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- Help with the editing and publishing process for books, magazines or websites
- You'll need excellent written communication skills and a love of language
- Opportunities to progress into more senior editing roles
As an Editorial assistant your day-to-day tasks might include being a point of contact for authors, keeping databases, spreadsheets and other records up to date, reading documents and making corrections, dealing with rights and permissions, acting as personal assistant to commissioning editors, setting up interviews, working with images and page layout software, and carrying out general office duties.
If you work online you could be proofing and editing online text including social media, compiling and sending out newsletters, using design and distribution software, uploading text and images to a website using a content management system (CMS), or editing text on apps.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
If you work online you could:
- Proof and edit online text including social media
- Compile and send out newsletters
- Use design and distribution software
- Upload text and images to a website using a content management system (CMS)
- Edit text on apps
You may also:
- Be a point of contact for authors
- Keep databases, spreadsheets and other records up to date
- Read documents and make corrections
- Deal with rights and permissions
- Act as personal assistant to commissioning editors
- Set up interviews
- Work with images and page layout software
- Carry out general office duties
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
You could work in an office or from home.
You'll need
This role would be ideal for someone with excellent reading and writing ability, a high level of accuracy and attention to detail, the ability to prioritise and meet deadlines, strong time management skills, IT and administration skills.
You'll usually need a degree in English, journalism or media studies. If you want to specialise in a particular field of publishing, you may need a degree that's closely related to it, for example physics or maths for a scientific journal.
You could also do an advanced apprenticeship as a publishing assistant.
You'll find it useful when applying for jobs, to have done some paid or unpaid work experience in publishing.
You could also work in a publishing office or a company's communications department as a general assistant and work your way up through in-house training and promotion.
Taking a proofreading or editing course, like the ones offered by The Publishing Training Centre or the Society for Editors and Proofreaders would be useful.
You may also find it useful to join organisations like The Publishers Association and Professional Publishers Association, for professional recognition, training opportunities and to make industry contacts.
CAREER PROSPECTS
With experience you could progress to more senior editorial roles, or work on a freelance basis.