A Newcomer’s Guide to Becoming a Book Editor

Book editors not only check for errors in books, but also ensure that they are culturally sensitive and avoid harmful stereotypes. Editors are like project directors who play a crucial role in book publishing, from commissioning an author to reading a manuscript to identifying an audience.

Although other responsibilities of editors are essential for publishing, their most important role is to review and correct written content for accuracy. In essence, they thoroughly read books and ensure they become top-notch finished products.

Types of Editing

Before you decide to pursue a career as a book editor, it makes a lot of sense to know about various types of editing.

1. Developmental Editing

Developmental editing is often referred to as substantive editing, content editing, and manuscript appraisal. Authors struggling with their stories often take help from developmental editors as this type of editing doesn’t require a finished manuscript. Developmental editing can be done before the author has finished writing their book.

The process of development editing is simple. The editor reads the manuscript and presents an overall summary of what’s good and what is not satisfactory. These experts, in particular, take note of flat characters, plot holes, and confusing scenes.

In addition to that, a seasoned editor also motivates the writer by mentioning what is working well so they know what to keep.

2. Structural Editing

Structural editing, also called manuscript critique or an evaluation edit, focuses on the flow of a book. Unlike developmental editing, a structural editor normally needs a finished manuscript.

This type of editing is especially important for books that jump back and forth in time a lot, such as fiction books that utilize flashbacks. Authors who are worried about the clarity, flow, or structure of their books can take the help of structural editors.

3. Editorial Assessment

Editorial assessment determines the kind of editing an author requires for their manuscript. Also sometimes referred to as manuscript assessment, it involves an editor looking at various parts of the story and then determining and suggesting the kind of editing that would best serve the content.

Oftentimes, an author’s first book is a prime candidate for editorial assessment.

4. Line Editing

Line editing, also known as stylistic editing, is all about the style of a manuscript. A line editor takes a deeper look at the manuscript in terms of flow, tense, description, and other stylistic matters to make a more enjoyable reading experience.

5. Copy Editing

Copy editing (or copyediting) is all about making sure that the writing meets overall standards for correctness. Copy editors are more concerned about spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes. This is an incredibly useful form of editing that every book should undergo.

6. Substantive Editing

Substantive editing or content editing is an all-around editing process that deals with sentence structure, word usage, grammar, and overall writing style. If a writer is not sure what type of editing they’ll need, they can choose ‘substantive edit’ because it covers all the manuscript editing basis.

7. Fact-checking Editing

Many authors write about a wide variety of topics, and they are not experts on each one of them. This type of editing is essential wherever fact checking is required. Books written on historical topics especially need fact-checking editing by experts.

8. Proofreading

It is the last editing step and involves ensuring the book has no spelling or grammatical errors. Proofreaders also check for formatting mistakes and let the author or publisher know if the book is ready to go for printing.

Step-by-Step Guide to Becoming a Book Editor

Here is a step-by-step guide on how you can become a book editor.

1. Get a Degree

Most seasoned editors have a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field of study, such as English or Communications degrees. Although people with bachelor’s or master’s degrees in other subjects can qualify to become editors, they’ll first need to practice and display good writing.

So, consider the degree a prerequisite for this job and quickly enroll for one if you already haven’t.

2. Improve Your Writing Skills

An editor should be the master of the craft of writing. To become an editor, you wouldn’t need an author’s imagination, but you need to be able to write. To refine your writing skills, you can start a blog or write for a magazine.

3. Learn Editing Software

An editor should have a command on the latest editing softwares. It may feel daunting in the beginning to learn these softwares, but it is a valuable investment in your career path.

4. Seek Out Internships

If you want to pursue a career as a book editor, seek out internships at publishing houses. It is one of the best ways to learn the tricks of the trade, build industry connections, enrich your resume, and gain experience.

5. Build Your Resume

Once you have completed your internship, carefully build up your resume. Hone your skills with small jobs that will also look good on your resume. If you can’t find a real job quickly, try your luck with freelancing by making profiles at marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr.

6. Build Your Online Presence

In the digital age, it is absolutely necessary to build your online presence as a book editor so writers can contact you directly. Launch a website about yourself and publish social media profiles to improve your chances of getting work as an editor.

Choose your website’s meta tags wisely because they can affect its rankings for your desired keywords. If you provide editing services in Canada, you can add that to your site’s title to ensure higher rankings. If someone googles “book editors in Canada”, your website is more likely to show up higher in the search results. 

7. Set Reasonable Rates and Clear Service Offerings

Setting reasonable rates and clear service offerings on your website and social media profiles can improve the chances of finding new clients quickly. When you are getting started as an editor, it makes sense to offer lower rates because it can be an effective strategy to hone skills and build your resume from scratch.