How To Become A De

How to Become a DE Once every few months, I’m asked to conduct an informational interview with a person considering a career as a book editor. We meet off-site at a nearby coffeehouse, and over my hazelnut Italian soda I break the bad news gently. It is this: the supply of qualified English majors is much greater than the demand for them in publishing, and applicants with book experience are favored over those without, no matter how many advanced degrees or decades of accomplishment in another field. Thus, the only way to become a book editor is to start at the bottom and apprentice your way up. There are two career ladders, each with the same number of rungs. The inhouse track has the obvious advantage of a steady salary with benefits. But it can be harder to rise in-house because of low turnover in the senior positions, and the in-house track involves much mind-numbing administrative work, even on the upper rungs. The freelance track requires entrepreneurial pluck; but once editors have impressed a key client or two, they never lack for work. Freelancers can move more quickly upward toward substantive editing, and most report greater job satisfaction because they spend all of their working hours actually engaged with text. Here are the rungs. learn to proofread. Memorize the list of standard marks found under “proofreading” in Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, and bone up on grammar and bookmaking style by reviewing the resources listed in “Further Reading.” Then take a proofreading test at a local publishing house. If you fail, ask to see the test so you’ll know what you did wrong. Starting locally allows you to take the test on site or deliver it by hand, and publishers are more likely to engage the services of people whom they’ve met. If you’re in an entry-level position in-house, you’ll still be required to take the house test. Once you’ve passed it, you may be given some proofreading work during the day, but you’ll mainly establish your proofreading chops by taking home freelance assignments. learn to copyedit. Take a copyediting course. Even if you’re an ace grammarian, you’ll learn much about editorial convention that otherwise comes only with publishing experience. Also, listing the course on your resumé will distinguish you from those whose resumés clearly indicate that an editing career is a backup plan. Once you’ve passed a publisher’s test, remind your contact via email that you’re available for work—in-house editors are often reluctant to try a new freelancer, even one who has passed a test with flying colors. Make certain you do a flawless job on your first assignment, even if doing so means spending many more hours than the budget allows: a wowed staffer will speak highly of you, and soon you’ll be getting more offers than you can accept. If you’re in-house, taking on copyediting assignments may be difficult

How to Become a DE (continued) while working full time. Instead, offer to copyedit in-house materials like copy for jackets and catalogs. show potential. If you can find one, take a course in developmental or substantive editing. Signal your interest in such assignments by demonstrating a grasp of developmental issues in the projects you copyedit. Do not overstep the bounds of a copyediting assignment and undertake developmental work without the publisher’s express permission. Instead, in the cover memo that should always accompany the copyediting jobs you return, let the client know that you noticed certain developmental issues, prescribe editorial solutions, and offer to do the work for an additional fee. The client probably won’t take you up on that offer, but she may think of you the next time she has a job with developmental needs. If you’re in-house, the most direct way to enter the developmental fray is as the successful candidate for a position on the acquisitions staff. But you may also participate in project development as a production staffer or marketer: offer to read proposals and manuscripts at home, then write up reports that offer sound developmental advice (see chapter 6). be patient. Whether you choose the in-house track or the freelance one, don’t expect to be elbow-deep in developmental work overnight. Your first assignment will likely be to restructure an introduction or a single chapter in a manuscript that is otherwise solidly constructed. As a freelancer, keep updating your “List of Edited Works,” and be sure to break out the developmental jobs under a separate heading. As an in-house staffer, be sure that your annual performance review documents your developmental accomplishments. Sooner or later, a big hairy job will come to you because nobody else wants it—and then you’ll be on your way.

DE is an insatiable reader, but voracious reading habits do not guarantee developmental talent. Authors should insist on seeing evidence of a DE’s level of experience. Ultimately, though, authors must rely on the judgment of their publishers in the selection of a suitable DE. An author should beware of allowing the opinions of friends and loved ones to trump the better judgment of the publisher: often a stranger can see more clearly into the heart of an author’s work and provide more useful help in achieving its fullest expression. Most publishers administer copyediting and proofreading tests, but there’s no way to test a prospective DE. The best an author or in-house editor can do is to ask for a list of books edited, references, and a sample or two. review a list of books edited. If the book list does not distinguish developmental edits from copyedits and project management, then this freelancer may be attempting to pull a fast one. content: assessing potential

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