Editors are responsible for overseeing the quality of publications, in print or online. The editor reads the manuscript to check its suitability to the publishing style, grammar and accuracy of the information. They can choose jobs for publishing, assist with design for publications, and deal with other issues related to publishing. If this type of work interests you, here are the steps to take to become an editor.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Doing the Necessary Work
Step 1. Read a lot
To hone your craft, you need to develop a vision for good grammar, punctuation, and sentences, as well as a sense of how writing should flow. Reading quality reading material will help you improve this skill so that it becomes sharper.
- Read the newspaper to find out the structure. Newspapers make a good structure of information from the most important to the least important. Read the newspaper to get the main idea of the story, which is usually found at the beginning of each article.
- Read fiction to increase creativity and empathy. The results of fiction writing tend to examine the role of human relationships in shaping and making happiness (or taking it away). In addition to making you a more social person, it can even drastically increase your empathy temporarily. This ability is important for editors in mundane matters.
- Read articles about true stories to learn about historical relationships and add information. True stories explore stories of real-life events and real people, who are often strangers than fiction. A good editor will use a true story to place the story in historical context and derive useful information from it.
Step 2. Write every day
You might think, as an editor you don't need to write much. Forget thinking about it. Although they are often not recognized as writers in their rights, editors spend a lot of time playing with wording and shaping the language to match their liking. Write something down every day, whether it's a diary or an official analysis of a piece of writing, and keep doing it. Don't make excuses about why you can't write. Make a reason why you should write as much as possible.
Step 3. Learn vocabulary (even if you know you won't use it)
Vocabulary is an important part of learning how to read correctly and sharply. Editors who play with new words constantly and discover new meanings of words see the world in a more different way. Being a somewhat different thinker is what will set you apart as an editor.
- Carry a dictionary with you wherever you go. Maybe your "dictionary" is an application that is on your smartphone. Maybe it's the Merriam-Webster pocket dictionary. Whatever it is, use it. Whenever you come across a word you don't know, find out about it and write it down on a list. Check the list periodically to learn-not just memorize-the meaning of the word.
- Practice the art of mot juste. Mot juste is a French phrase coined by Flaubert, which roughly means "a proper word for events." Knowing a lot of vocabulary, and seeing it used, will help you choose mot juste. The best editors and writers seem to pull le mot juste out of their minds with ease.
Step 4. Fulfill your curiosity
Writers, readers, and editors seem to have something in common (as an editor, you fall into all three categories) in sharing their curiosity about the world. This curiosity drives them to study the world, wrap the data in an interesting way, part time, and present it to others in the hope that their curiosity will also arise.
If you get a chance to explore the world. Traveling is a great way to learn about different places and cultures. Put your position out there and meet people. Create interesting conversations by asking targeted questions. Put yourself in an uncomfortable situation. Above all, write about everything
Step 5. Sharpen your mind
To become an editor, you need three traits; creativity, or the ability to think directly with different permutations; perseverance, or the ability to work for long periods of time starting from the same sentence; and analytical judgment, or the ability to make decisions quickly about things of importance, setting in context, or actual circumstances.
- Hang out with people who are smarter than you. If you are always the big fish in a small pond, you will eventually run out of mental stimulation. You will feel bored. You will be stubborn. Hanging out with people who are smarter than you will force you to reevaluate and think about ideas from the ground up. You might even be able to absorb their intelligence.
- Make a mistake. Mistakes are your friend, not your enemy, as long as you learn from them. Don't be afraid to try using a sentence that doesn't work in the end. Take that logical leap that you know is a little bit away from comfort. Then reevaluate, and think about where you went wrong. I swear not to make the same mistake twice. This is literally a way to get better at doing your job.
Part 2 of 3: Getting Qualified and Finding a Job
Step 1. Decide what editor you want to be
Knowing what industry you want to enter and what type of editing you want to do will help you determine the type of training you need. There are many opportunities when it comes to determining what kind of editor you are. Deciding what you want to do is part of the fun!
- You should enjoy the field you want to edit, such as a love of literature to be a book editor or a love of sports to edit a sports magazine. You should also develop knowledge in that area.
- Knowing the type of edit can also help you determine what type of training you need. To become a content editor, you need to improve your writing skills so you can revise content submitted by others. To become a proofreader, you need to improve your grammar skills to check for grammatical and punctuation errors.
- Some specialized fields, such as legal, engineering, or medical publications, require studying specific reference styles of writing. Other areas need to learn additional skills; To work as a design editor, you need to develop the ability to develop layouts and graphic designs.
Step 2. Consider whether you need to go to college to become an editor
Many people go to college and eventually get a degree in English, but not many people go to college specifically to become an editor. Even if you dream of becoming an editor, know that people who graduate with a degree in English regret not choosing a major that leads to economic freedom.
Formal college training certainly helps but is not always necessary to become an editor. A degree in English, journalism, or communications will help in securing an in-house editorial position, and there are degrees and certification programs in writing and editing. However, if you can write and edit well, you may get some training on the job
Step 3. Gain initial experience through volunteer work or internships
If you're still on campus, look for internship offers that provide hands-on work experience. If you're not in college, volunteer for charitable and non-profit organizations or with friends and colleagues, or exchange your services for the products or services you need.
Some companies use interns as errands instead of giving them jobs that have to do with editing. If in doubt, ask other people who have worked there before accepting an internship offer
Step 4. Consider becoming a ghostwriter or fact-checker
With editing, as with any other profession, there's usually a chain of command that you need to work your way up to slowly to gain control. While it doesn't have to be a ghostwriter or fact-checker, it will make things easier for you; Once you've worked and impressed others with your timely writing, sharp mind, and willingness to work, it becomes much easier to advance your career from within the company, rather than looking outside the company.
- Ghostwriters often learn to work from individual writers and make long-term relationships with them. The downside is that you may not get what you deserve (which could be more than you think), but the upside is that you build a relationship with a writer who knows many other writers and editors. Maintain this relationship if possible.
- Fact-checking jobs are typically entry-level, equivalent to an internship. Although usually tedious and has little to do with writing, many people find the job a great way to pave the way into journalism and networking while trying to get a better position. In some publishers, such as the New Yorker, the position of fact-checker can be a prestigious one, while at Der Spiegel it can be a very laborious one.
Step 5. Offer yourself to potential employers that match your specialty
be a versatile person. Think of yourself as a trustworthy Swiss knife, able to do several things at the same time in a variety of different situations. The more skills and abilities you have as an editor, the better job opportunities you will have.
For example, you could offer editing capabilities to aspiring writers or book publishers and book packagers or offer design editing capabilities to advertising agencies or graphic design companies
Part 3 of 3: Making an Effort To Be An Editor
Step 1. Network with other writers and editors
Other editors can explain the process they went through to get to where they are now and can offer you a job when they got too much work or could give them a project they couldn't handle. Since editor jobs are often overlooked and underutilized, networking is also a great way to stay connected to the top jobs and vacancies.
- One way to build a network is to join an organization of professional editors. Many organizations have an established list of editors in the field of editors you wish to enter.
- Another way to network is to join writers' conferences and conventions related to the field of work you want to be in.
- You can also network through social media websites, such as LinkedIn, where you can join groups that discuss writing and editing.
- Always contact other authors and editors. Send heartfelt congratulations when you see their posts or edits that you like. Don't cut ties if you leave a job.
Step 2. Take a job that no one else wants to take
This advice can be used in a variety of jobs, but it can be used specifically for this job. If you gain a reputation for being willing to do heavy, unpleasant, or unwanted tasks, you begin to make yourself indispensable. You probably won't run short of work if you get the right job, and you'll be rewarded.
Step 3. Pay attention to get the details exactly right
Unlike sales positions, where white lies are encouraged, or some managerial roles, where the big picture is more important than the details, editors have to get the little things right. Whether it's being consistent with punctuation in writing, making sure there are no typos, or getting the facts straight, the little things are more important to editors than any other profession.
Step 4. Start defining an issue that you care about
After all the generalizations and odd jobs that might define your early journey as an editor, you'll begin to learn about the types of books, prints, or categories of work you really enjoy. Having gone through a variety of superficial tasks early in your career, it will help you to be recognized as that person when it comes to your specialty.
Editors don't get Pulitzer awards, but if they could, it might be awarded to editors who choose to work in a particular field. What is your field? do you care about human trafficking? Political instability? Educational innovation in Indonesia? Define your interests so that others can easily define you
Step 5. Share your love of writing
Never stop caring about the best way to present, share, and communicate language so that it encourages others to do the same. As an editor, your special task is to make the language easy to understand and provide as much information as possible.
- Find someone who can be your mentor. they will appreciate the hints and work you give them. At the job level, they will say compliments about you to others, which helps boost your reputation.
- Appear in the media as a scholar. Be trustworthy when a new website needs someone to interview or speak for. You'll have to do a lot of in-depth communication to make that happen, but it's not impossible.
- Always learning something new every day, and love it. You've finally learned the correct way to conjugate that hard-to-understand word that you get all wrong every time. Share your study results with others. Instead of being known as someone who is too afraid to admit mistakes, be a person who lives to discover new things. That is the essence of being an editor.
