary around with you wherever you go. Maybe your “dictionary” is an app on your phone. Maybe it’s a pocket Merriam-Webster. Whatever it is, use it. Whenever you come across a word you don’t know, look it up and write it down on a list. Browse the list periodically to learn — not just memorize — the meaning of the word.
- Practice the art of the mot juste. Mot juste is a fancy French phrase, coined by Flaubert, that roughly translates to “the perfect word for the occasion.” Knowing lots of vocabulary, and seeing it in action, will help you choose the mot juste. The best editors and writers seem to pull le mot juste out of their black hats with a beguiling ease.
- Feed your natural curiosity. Writers, readers, and editors alike (as an editor, you are all three by default) seem to share an innate curiosity about the world. This curiosity propels them to learn about the world, package up that data in interesting, timely pieces, and present it to others in the hope that their curiosity might be piqued as well.
- If you get an opportunity to, explore the world. Traveling is an excellent way to learn about different places and different cultures. Put yourself out there and meet people. Have interesting conversations by asking pointed questions. Put yourself in uncomfortable situations. Above all, be a fresh air fiend. Oh yeah — write about everything.
- Hone your thinking. In order to be an editor, you need three main mental attributes: creativity, or the ability to think of different permutations on the fly; persistence, or the ability to spend long hours staring at the same sentence; and analytical judgment, or the ability to make quick decisions about something’s significance, place in context, or truthfulness.
- Surround yourself by people who are smarter than you. If you’re constantly the big fish in the little pond, you’re eventually going to run out of mental stimulation. You’ll get bored. You’ll get the big-head. Surrounding yourself with people who are smarter than you will force you to re-evaluate and think through ideas from the ground up. You might even absorb some smarts by osmosis.
- Make mistakes. Mistakes are your friend, not your enemy, as long as you learn from them. Don’t be afraid to try out a sentence that ultimately doesn’t work. Take that logical leap that you know is a little too stretched for comfort. Then re-evaluate, and think about where you went wrong. Vow to never make the same mistake twice. This is quite literally how you get better at what you do.
Edit Part Two: Getting Qualified and Looking for a Job
- Decide what kind of editor you want to become. Identifying which industry you want to work in and the kind of editing you want to do will help you determine the kind of training you’ll need. There’s a ton of leeway when it comes to deciding what kind of editor you may want to become. Figuring out which kind you’re really drawn to is the fun part!
- You should enjoy the field in which you wish to edit, such as loving literature to be a book editor or sports to edit a sports magazine. You should also develop your knowledge in that field.
- Knowing the types of editing can also help you determine what kind of training you need. To become a content editor, you’ll need to improve your writing skills in order to revise the content submitted by others. To become a copyeditor, you’ll need to improve your grammar skills to proofread for grammar and punctuation errors.
- Some specialty areas, such as legal, technical or medical publishing, may require learning a specialized style guide. Other areas require learning supplemental skills; to work as a design editor, you need to develop layout and graphic design skills.
- Consider whether you’d like to go to school in order to eventually become an editor. Many, many people go to college and end up getting a degree in English, but not too many people go to school specifically to become an editor. Although you should absolutely pursue your dream of becoming an editor if you have one, know that many people who graduate with degrees in English regret not having chosen a degree with a more solid economic pathway to freedom.[2]
- Formal college training is decidedly helpful but not always necessary in becoming an editor. A degree in English, journalism, or communications is helpful in getting an in-house editorial position, and there are degree and certificate programs in writing and editing. However, if you write and edit well, you may be trained on the job.
- To become a freelance editor, it’s more important to demonstrate the ability to edit than to have a degree, although it may be necessary to get a degree if you seek in-house experience before freelancing.
- Gain initial experience through volunteering or internships. If you’re still in college, look for internships that provide you with hands-on experience. If you’re out of college, volunteer your services to charitable and other non-profit organizations or to friends or colleagues, or trade your services with someone whose products or services you need.
- Some employers use interns as gofers instead of giving them actual editing-related work to do. If in doubt, check with others who have interned there before accepting an internship.
- Consider starting off as a ghostwriter or fact-checker. With editing, as with many of other professions, there’s usually a chain of command that you need to slowly work your way up in order to be given the reins. Although it’s not necessary to start off as a fact-checker or ghostwriter, it’s definitely easier to get your foot in the door; once you have your foot in the door and impress people with your timely writing, sharp intellect, and willingness to work, it’s much easier to move up from the inside than it is from the outside looking in.
- Ghostwriters often learn to work with individual writers and establish long-term relationships with them. The downside is that you won’t necessarily get the credit that you deserve (which is bigger than you might think), but the upside is that you’ll establish a relationship with a writer who knows a lot of other writers and editors. Nurture these connections if possible.
- Fact-checker jobs are often entry-level, right beside internships. Although normally tedious and having little to do with actual writing, many find the job to be a great way of building journalism chops and networking while angling for a better position. At some publications, such as the New Yorker, fact-checker positions can be prestigious, while at Der Spiegel, they can be numerous.
- Market yourself to as broad a range of prospective employers as your specialization allows. Be versatile. Think of yourself as a trusty Swiss-army knife, capable of doing many things at once in many different situations. The more skills and abilities you have under your belt as an editor, the better your employment opportunities will be.
- For example, you can market your editing skills to aspiring authors as well as to book publishers and book packagers or market your design editing skills to advertising agencies as well as graphic design firms.
Edit Part Three: Making Waves as an Editor
- Network with other writers and editors. Other editors can tell you the process they took to get where they’re at and refer work to you when they have too much work or are given a project they can’t handle. Since the work of editors is often overlooked and underutilized, networking is also a great way to stay connected to top jobs and openings.
- One way to network is by joining a professional editors’ organization. Many have directories of editors already established in the field you may wish to become an editor in.
- Another way to network is to attend writers’ conferences and conventions associated with the areas you wish to find work in.
- You can also network through professional social networking Web sites, such as LinkedIn, where you can join groups devoted to writing and editing.
- Keep in touch with other writers and editors. Send them sincere congratulations when you see something they’re written or edited that you like. Never burn bridges if you happen to leave a job.
- Take the jobs or assignments that no one else will take. This advice is applicable to a broad range of jobs, but it especially applies here. If you gain the reputation of being someone who’s willing to tackle tough, unpleasant, or otherwise undesirable assignments, you’ll begin to make yourself indispensable. You’ll probably have no shortage of assignments if you’re in the right kind of job, and you’ll be viewed with the same adoration that a woodworker reserves for his favorite chisel.
- Pay attention to getting details exactly right. Unlike sales positions, where the white lie is actually encouraged, or some managerial roles, where the big picture is more important than the details, editors have to get the small things right. Whether it’s being consistent with punctuation in your copy, making sure typos don’t go unnoticed, or simply getting the facts straight, the small things matter more to editors than they do to other professionals, arguably. Editors stake their reputation on the small stuff. They’re definitely worth sweating.
- Start to define an issue that you care about. After all the generalization and odd jobs that will probably define your early going as an editor, you’ll begin to learn about the types of books, issues, or categories of work that you enjoy the most. After going broad and superficial early in your career, it helps to be known as the guy or gal when it comes to your specialization.
- Editors can’t get the Pulitzer prize, but if they could, it would probably go to those who chose to specialize in a particular field. What’s yours? Do you care about human trafficking? Political unrest? Educational innovation in America? Define your own interests so that others have an easier time defining you.
- Share your love of the written word. Never stop caring about the best way to present, share, and communicate language so that it encourages other people to do the same. As an editor, your solemn task is to make language easier to understand while communicating as much information as possible.
- Find someone who you can mentor. They’ll appreciate the guidance and work you give them. On a practical level, they’ll sing your praises to other people, helping bolster your reputation.
- Appear in the media as a pundit. Be the trusted guy or gal that a news site goes to when they need an interview or a talking head. You’ll have to forge a lot of deep connections to make this happen, but it’s not impossible.
- Continue to learn new things every day, and delight in them. You finally learned the correct way of conjugating an abstruse word you’ve been getting wrong all the time. Share your learnings with others. Instead of being known as the person who’s too afraid to admit that they made a mistake, be the perfect who lives to discover new things. That’s what’s at the heart of being an editor.
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