How to Become an Editor
If you think that you are a creative writer and have excellent grammatical skills, then the editing could be a great career choice for you. The field of editing is no doubt very competitive as it requires knowledgeable and ingenious minds along with the capability to play with words. However, if you have a suitable educational background and skills, then there is no reason why you could not become a good editor.
Editors are the ones who guarantee the quality of print and online publications. They make necessary changes in writer’s written material and ensure that that the given facts are authentic and worth value, before displaying them to the readers. Editors play vital role in attracting readers.
The key responsibilities of an editor include, ensuring that the writer’s formatting fits house-style strategies, proofreading manuscripts, correcting the factual or grammatical mistakes and making ideas for perfection. In many cases, the editors also looks into selection of articles or manuscripts for publication, supporting with design layout and supervising other aspects of the publication procedure. On the other hand, creativity, grammatical and communication skills, and the knowhow of the computer programs like communication tools and the electronic publishing are the basic requirements for editing.
Instructions
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1
Get the required education
The very basic requirement to become an editor is, getting the required degree or education. A bachelor degree is editing’s main requirement in most countries but it may vary in some countries. Moreover, a triumphant career or knowledge in English Literature, communication, or journalism pave the way to editing. -
2
Make your mind up, what kind of editor you want to become
Once you get the degree of relevant field, make your mind up that what kind of editor you want to become and polish your capabilities accordingly. For example, if you want to become a content editor, work on your writing skills as you will be revising the content submitted by other writers. Moreover, enhance your grammatical skills if you want to become a copyeditor, learn a specialized style guide for the legal, medical or technical editing, and improve your supplemental skills to get into design editing. -
3
Now, learn to read critically
In order to become a perfect editor, you really have to be a good reader. So, develop a habit to read voraciously and build up high-quality grammar, syntax, punctuation, and sense of cohesion in the flow of the text. -
4
Practice makes EDITORS perfect
Simple is the formula to become a good editor, practice, practice and practice. Go online open some of the already published writing materials and edit them. Try to identify the possible grammatical mistakes, typos, try to enhance the overall structure of the publication. Believe or not, this formula works in polishing your hidden editing abilities. -
5
Try to do some volunteer editing to gain initial experience
The very first question majority of writing companies ask is, “Do you have the relevant experience?” therefore, do not apply for editing job until you gain some experience. Try to do some volunteer editing in order to gain initial experience. You can think of an internship, volunteering your services to charitable or some non-profit organizations, or writing for the newspapers of some educational institutions to get hands-on experience. -
6
Build more experience with freelance editing projects
Once you form a base for editing, try to build more experience in the specific field by starting some freelancing editing projects. There are many famous worldwide online companies like steybystep.com that offer freelancing opportunities to fresh graduates or writers and editors. Moreover, you can look for some individual projects through many freelance job websites. DO NOT FORGET to get the experience letter from the specific company as it is your key to get an in-house editing job. -
7
Design an impressive Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Make an impressive Curriculum Vitae (CV), mentioning your education, skills and experience in the field of editing. Be very specific while writing your career objective. Make sure to go through the CV few times before forwarding it to editing companies as it is your main source to create good first impression. -
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Time to get the return, apply for ongoing editing jobs
You have successfully fulfilled the basic requirements of editing; now it is the time to get the return. Search online, ask your friends, or go through the local newspapers to know about the ongoing editing jobs and forward your CV. Wish you best of luck!
