How do you become an editor?

No real qualifications necessary, although your grasp of English needs to be really good. A degree of some kind would be handy. Then what you do is you look out either for Editorial Assistant jobs or for work experience / internships at publishers. Recruitment agencies who specialise in publishing are a good bet for finding those.

You might find that people are looking mainly for college-leavers for these roles; I don't know if it's a problem as far as you're concerned but the entry-level jobs seem to be exclusively for people in their early twenties, judging by the people I see doing them. I'm sure someone will chime in with an exception or two.

Cliff Face said:

Hmm, I'm 26 with no degree living in a state with no major publishers in it... yeah.

But thanks!

(Of course, I *am* studying an Arts Degree, by pieces, and would major in creative writing / English, my English is quite good, and I plan on moving to a different state (for other reasons) which just happens to contain a few decent publishers. )

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Well then I think there's hope! Have a look at Walker Books Australia (in Sydney, I think?) - they're a good company to work for apparently, and I think they're expanding.

The guy who runs Walker in the UK did a Japanese degree and then spent a few years working as a circus clown, so this is not an industry where people care overmuch about how you got there as long as you can do the work.

Don't plan to get rich, is all I'd say...

Cliff Face said:

Oh, it'd be a side-gig to my illustrious writing career (that's going to start being illustrious any day now, I promise!)... for that matter, what's the etiquette with being a writer AND working as an editor? I take it you can't just dump your own manuscript on the desk and say, "Why yes, I think I'll give me $50k for this!" ??

Would it be taboo to be published by the company you work as editor for?
Would it be taboo to be aspiring to publication if you're working as an editor?

Hmm...

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Eh, it's complicated. I myself have been published by companies I was working for at the time, but basically those were work-for-hire / ghostwriting on projects that were devised in-house. If you have something that's all your own work, and to which you would like to retain copyright, the usual thing to do seems to be to send it elsewhere; I can think of half a dozen examples of authors published with one house while working full-time for another, and only one counterexample, off the top of my head.

(I have found nothing turns off an interviewer talking to you about an editorial position quicker than hearing about all the writing you do.)

Attrition is a pretty standard way, too.

Editors most often come trhough colege programs that give them the knowledge and ability to be an editor.

I first became an editor by becoming a selling writer. College came later for me.

Cliff Face said:

Oh, it'd be a side-gig to my illustrious writing career (that's going to start being illustrious any day now, I promise!)... for that matter, what's the etiquette with being a writer AND working as an editor? I take it you can't just dump your own manuscript on the desk and say, "Why yes, I think I'll give me $50k for this!" ??

Would it be taboo to be published by the company you work as editor for?
Would it be taboo to be aspiring to publication if you're working as an editor?

Hmm...

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You can do this only if you also own the publishing company.

I have a social sciences degree, but a strong background in English and the ability to wield it. My first job after college was in publishing. Every publisher I've worked for has required an editing test during the interview process. This is an important gauge of your abilities. You've also got to be able to multi-task and be extremely detail-oriented.

I work on nonfiction. It doesn't help me get any fiction writing published, but I'm very familiar with how impersonal and subjective rejections are!

How do you become an editor?

Worked on a magazine published by my local university. Did that while going to school there. Sold some fiction, won some awards. Found myself contacted by a fellow familiar with my work and in need of an editor. Voilà. Editor.

There's editors, and then there's editors.

I was a selling writer and slipped sideways into editing via book packagers and my agent. I get to call up writers I know, see if they're available, and if the deal goes through, I get to read everything first. My name goes on the cover next to "edited by," which is pretty cool.

That's one kind of editor.


The others are the ones who go into the office and---

deal with slush (return mail or recycle bin)
deal with agents (call waiting, take notes, don't be enthusiastic or it will cost the company money)
deal with hate mail from rejected writers (recycle bin)
try to convince the Suits upstairs to buy books the editor loves but the Suits hate,
deal with Suits who notice the books you picked aren't selling as expected,
deal with writers missing deadlines,
deal with the art department about hideous cover art,
deal with writers who hate their cover art,
deal with marketing for more book promotion,
deal with writers who don't get enough promotion,
deal with writers having a hissy fit over copy edits,
deal with writers demanding changes after the galleys have gone to the printers
deal with printers who put the wrong covers on 8K copies
deal with more writers having a hissy fit
deal with the agents of writers having hissy fits
deal with the fraaking copy machine that's always screwed up
deal with gallons of bad office coffee, Diet Cokes, and endless deli sandwiches
taking work home to get a jump start on tomorrow's marathon

and in-between...

dealing with everything that has nothing to do with actually reading manuscripts, nurturing talent, and making insightful suggestions on how to improve a promising story,

all while not getting any cover credit, though a writer might say thanks on the dedication page...after the writer's cat is heaped with praise.

Gillhoughly said:

deal with slush (return mail or recycle bin)
deal with agents (call waiting, take notes, don't be enthusiastic or it will cost the company money)
deal with hate mail from rejected writers (recycle bin)
try to convince the Suits upstairs to buy books the editor loves but the Suits hate,
deal with Suits who notice the books you picked aren't selling as expected,
deal with writers missing deadlines,
deal with the art department about hideous cover art,
deal with writers who hate their cover art,
deal with marketing for more book promotion,
deal with writers who don't get enough promotion,
deal with writers having a hissy fit over copy edits,
deal with writers demanding changes after the galleys have gone to the printers
deal with printers who put the wrong covers on 8K copies
deal with more writers having a hissy fit
deal with the agents of writers having hissy fits
deal with the fraaking copy machine that's always screwed up
deal with gallons of bad office coffee, Diet Cokes, and endless deli sandwiches
taking work home to get a jump start on tomorrow's marathon

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This pretty much describes my job!

If you are really interested, try volunteering with a market. There are a surprising amount of small press markets and independent magazines out there that would be more than happy to get some extra help in the form of slush readers.

If you don't already participate in one, I'd suggest joining a writing group to practice spotting how to improve others' work.

There are or were a couple of Aussie unis offering publishing courses, at the end of which you are placed as an intern.

There are also EPublishing editing options which is all done via the internet, so it wouldn't matter where you lived.

I'm in college with intents of working for a publishing house one day, possibly as an editor. I've been advised to major in Creative Writing with a Certificate in Publishing. My main aspiration is to one day publish one of my books, but for now college is more realistic. Plus I'm studying what I love! It don't get much better than that truly. I've decided to double major in English and Creative Writing with the Publishing Certificate. Might as well shoot for the stars right?

Port Iris said:

If you are really interested, try volunteering with a market. There are a surprising amount of small press markets and independent magazines out there that would be more than happy to get some extra help in the form of slush readers.

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That's what I was going to say, and helping an existing market is much less drastic than starting your own publication to find out (the hard way) how it all works. There is no shortage of small publishers online, many with forums where you can find out how things are going and what they need help with. Occasionally I'll edit an oddball anthology just to keep my editor side appeased. It wouldn't be a "regular job" with "regular pay", but it's a good way to find out if it's something you enjoy doing. And yes, most of these volunteer type jobs can be done from anywhere in the world. It's just email zapping through the ether, or some online page you get to login into. Google "editor wanted" (and similar phrases), and do some serious checking on whoever you find, before agreeing to anything. = s