The acquisitions editor reads book proposals that are provided by authors or their agents. The acquisitions editor decides which book proposals are worth the attention of the publisher. He represents the publisher when he negotiates with authors and their agents. If an acquisition editor does not like a book proposal, the publisher he works for is not going to publish it and he is not even going to evaluate it any further. If the acquisitions editor loves a book proposal and is convinced that it can become a best seller than he will do all he can to retain the author and publish the book.
The copyeditor’s job is quite different. He makes sure that the written work does not contain any grammatical, spelling, or contents mistakes. Both professionals read many interesting books with exciting stories. Not all books are fiction though. Some are biographies and often they read the work of technical writers or technical freelance writers. In general, editors edit, review, and even rewrite the work of authors. They are very involved when the content of a book is being planned. Because of their experience they know what readers want to read. Their comments and recommendations are valued by writers as well as by publishing companies. Often they are very involved in the actual publication of a book. Not all editors edit books. Many find a job with a local newspaper. An editing job with a newspaper brings more job security than a freelance editing job.
It is obvious that editors have to possess exceptional grammatical and spelling skills and that today’s day and age requires that an editor is at least computer savvy. Most editors have a BA degree. Others have higher degrees. A literature, journalism, communications, or English degree, is not absolutely required but highly recommended. Many editors with years of seniority do not have more than a high school diploma. This is the year 2009 however and if you are not rooted into the field yet you should improve your chances of finding a good editing job by going to school. If you apply for a job opening with a major publishing company you will be told that you cannot immediately start as an editor. They will most likely hire you first as an editorial assistant.
Overall, editors do not make six figure incomes. Their average income is between forty thousand and fifty thousand a year and that makes it possible for them to live a middle class lifestyle. Ten percent of all editors are extremely successful and work for famous publishing companies. Some of them are editors of technical writing. These very successful editors can have an annual income that reaches between eighty thousand and ninety thousand dollars a year.
If you like to read and have very proficient language skills it might be worth it to look into a career change and become an editor. Why would you stay in a job where you do not like to be if you can become an editor and you can do what you like to do?
