Editorial and Writing
Although many of us are writers and editors in our everyday life—correcting
the spelling on a memo, questioning the insight of a newspaper reporter,
writing emails—not everyone is suited to turning communication into a
career. But the field is perfect for you if you possess an ongoing
engagement with language and a keen desire to communicate ideas to people
effectively and efficiently. Careers in this industry vary widely: The
subject, length, and style of what you write or edit are variables that
depend on where you work and the position you've chosen.
What You'll Do
Writers tell stories. Business writers tell stories about companies and
their management teams, organizational structures, and economic successes
and failures. Feature writers tell stories about celebrities, movies, and
people doing different, sometimes unusual, things. Copywriters use language
to convey a story about the benefits of a brand or product. Writing almost
always requires research or knowledge about a particular subject. While
many writers start out as generalists, in the course of reporting or
writing a story, they must become experts.
Editors often start out as writers, and in many cases their role involves
substantial writing. However, their role also bridges the space between
writer and publication. They help writers craft stories, make sure writers
adhere to style guidelines and rules of grammar, and ensure that every
article is suitable for a particular publication. Editors straddle
management and production, often managing writers and budgets, setting
deadlines, scheduling what will run and when, and enforcing general
editorial standards of quality.
Varieties of Opportunity
Editorial and writing careers span industries. Advertising agencies hire
copywriters to create compelling copy that will sell readers on a brand. PR
agencies use writers to create press releases, write annual reports, draft
speeches, and create op-eds (opinion pieces that PR firms try to
"place" in newspapers to reach target groups). Computer software
and hardware companies use technical writers and editors to develop
documentation and technical information on software and hardware products.
Who Does Well
Editors and writers need to have a strong command of language. You'll
need to understand its rules—and when to break them. Writers and editors
should be curious and resourceful, able to find information, synthesize it,
and explain it. While some writing is highly persuasive, writers and
editors should be able to look at a subject objectively. You will be
required to interpret the facts you find, and the best approach to those
facts is with an open mind.
An ability to organize language and think critically and a desire to
communicate to others are critical skills. A good sense of how to tell a
story is also important, as is a mastery of the form in which your work
appears.
Most jobs require both writing and editing skills, though people generally
start off in a role more primarily writing-based or editing-based. As a
truism goes, all good editors are writers, and all good writers are
editors.
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Most writing and editing jobs require a college degree in journalism,
communications, or English. If you're interested in technical writing,
you'll need a good understanding of whatever technical subject
you're writing about.
Gaining experience as a writer is essential. The way to gain experience is
through internships—most papers, including local dailies and alternative
weeklies, and many websites, offer them—as well as by working at your
school paper, or freelancing for whatever publications are around.
Copyeditors can start by copyediting for nonprofit groups' free
publications—newsletters for an arts organization, for instance.
Newsrooms can be chaotic; reporters should be able to deal with confusing
environments. If you're working online, you should know HTML and other
computer-oriented programs. All writers and editors should know the basic
word processing programs such as Microsoft Word.
Knowledge of grammar, language, and narrative (storytelling) are essential
skills. Writers must be able to conduct research. They need to be strong
proofreaders. Editors need tact; when dealing with writers, and sometimes
with production staff, they should be able to express clearly what
they're looking for.
Writers and editors also need a number of softer skills. Interviewing
skills are critical to many roles. Writers are typically curious and
interested in a broad range of topics. Self-motivation is important.
Creativity in both finding information and telling a story are useful. If
you're interested in technical writing, you'll need a good
understanding of whatever technical subject you're writing about.
Possibilities
Editors and writers can find plenty of opportunities in traditional media.
Many go on to work in broadcast communications, especially radio and
television. Some write books. Many journalists shift over to a career in
advertising or public relations, where they work on developing stories or
publicity favorable to clients. Writers and editors often go into
education. Some work as copywriters, a marketing or advertising function.
Writers with technical knowledge can often find lucrative work in technical
writing.
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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of writers and
editors should increase at a slower than average rate through the next
decade. And competition for these scarce writing and editing jobs will be
stiff. Jobs at local newspapers and broadcast communications in smaller
markets are easier to find than those in larger markets.
Similarly, those who have experience in and/or uncommon knowledge about a
specific industry, such as telecommunications, may find it easier to land a
job at a niche publication than at a major-market publication with national
cachet. Jobs continue to grow in the magazine and periodicals markets as
publishers are increasingly appealing to readers with special interests in
niche markets.
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A writing and editing career generally starts with a position as an intern,
editorial assistant, proofreader, or fact-checker. Many writers start out
contributing on a freelance basis to local newspapers or websites, or by
writing for school papers. Once they've accumulated a number of
articles—called "clips"—they use them the way a graphic designer
uses a portfolio to get hired.
Career tracks vary somewhat in book publishing, newspaper publishing, and
website publishing, as do the skills, but the roles have similarities. The
ensuing categories do not include a comprehensive list of job titles, but
cover the key editorial and writing careers within print and online
publications. Similar nomenclatures typically exist in editorial and
writing departments in other industries.
Editorial Assistants/Coordinators
People who hold these positions do whatever other writers or editors
won't or can't do, whether that means fielding general inquiries
from the public or providing PR for editorial or administrative staff. In
exchange, they take on increasing editorial responsibilities the longer
they stay—editing certain columns, handling overflow from the copy desk, or
assisting editors and reporters. If they do those tasks well, they're
eventually promoted to more senior editorial positions.
Copyeditors
These detail-oriented watchdogs work closely with text, paying meticulous
attention to style, grammar, and consistency. Their responsibilities vary
from publication to publication. Some are glorified proofreaders, searching
merely for typos and errors in punctuation. Others are expected to identify
large-scale problems and suggest solutions. Many write headlines, captions,
or Web content.
Copyeditors use reference books such as the Chicago Manual of Style (the
source of "copyeditor" as one word) and the Associated Press
Stylebook and Libel Manual, often in conjunction with an in-house style
guide. It's not necessarily a job for those who thrive on variety—most
copyeditors do pretty much the same thing all day, every day—but
there's no better way to learn a publication's nuts and bolts.
Writers and Reporters
This huge category includes everyone from newspaper beat writers to
novelists. The journalist does most or all investigative work through phone
calls, face-to-face interviews, travel, or Internet research. Typically,
journalists cover a beat or a main subject of interest. You get to be out
and about in the community, not sitting behind a desk every day. Your name
is in print repeatedly, which could help the drug dealers you exposed find
you, but you'll get the glory and byline for your stories. Many writers
go on to opinion-page roles; others write in increasingly sophisticated
forms—essays, books, and novels.
Managing Editors
If you're torn between a career as an air-traffic controller and a
therapist, this may be the job for you. Occupying an editorial
department's busiest intersection—where commerce and creativity
collide—managing editors oversee the ebb and flow of ad and editorial
space, study market trends and reader surveys, and create budgets. They
soothe editors' and writers' egos, resolve conflicts, create
schedules, and enforce deadlines. In some cases they hire and fire writers.
They also make sure that what's written gets through production—on
tight deadlines. On top of all that, most managing editors edit content in
some capacity, and many help determine a publication's general
editorial direction.
Associate Editors/Section Editors
These executive-editors-in-training work directly with writers and
assistant editors, often overseeing a particular section of a publication.
If a lead's not catchy or a story's not cohesive, the editor spots
it and fixes it. Most associate editors spend less time editing and writing
than they do tracking down late manuscripts, finding and hiring
freelancers, and e-mailing back and forth with writers.
Executive Editors and Senior Editors
Executive editors and senior editors typically set editorial policy, write
opinion pieces, and manage teams of editors. As with all types of editing,
the foundation is writing—most executive editors got started in writing.
You might think of them as violinists who've become conductors. They
oversee the content and intervene to enforce quality standards and style
rules when necessary. They also plan budgets, set deadlines, and watch
market trends.
Technical Writers
Technical writers transform technical mumbo-jumbo into logically organized,
easy-to-read text that's precise and exact. Technical writers typically
develop instruction manuals, training guides, and how-to pamphlets or edit
technical reports and oversee the preparation of illustrations, diagrams,
and charts. Think of the handbook that came with your PC—that's
technical writing in action.
Science and medical writering is a subset of technical writing, and
includes preparing formal documents on the physical or medical sciences.
For all types of technical writers, clarity and accuracy are valued above
lively or engaging writing. This growing field promises to provide the most
opportunities in the industry, particularly if you have expertise in
medicine, economics, or technology.
Freelancers
In exchange for their freedom, freelancers take on an extra job: finding
work. Freelancers must be able to pitch ideas and schedule their time. In
exchange, they can work at home, cozy in their bathrobes, but they must be
able to create their own structure and be comfortable working outside of an
office. Office romances are pretty much out the window.
Other Writing and Editing Careers
Editors work under a variety of titles. Developmental editors work on
longer manuscripts, such as books, helping the writer fulfill the
publishing house's idea of what a book should be. Acquisitions editors
often work in a developmental role, finding appropriate writers or
manuscripts to publish. The editor in chief often has the final say on what
gets published.
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Salaries for those in writing and editorial roles vary widely. Small-market
publications pay far less than big-market publications. Business writers and
others with special knowledge about an industry or technology in general will
make more than feature writers or general assignment reporters, who are doing
the work that more people are interested in doing.
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Copywriter: $32,000 to $50,000
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Senior Copywriter: $50,000 to $85,000
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Editor: $35,000 to $63,000
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Senior Editor: $63,000 to $98,000
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Reporter: $25,500 to $33,000
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Senior Reporter: $39,500 to $62,000
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Technical Writer: $36,000 to $50,000
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Senior Technical Writer: $52,000 to $84,000
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Web Writer: $32,000 to $84,000
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Proofreader: $29,000 to $42,000