Book Editor Job Description
The title "book editor" refers to several different functions at a publishing house. Depending on the latter's size (i.e., a major house vs. a university press), the book editing jobs described in this article are handled by multiple staff members or a single individual.
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Line Editor
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A line editor's job is to review every line of a manuscript for typos, misused words (i.e., affect/effect, advice/advise), grammatical mistakes and punctuation errors. Line editors need to be excellent proofreaders and be familiar with proofreading symbols.
Copy Editor
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A copy editor's role is to make sure the book's content is concise, clear, correct, easy to comprehend and maintains continuity in its details (i.e., eye colors, names, sequences of events) from start to finish. For technical manuals, the editor also ensures that graphs, maps and diagrams are matched to the right references.
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Developmental Editor
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When more substantive editing is required to get a book ready for publication, a developmental editor works one-on-one with the author to addresses weaknesses such as story structure, inconsistent pacing, poor character development and contrivances.
Fact-Checker
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Nothing turns a reader off faster than to encounter inaccurate information. An editor is sometimes required to verify sources in historical, political and technical manuscripts. Because such research is time-consuming, however, the task of fact-checking is more likely to be put back on the author.
Acquisitions Editor
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An acquisitions editor's quest is to find new projects the publishing house could successfully market. This is done in two ways. The first is to read new manuscripts submitted by authors or their agents. The second is to aggressively seek out new voices (i.e., following up on a newspaper/TV human interest story that has book potential).
Book Doctors
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Book doctors--who also call themselves book editors--are independent contractors who, for a fee, will help an author polish her manuscript before submission. As with any profession, there are those who take advantage of their clients' ignorance or confidence, and anyone seeking to hire an editor to help "fix" a book should always exercise caution.
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- Photo Credit Photo by Christina Hamlett
