Have you ever considered pursuing a career as an Editor? This interview takes you through the ups and downs you can expect, what it takes to land the job, what you can expect to earn and more. This is a true career story as told to DiversityJobs and is one of many interviews with writers and publishers.
I am a writer/editor and have worked in this capacity for more than twenty years.
As a writer, I write mostly nonfiction. I have written seven commercially published books, and have had many articles published in a variety of newspapers and magazines. I also write devotionals for students involved in a local sports ministry, as well as write web copy for clients of a local ad agency. Right now, I have two books in the works.
As an editor, I edit manuscripts for both new and well-established authors. Sometimes I work for the author; other times, I work for the publisher on a contract basis.
As you know, no two jobs are ever alike! As far as editing goes, just three words say it all: Clean it up! I check every word, sentence, paragraph, and chapter for things like accuracy, organization, correct spelling, and proper word usage. I try to eliminate redundancies and overuse of certain words and phrases. I make sure nothing is going to be confusing for the reader, at the same time making sure I preserve the author's intended message, style, and tone.
I also make sure the style and formatting follow the publisher's guidelines in order to keep everything consistent. Editing involves a lot of back-and-forth with the author, typesetter, and publisher, and sometimes you have to be quite the diplomat in order to keep everyone pleased with the progress, focused on the goal, and “on the same page."
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate my job a 9! It would easily be a 10 if you could remove the deadlines and eliminate occasional computer problems.
This is definitely my calling! I have a report card from second grade--the teacher had written in the comments on the back that she "expected to see Angie's writing in a magazine one day"!
Clearly, I have loved words and writing from day one. That I would major in English/writing was really a no-brainer. But when I landed my first "real" writing job after college writing for a newspaper, I was on cloud nine, just thinking about the fact that I was going to get paid to write things for people.
I started out writing about business promotions and livestock reports for the business section in Little Rock, Arkansas--not exactly glamorous reporting, but you would have thought it was for the front page of the New York Times, I was so excited.
One "unique" thing that has taken place during my career as a writer is that after my daughter came along, I decided to try to amp up my income because of the added expenses of a new baby. I glanced through the want ads of the local paper in the VERY small town we live in just outside of Little Rock to see if there might be some typing I could take in or something.
But I saw an ad that said "writer's assistant needed." Turns out a well-published Christian author lives in my community, and he had been diagnosed with a degenerative retinal disease that was destroying his vision. He had reached the point that he could no longer see the computer screen, so needed someone to transcribe/edit the books he was writing. I sent him my resume and he hired me right away.
He became a dear friend and mentor, and was the one who first suggested I try my hand at writing a book. He does not need me to transcribe anything anymore because of an amazing computer he has now that "reads" everything back to him, but I still edit everything he writes--which by now is well over twenty books and probably thousands of articles.
One major challenge I face--well, I guess it's more of a frustration than a challenge--is that no matter what an excellent job I do, it's the mistakes I make that the clients and readers will notice. I can produce 99 error-free pages, transforming clumsy phrasing and eliminating redundancies, correcting blunders, fact-checking obscure references, and polishing the prose to perfection.
The client/readers may never know how much time/effort I put into those 99 pages. But let me miss a typo on the 100th page--that's the one thing EVERYONE will notice and call me on! I try to just take a deep breath and move on.
Because of the things I mentioned above, and because deadlines are essential in the world of publishing, it can be a very stressful job, at times. But through the years I've managed to get better at managing the stress--budgeting my time helps, taking breaks helps, setting realistic deadlines helps, etc. But the stress that I have to handle is a very small price to pay for the unbelievable freedom and flexibility this job has given me to take care of my "life" responsibilities of being a wife, mom, daughter, friend, volunteer, etc.
Salary fluctuates so widely, depending on what books are out there and selling, and how many editing projects I take on, that I really cannot provide a consistent figure. I have logged enough experience that I can make sure that my fees make the work well worth my time.
I plan my workload around family vacations, I give myself plenty of days off here and there in between projects, and if needed, I can always bring some of my work with me. I enjoy both writing and editing, so if I'm sitting at the beach "working" on a manuscript, it really does not usually feel like work to me.
I strongly recommend getting a degree in English/writing--I use the mechanical skills, research skills, writing skills I learned in college every single day that I am working. Since I am freelance, I do not have a clue what qualifications the publishers are looking for in the editors they want to hire in-house.
I would encourage anyone to go for it, if they feel editing is their calling! Books are not going away, they are just changing form. And as long as people are reading them--whether by flipping pages or scrolling down their Kindle screen--we will always need both writers and editors.
In a way, more people are writing than ever before--just think how many blogs are out there. If I were just starting out, I would make sure I learned the ins and outs of electronic publishing.
I would love to be doing the very same thing in five years that I am doing today. Every project is different and every client is different, so it never gets old to me.
Editor career image from Shutterstock
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Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
BigstockMake a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
- How did I learn about this job?
- How did I apply for the job?
- Did I earn an interview?
- What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
BigstockAre you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
BigstockYour job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
- Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
- Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
- Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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