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Be Inspired. By Jenell Talley. Also on Mediabistro. Sign up to get our best career advice and job search tips. Thank you for signing up. Share link:. Featured Jobs. News Apprentice. Jeanne, a career change sounds good. Plenty of writers are looking for proofreaders. You might want to brush up on grammar and punctuation—you could take a course online. You might even want to look into indexing—you can make extra money if you can put together a decent index.
I came into the job after teaching writing for ten years at the college level. The change seemed like a natural one, but I have always wondered about where my editing tendencies lie on the spectrum between proofing and ghostwriting. Timothy, I wish you success in finding a new position and excelling at it. After more than 25 years working with writers, you no doubt have some outstanding skills to bring to writers and their projects.
I just hated what I was forced to write in school. A whole new world opened up to me and it was strange and wonderful and… rife with typos. Perhaps I should mention where I was seeing these problems. Still here? Time for things to get a little… weird.
Long story short, bronies are people who like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and are outside the target demographic. Fan art, fan music, fan animations up to and including a full-length episode , charities, and fan websites are just some of the things we have to offer. Yes, we, for I am one of them, and I contribute in my own way. How do I fit in? Well, as you may have suspected or gathered, I am connected with fan fiction.
I also read a lot, I take what I edit seriously, and I try to do a professional-level job. However, I am worried. Will anyone looking at me see anything more than stories about magical equines? Rereading what I have written, this comes across rather like a rant with the intent to gain sympathy. Sorry for the text wall.
I hope you have a good day. I would say definitely not. If you ask for permission, the writer might feel compelled to say yes. The writer would know up front what you will be doing with their work. They might ask for a list of books, manuscripts, or stories you worked on and you could direct them to a fan fiction website where they could see your work, if the site is a public one.
That would be wrong on so many levels. However, I do have some of my own work that I could show them, so I suppose that is an option. How does that or, in this case, how do you work? Do you go to people and offer your services, or do they come to you?
Is it some combination of both? The thing is, I have no real idea what to expect, and that made sense to me at the time. I only started thinking about this seriously a month ago, two tops. After all, having more information is important. The editing of a sample text sounds simultaneously simple and complicated. In concept, it makes far more sense than what I thought, but in practice… Well, depending on how wrong it is, there could be many different ways for it to be edited.
In the case of a ton of missing commas, do you just add them in, or do you try to rework the sentence to not need them? What if there are a bunch of comma splices? Do you change them to periods or semicolons or reword the sentences until the commas work? I suppose that would be something the editing company would be interested in knowing, that is, how your style of editing would mesh with their conventions. Andre, every question is worth an answer, so never stop asking.
As for how I meet clients, they come to me. Besides this blog, I have a website for my editing business. Plus I get referrals from other writers. Can you help me get started? I have written about having encephalitis and am near ready to move towards publication. I have spent my life as an occupational therapist, then as a hospital administrator and then started my own business in care management. Within hours my world turned around with the onset of encephalitis. I need to find an editor who can teach me about what I need to do next.
Can you suggest websites or ways of finding a good editor? Try the Editorial Freelancers Association for help in finding a non-fiction editor. There are plenty of websites, including this one, that offer suggestions for making a manuscript strong. Many of them, unfortunately for your needs, deal specifically with fiction. But you should be able to pick up a lot of general writing tips as well.
Consider joining an online writing group as well. Your article is worth reading. I am a teacher, have completed my Masters in English Literature, teaching is my profession but not passion.
I feel that I can see things from different perspectives. Being an editor, do you think that my qualification and creativity allows me to do so….? Thank You. But if it would be easy for you to return to teaching if you had to, then it might be worth changing fields. But editing is wonderful. We all do have to pay the bills. Now I know that what I am doing is a type of editing.
Yuta, you are indeed one type of editor, one who oversees and directs writers and their articles. Good luck with the website.
I hope your writers give you solid and entertaining content. I have been a 5th grade teacher for the past 5 years and in the education field for 14 years. Do you think I have enough experience?
If so, where would be the best place to start looking for employment? Edit a published book that you think could have been written better. Join a writing group that critiques. Read everything you can on writing and editing fiction. Before you start looking for employment in the field, do some editing. See if you like it.
There are great groups everywhere. There are many online groups you can join—just Google your genre and see what you can find. But also look for a group that meets near you. Check with your local library or just Google writing groups and your town name.
Hi, Recently I have discovered as well as remembered things about myself that have encouraged me to look for descriptions about jobs in editing.
I believe I would like to experiment with the editor field before graduating to find out whether it truly is what I am looking for. But I am afraid of making a decision without knowing someone that has been where I want to go. Thank you. Annabella, do you have specific questions I can answer for you?
What topics would you like to know about? Everyone should find a career that fulfills and challenges them. Thanks again for replying. In the past few days I have been reading about the editing profession and I believe it fits me. And now I need to ask, how do I become an editor? What could I do in regards to my school work? And if I am not hired on the first few tries because I lack experience, what could I do to gain experience?
Give yourself an exposure to unusual fields and to a variety of fields. Pick up an extra literature class. Or, if your school offers them, try a writing class or two or three. And read everything you can about what goes into creating quality writing. Many are available through libraries. You can give yourself a great education by working your way through all the craft books.
And do some editing. Look at articles online and edit them. Pull out a book and start editing. Get a book of short stories and edit them. Maybe a member of a writing group would let you practice with a discarded manuscript—you can always ask. Well, thanks a lot once again. I am a senior in high school and would like to become an Acquisitions editor for fiction I know I need a minimum of a bachelors degree I also know ill need to work my way up but what will that be exactly?
Will I need to be a good writer even though ill be reading manuscripts? As an acquisitions editor you may well need to be able to make suggestions to your authors. Definitely learn some of the ins and outs of writing and fiction. You might want to check out this article on What an Editor Should Study , at least as a starting point. I live in a gated which publishes a monthly newspaper of happenings in our community along with ads for businesses wishing to do business here.
For a number of years our newspaper had a page for reporting religious articles in which there was mentioning God, prayer and scripture verses.
The religious page also publishes times for meetings of different faiths within the community. Is it the responsibility of the editor to allow or disallow such reporting. I live in a gated community which publishes a monthly newspaper of happenings in our community along with ads for businesses wishing to do business here. Hi Beth, Thank you so much for such an informative blog.
If you have a moment, would you mind answering one of my questions? Thank you so much for your time. This past January I was thrown into a long-term substitution position very suddenly for a teacher that was forced to leave due to criminal charges. So my question is, do you think my background in education would help me get into some sort of career in editing? I was also hoping that you could tell me if I would require additional formal education to pursue a career in this field.
Would you happen to have any tips that could help me decide? Should I try to shadow an editor to see the kind of work they do? Laura, I certainly hope you find the career that fits.
Start your own studies. Read all the books on writing and self-editing. Join a writers group. And start editing. Pull out a few published books and edit them. Look for plot weaknesses and problems with characters. Look for an overbalance of elements. Try to identify problems. Then open some more books and edit those. But you will develop a sense for creating multiple options that are all suitable for the same story.
Make no promises for the edits. And then ask to edit more. And read, read, read. Any and everything. Editing takes practice. And practicing with already published books is a great way to learn. Practicing with short stories would also be helpful since you can easily see how a change in one page affects other story elements. Also, determine if you want to edit or proofread; the two are not the same.
See which one appeals more. As for shadowing an editor? It depends on the kind of editor, I suppose. Let us know how your journey into editing progresses. And best of success to you. Thank you for all the details. So what are the qualifications needed to be an editor? I am used to teaching English and translating documents in English to my mother tongue language and vice versa, but have never been an editor myself. If you work for a publisher, you may actually work on manuscripts, editing them, or you may read manuscripts to decide if any should be pursued by your company.
Or you may find yourself in meetings much of the day, trying to determine which stories your company should pursue and how they should be pursued. You may be deal more with the business of the company than with the writers and their projects. Seldom does any editor only sit with a manuscript all day, giving it her full attention. But as a writer does much more than solely write, so an editor does much more than solely edit a manuscript. Much of any one of my days may be spent passing e-mails with my clients, answering questions or helping them work out an issue.
I also often point out the reasons behind editing suggestions—explaining the fiction or writing issues that are involved and why one edit option may be better for a scene than another would be. If you want to work with writers and their manuscripts directly, you may want to pursue a freelance career. Thank you for quelling my fears of submitting my book. I am a health and wellness coach and would like to reach a much larger audience.
I love reading and writing, and whenever I read I always tend to go over passages more than once and learn from the grammar. Is there a position in editing where the editor only finds grammatical errors, more so in books? Reditor, you may be thinking of a proofreader or a copy editor rather than a content editor.
Yet even people in these positions would do more than check only grammar. Thanks for the enlightenment on editors. My question then is, can the writer of an organizational newsletter be her editor as well?
In an organization with a communications unit, where one writes, takes pictures and designs a corporate newsletter without adverts but only hands the ready material to the printer, what is that person called? This person might well be called managing editor or just plain editor.
For periodicals, they, instead of an editor or with the editor, may be the ones to choose content or decide on themes for different issues. They currently have 18 journalists on their board. The L. Times currently has 10 members on their board.
What a great site. Your enthusiasm is contagious. My question is, would it be tacky to offer to do the job for free after having bid on it?
On the other, I wonder if it would hurt my credibility. Any thoughts you might have would be very much appreciated. My first thought is to just leave it as is. You made your decision, and she probably already made hers.
Going after her may make you seem desperate. Instead of following after her, just accept that you might have made a mistake. But why would you do it for free? Your time and skills are worth payment.
But if you need to jump in and actually do some editing, get involved with a writing or critique group. At the same time, offer special edit prices for group members or for seniors. Be consistent in how you offer discounts. This way you at least get some editing in. Do you have a web presence?
If so, give away a free edit of the first 30 or 50 pages for one lucky visitor to your blog or website. Promote this wherever you have connections and get people to come to your website. Visit other blogs and leave comments. And draw people to you. Connect with writing resource centers at local colleges or high schools—that kind of help you can give away for free.
You may make connections that lead to paying jobs. Teach a workshop or present a program at your library or for other writing groups in your area. Make yourself available and get your name out there. I was going to say that she might come back to you, asking questions, and if so, that would be the time to tell her you wanted to do something special for her in terms of price.
But every time I think of suggesting this, it seems wrong. And what do you say? Neither option seems like a good idea. I have to admit that while helping someone out is a good impulse, the ways this could possibly play out, and not to your favor, have me suggesting that you just leave the whole thing as is. If she comes back, then you have a client.
I recognize that I have to do things differently and your feedback helps a lot in that respect. The idea occurred to me when I read your suggestion to someone else here who was just starting out, which I likened to my trying to freshen up a career that has been inactive for a couple of years.
In fact, think volunteer editing—for which there is ample opportunity—might be another way. Thanks so much for your wonderful and timely feedback and for pointing me in the right direction. Definitely get a web presence going. If you plan to edit for writers outside of your small town, you need to make yourself known. Give writers a way to find you. I hope you find great success and satisfaction as you get back into editing.
Hi Beth, Thank you so much for the world of information on your pages. You have an amazing knowledge of what needs to be done…and how. I self published my first true crime book about my life as a female bailbondsman…not the pap you see on tv. The real stuff. In its third printing, but not much money so far.
My fault…too busy pursuing my 30 year occupation, profession, love affair with the craziness of it all…being a private investigator. Slowing down now and have first draft of a page true crime story invoking many of my real life adventures. Also heavily involved in a sequel to Bail Bonds Babylon and having a lotof fun with it. Met a great editor from LA and we are working out details of her total edit of the second book.
What an inspiration you are to new writers, would-be editors and all of us out there dallying with the written word. Thank you again Laura. I hope you have a marvelous long-term relationship with your editor. Hi, Thanks for such a comprehensive article. I am new into the field of copyediting.
Before entering this profession, I have been an English language teacher. Also, I have done some freelance writing and editing.
How can I enhance my copyediting skills to excel in my profession? Could you also suggest some authentic yet affordable courses in copyediting. Looking forward to your response. Thank you! Thanks for this article. Got to know about new things that can make my posts better.. I am new to blogging and this information will really help me.. Very useful article it is. I just found your blog and it has interested me in many ways. This was very informative and I found it to be quite helpful compared to other websites.
I just have a quick question: I would love to edit books! But are there different types of editors for a book, like a primary editor and a proof reader, etc..? I am still in high school and I think I would enjoy this occupation but I am trying to decide which type I would enjoy the most.
Thanks for the information. It is very helpful. Your article are very useful for editing services. I have just written a first novel. A mystery thriller of pages linking Tudor times to today. I employed an editor who was recommended to me and having taken my script I heard nothing from her until she returned it with entire chapters struck out or transposed along with whole paragraphs while replacing many words with almost identical one of her own choice and effectively superimposing a boring tone in which her own views on life came very apparent.
The changes were so great it was almost impossible to compare to my own book. I have subsequently made only a few changes and published on Google as my experience tells me that my editor had a pre-formed view of how a book should be written and was not prepared to go along with any change from the norm, especially if it is controversial as my book The Royal Secret is.
Getting a sense of the kinds of suggestions and comments an editor will make is helpful for a writer. The next time you engage an editor, ask for a sample edit.
And if the editors you approach are like me, you also might receive suggestions for rewriting before the editor takes on the work. Some manuscripts are simply not ready for an edit, and a reputable editor will inform the writer of that fact. I wish you success with your writing career. And I hope you find an editor and other resources to help you advance that career.
Most are simply trying to put out a good product, one they recognize through experience and knowledge of the marketplace.
Publishers like controversial books—they bring attention, readers, and money. But a controversial book still must be well written and must do all those things that great books do in order to keep readers turning pages. A good book must entertain and touch reader emotions. No matter what level of editing you need, professional editors:. Professional editors are objective, impartial and have your best interests at heart.
Writing is often a solitary process. Before your material goes out into the world, a professional editor can identify any problems that may cause you embarrassment or cause difficulty for your readers. Editors provide an impartial perspective. They will be honest and objective, and they will challenge you to make your work the best it can be.
Professional editors work hard to help your writing be memorable for all the right reasons and none of the wrong ones. Download What can a professional editor do for you?
Printable version. Web version. You could read the text over and edit it yourself. You could give the text to someone with the expertise, experience and objectivity to manage this next step.
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