How to Become a Copy Editor at a Book Company
If you have a true passion for the written word and a drive to help authors put their best works forward, a career as a professional copy editor for a publishing company might be your calling. Here's how to get started.
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Instructions
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Familiarize yourself with as broad an array of genres, styles and authors as possible.
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2
Take a class in copy editing. To be an accomplished copy editor, you need to be familiar with all of the notations and proofreader's marks that encourage authors to perfect their delivery and printers to understand a plethora of editorial changes.
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Peruse Internet and print media ads seeking copy editors. For those who seek proof of copy editing abilities, you will need to provide "before" and "after" samples of your editing expertise. Prospective employers need not know that you were actually the originator of the "before" samples.
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Solicit local companies and corporations for honing your copy editing skills with their newsletters, press releases, correspondence and in-house publications. Even though the pay may be low, you will steadily be building a portfolio of your expertise as well as gaining valuable referrals.
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Study "Publishers' Weekly" and other popular trade magazines in order to understand current industry trends and the marketability of new works. Become an aggressive follower of regional and national newspaper book reviews.
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6
Seek out internships. Regardless of your age or education, major publishing houses will often seek out assistance to help them wade through their annual slush piles. A creative eye insofar as what is catchy and commercial, coupled with an ability to synthesize text and catch spelling and grammatical errors, could favorably distinguish you from your peers.
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Write copious book reviews of anything and everything. Even if it's just for Amazon, you're building a portfolio of insightful opinions.
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Introduce yourself to e-book publishers and vanity presses. The allure of seeing one's name in print has resulted in no small shortage of authors willing to pay money for publication. This translates to a nice entry-level position for aspiring copy editors who truly have a commitment toward helping others achieve their publishing dreams.
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Advertise your copy editing services in your own website or blog.
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Check out the job site interviews at local universities for copy editing positions.
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Solicit publishing houses that regularly publish works for which you have a strong passion and/or a demonstrable professional expertise. If, for example, you currently work in - or are retired from - the criminology field, you might want to introduce yourself to publishers of mysteries.
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Tips & Warnings
In conjunction with Step #1, many aspiring copy editors are members of community book clubs that invite discussion on a diverse selection of contemporary and classic literature.
If you are fluent in another language or have an expertise in medical, legal, or scientific terminology, be sure to mention this in your cover letter to a publishing house as it could expand the opportunities to use your services.
One of the most important prerequisites of being a copy editor is that you are a chameleon who can seamlessly improve a work without skewing the "voice" of the original author. If your only interest in becoming a copy editor is to somehow slither your way into a publishing house and endear yourself to the powers that be, you will not be working in the best interests of your client and should, accordingly, consider a different career.
