Editorial Assistant Career Guide and Counseling

Question: What's the best way to get an editorial assistant job? I am interested in being an editorial assistant. What kind of experience would I need for this? I am an English graduate who has been out of work for a year. I say I have been writing a novel, but I have really been taking some time off. What are my chances of landing one of these jobs?

Answer: You don't say in what exact field you want this job. I am only familiar with newspapers. Without any experience in reporting your chances are slim. You would need to get on as an intern and work for no pay as well as volunteering as a statistical local reporter of school sports. Such as covering high school football games and getting a reputation at the newspaper.

Question: Editorial assistant for a magazine or newspaper? What's the best way to get an editorial assistant job for a magazine or newspaper? I'm a staff reporter for a major newspaper, so many would see this as a step down, and I'd probably would have to take a paycut. But I already know all the ins and outs of journalism, so I would be highly-qualified to assist the editors and writers with their needs. I want to go from the crazy 24-hour cycle of sports journalism to a 9-to-5 with weekends off. What's the best way to pursue such an opportunity?

Answer: Man, I've asked myself that same question every day for 10 years while I worked at a daily as a repoter. I decided six years ago to accept an editor's position at a weekly newspaper. My coworkers at the daily where I worked laughed at me for "stepping down." Now, six years later I earn much more than they do and I have far less stress in my life. Also, I have a blast 'cause I get to decide what goes into the paper and what the paper will look like. AND I WORK 8-5 MOST DAYS!!!!! Now I'm looking to buy my own paper. good luck. Let me know how it goes.

Question: What does an Editorial Assistant do? For 5 1/2 years I've worked as a receptionist for a physical therapy hospital and for an assisted living facility. I graduated in Communications and Technology with a minor in English recently. I wanted to know what it's like to work as an Editorial Assistant?

Answer: Pulled this from the Vault.com - LOVE taht site. Read this then check the link below - he actually give a 'day in the life' which is pretty cool! Job Description Well, the official description is: Assist the publishing team in the overall development of product by coordinating manuscript reviews and maintaining all necessary records. Assist editor with correspondence to authors, internal and external customers, reviewers and sales reps. Coordinate review of manuscripts by maintaining reviewer database, selecting reviewers, preparing and mailing material and monitoring deadlines. Assist editors and team members in communicating with authors, internal and external customers and other team members. Assist with preparing art and text manuscripts for production, and generally oversee schedules. Take initiative on the completion of routine tasks as assigned. But, the job entails a lot more as you will see.

Question: What is the PAY and JOB like as an editorial assistant for a publishing company? Anyone ever worked as an editorial assitant for a publishing company? What is the pay like? What is the job like? Is it easy to advance in this career?

Answer: Try this link www.bls.gov This is the government's site for labor statistics which include average salaries for almost any job you can think of.

Question: How do I become an editorial assistant? Do I need any education beyond a BA, or is experience better? I have done a newspaper internship and edited manuscripts for professors. I jus twanted to know what else I'd need to do. What are some good publications to apply to?

Answer: These days, your best bet would be to get a Journalism/Arts or Communications degree. But experience and 'who you know' goes a very long way in organisations like News Ltd. I'd suggest scanning Seek.com.au for Editorial positions. Your best bet would be going for something like "Editorial Services Assistant" which is mainly organising and admin stuff but from there, with your experience, you should be able to progress into some actual editing.

Question: How do I find an entry level editorial assistant position in publishing? I have recently decided to leave the top law school I've been attending for the past six months to pursue a career in book publishing. I graduated from a respected NYC university in 2005 with a B.A. in English and philosophy (ranked 11th out of over 700 students) . I am also about to publish a paper I wrote as an undergrad in a volume alongside established scholars (all of whom have Ph.Ds). I also have about a year's worth of office experience. However, I'm finding it VERY difficult to find an entry level editing position at any publishing house in NY, big or small. Do most NYC publishing houses look for experience, even for entry level positions? Should I just bite the bullet and go to grad school for my M.A. in English Lit. and then try again?

Answer: Sure, if you have the money, the interest, and the time, get another degree, but getting experience is very useful before going after that advanced degree. Maybe if you'd worked for an attorney, you wouldn't have attended law school... If you're not excited about more school right now, get a taste of what you think you want to do. It's nice to know that you're headed in the right direction when you go to school given how expensive and time-consuming it is. I interview people about how they got their latest job, and the answer 97% of the time is NETWORKING. They may not call it that, but that's what it is. They got hired by a former boss, or a former roommate referred them or a cousin or former co-worker, etc. It's NOT the most qualified people who land most jobs. The person with the best connections gets the job. So, since you've spent a lot of time in school recently, your network is probably limited right now to that circle plus family and friends. You need to expand and leverage it. Make sure everyone in your network knows that you're looking for an editing job in an NYC publishing house. Check with your college career center to see if there are alumni/ae in either/both NYC and publishing who have offered to act as connections or mentors for other alums. Ask to be put in touch with them. I'd spend a fair amount of time with MediaBistro, if you haven't already - http://www.mediabistro.com - TONS of insider news about the publishing industry PLUS jobs. Go to some of the events. Take a few NYC-based classes, particularly editing classes. Meet the faculty and instructors, establish contact with other students. NETWORK! One of the keys to networking is understanding that it must be mutually beneficial. I think of it as just helping other people who will help you when they can. We're all in this together - cooperation makes sense. If someone does mention a job site as being the source of the lead that ended in employment, the site that is mentioned most often - in general - is Craigslist.org. http://newyork.craigslist.org/ - check out both the jobs and the "gigs" (short-term jobs) and also the events. You might get a short-term job that leads to a "permanent" job (or as "permanent" as any job is, these days). Another source of both experience and networking is working through a temporary staffing agency. Good for networking, often, and will help you build your portfolio of experience. Good luck!

Question: Can I become an Editorial Assistant? I recently discovered that this kind of work appeals to me but I don't have any experience whatsoever. I currently work in a lab, and I have a BA in Environmental Studies. I applied for Editorial Assistant at a science publishing company. The ad said science degree preferred. Do you think they'll call me?

Answer: Maybe. However so did I when applying for a similar sounding one for the same reasons, and I was not shortlisted even though I have many years writing and publishing experience, but the issue might be no exact experience with editing tasks or knowledge of proofreading marks, or formal studies in grammar. Who knows what is going through their heads, but I wish you the best of luck.

Question: What's the best way to get a job as an editorial assistant 2 years after college? I'm back in NY and I'm really confused on how to pursue my goal of working at a magazine or publishing house's editorial department. I've started writing networking e-mails, looking on all the standard job boards, working on cover letters, etc. Does any one have any advice?

Answer: Apply silly...

Question: Overqualified to be an editorial assistant? Does an MA in English make someone overqualified to break into the publishing industry as an editorial assistant?

Answer: Your question is probably the second most common question Ed gets (after, How do I find a job? of course). Graduate school seems to have the perfect solution to your problem: you can delay the job hunt, go back to your cozy college environment, learn more about journalism and get your parents off your back (“Have you been on any interviews this week, dear?�) for another 2 years. But don’t do it. Ed’s not a fan. Why? Let him count the reasons: It’s expensive. You can shell out $30K (or more!) per a year for two years in graduate school when you could be earning the equivalent a year in salary and benefits. Granted, you don’t have a job yet, but you will get a job within in two years. Even if you don’t, you’ve only lost your living expenses, which can’t possibly be the cost of tuition and those other ridiculous fees schools add on. Besides, if you are prepared to spend $30K, why not keep it (or not apply for the loans) and instead get a post-graduate internship? You won’t make money (unless you get lucky—most don’t pay), but at least you’re not hemorrhaging money AND you’re getting more hands-on experience, which is far more important to employers than taking more classes. You could even work at Starbucks on the side (they provide health insurance—take that Wal-Mart!). If you have rich parents or your grandma just croaked and left you a hunk of cash, keep reading: It’s a waste of time. You’ll get the same job after you graduate from J School as you would graduating with an undergraduate degree. That can’t be right!, you say, That’s not fair! Well, it may not be fair, but it’s da truth. Graduate school, in your case, is good at delaying the real world, but it doesn’t prepare you any more for it than undergrad. What prepares you for the real world is real experience. Internships are the key to getting your first job. Repeat after Ed: Internships. Internships. Internships. When it comes to filling Editorial Assistant positions at most consumer magazines, the applicant with the most internships wins. OK; so it might not be that cut and dry, but the point is that practical experience—including writing and editing on your college publications and freelance writing for off-campus publications—is what editors want their entry-level editors to have. But what if I have tons of internships and experience on my college paper and I go to grad school? you ask. Surely, I’ll get a better paying or slightly higher level-job out of grad school, right? Not necessarily (and don’t call me Shirley!). The entry-level editorial jobs at consumer magazines are editorial assistant, researcher, reporter and copyeditor. For the most part, they pay the same, no matter what your experience (usually somewhere between $25-35K). Some of the larger publishers even have unions that mandate that the salary of entry-level employees is exactly the same for everyone. Plus, let Ed remind you: You may be overqualified for an entry-level job, but you are underqualified for the job above it. Basically: You can’t get the job after the entry-level job unless you have the entry-level job first. So suddenly you have all this education and no one to reward you for it. Grad school grads are overqualified and arrogant about it. Ouch. I know, it hurts. Not to stereotype, but hey, might as well—they have an attitude that says, I’m important and therefore you must hire me! After $60K and thousands of discussions with professors about ethics and freedom of the press and other scholarly topics, you deserve to get that editorial assistant job over Julie Schmoe who’s fresh out of undergrad. Besides, you’re older and wiser. You have more knowledge. You know the AP Style book by heart. You know your shield laws from your freedom of information act. You can write a 10,000 word essay on Judith Miller and Matthew Cooper. That’s the problem. You are too good. You’re overqualified. With the exception of some chi-chi places in the publishing world (see below), consumer magazine editors want to hire the 22-year-old whippersnapper fresh-out-of college. There’s only a small window in life—Ed believes it begins senior year in college and ends about a year later—where you are bursting with enthusiasm and naïveté without a shred of cynicism. That’s what editors want: Whippersnappers who are so excited to be in the magazine industry that they’ll do anything with a spring in their step and a smile on their face. They are excited—no, down-right thrilled—to make a trillion photocopies, answer annoying phone calls from readers who want their subscription without “those annoying blow-in thingees,� and run an editor’s package to his freelance writer after the last messenger has gone home. The implication with grad school grads is that they’re trust-fund kids who are too good to make copies and (gasp!) get coffee for their boss—they need to be practicing their craft. But I’m not a cynic!, you say. I’ll make copies! I don’t have a bit of blue in my blood! I’m just a normal girl standing here in front of a normal editor asking him for a … job. Well, my dear. It doesn’t matter. We already think what we think. And you know how it is about self-fulfilling prophecies. Did you survive that? Ed was pretty harsh. But sometimes he has to be—it’s his duty to spread the truth in this crazy business. Sure helps that he’s anonymous and has no identity whatsoever (he’s even gender confused!). Anyhoo, after that rampage, he does admit that grad school can be good for some people. Here’s who should send in an application: Rich people. Rich people who want to work for any of the following publications: The New Yorker, The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, Atlantic Monthly and Harper’s. Of course, a graduate degree is not required to work at any of these publications, it’s just that they tend to hire J School grads more than other mags. Yet, Ed knows people who work at these publications who only went to undergraduate school—some of them even to (gasp!) public universities! People—rich or not rich, assuming you can get loans—who discovered after four years in college studying pharmacy, physics, popular science or whatever, that they love magazines and want to make it their career. They’ve never written for a magazine, they’ve never been on a staff, they don’t have a single internship under their belt. Essentially they have to start over. These people should go to graduate school in journalism. You get to create a new major for yourself—and this time it’ll only take two years to graduate instead of four (hey, there is good news in here!). Ed’s good friend went to J School after she worked as a paralegal for a couple years after college. She was so bored out of her mind on her job and found herself drawn more to People magazine than legal briefs. (Um, who wouldn’t be?) So she quit the law firm and went to J School. She’s now one of the most sought-after celebrity cover writers in New York. So grad school can be good. It can teach you about journalism when you knew nothing before. It can teach you the basics of writing and reporting. It can even introduce you—depending on the school and its location—to some movers and shakers in the industry. And, it can provide opportunities for you to work on student publications (and thus make you qualified for internships—remember: internships! Internships! Internships!) if you didn’t partake in undergrad because you were too busy injecting lab mice with poison or something. OK, Confused. There you have it. I hope that answered your question. Good luck. And if you don’t have an internship yet, there are tons of ‘em on Ed’s Ed on Campus whisper page. Check it out!

Question: My dream is to work at Random House Publishing or similar company as Editorial Assistant (to start with..)? Can anyone in a related position recommend tips for getting my foot in the door? Reading, writing and books are my passion and I need to find out more information on my career preference-any tips or websites would be most welcome!

Answer: How old are you now? If you're still in school (college), there are several things you can do: Get involved with your school's literary magazine, if you have one. If not, see if there's one published someplace close and try to sign on as a submissions reader. Get an internship with a publisher. This is crucial. EA positions are highly sought after, and most of your competition will have had at least one summer, if not a whole year, working as an intern somewhere (or multiple somewheres). If you live in New York, LA, Chicago, or Boston, you should also be able to find at least one literary agent who needs first readers to go through submissions. Take any classes you can on copyediting, desktop publishing, book design & production, or general book publishing. These can be hard to find, but there are specialized publishing programs out there. Emerson College in Boston, Columbia University in New York, I believe Radcliffe has something as well. There are others around, too. Read a lot of book reviews--NYT Book Review, LA Times, and anything else you can get your hands on. This will clue you in to current trends in publishing, authors, and some of the literary world's movers & shakers. Also, if you school's library subscribes to Publishers Weekly, read it cover to cover (it's too expensive for an individual to subscribe). Also keep on top of literary journals or genre magazines, if you want to work in genre publishing. Again, your school's library will probably subscribe to some of these. Others you can find at B&N, Borders, and other large bookstores. www.publishersmarketplace.com has a job board--check it out every now and then, even if you're not ready to job hunt, just to see what kinds of qualifications publishers are looking for and to see if any other publishing positions interest you. HarperCollins, and perhaps a couple other publishers, has (or had) a "rotational apprenticeship" program, where newbies to publishing can work a few weeks in many different functions to decide where exactly they want to settle down. You might give this a try, as well. If you're in New York, see if you can line up some informational interviews with editors at your favorite publishers. It might not land you a job, but you'll be able to find out more about the profession and how to get into it. And while most applicants for EA positions will be English majors, don't feel constrained to that. If you take plenty of English classes but major in something else, and end up applying for a position publishing books about that field, you'll have a leg up. This is most relevant to non-fiction publishing, of course, but could have applications in fiction, as well. Also, it would be really great if you have strong foreign-language skills, especially Spanish. More and more publishers are pubbing in both English and Spanish these days, and the ability to talk about your books in both languages is a major advantage. Like I said, publishing is a very competitive field, even though the pay is diddly-squat. Anything you can do to make your resume stand out is important. An internship is necessary. I've given you some ideas for what you can do on top of that. Persevere! I love my job as an assistant editor and can't think of any other job I'd be happy in. Best of luck to you!