In an organization, a copy editor performs many tasks and has many responsibilities. His or her responsibilities are proofreading and editing of content and editorials, which are include essays, interviews, white papers etc. He or she must find and correct spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors. A copy editor not only edits, but also prepares the content for various means of promotion such as newspapers, magazines and newsletters.
A copy editor is also responsible for providing recommendations and giving advice related to guidelines and styles and adherence to them. He or she must be observant to ensure all content meets the standard. He or she make recommendation concerning editorial matters and thereby ensuring all literature is correct.
A copy editor must make suggestions for the improvement of editorial content, check all manuscripts, make sure the content is readable and easy to understand, and also complies with editorial guidelines, styles and rules.
A copy editor must possess skills such as good English grammar and spelling knowledge, to correct errors if any. Having knowledge and awareness of other fields is also required. Knowledge of writing for the engineering and medical field is helpful. . In addition, strong communications skills are required, especially written skills. Eye for detail, organizational skill and the ability to work under pressure are other requirements to be a copy editor. Copy editing jobs require long hours and deadlines also. Therefore, a person must be able to work well under stress effectively and efficiently.
Educational requirements
For becoming a copy editor, an undergraduate degree is a must. It is helpful if the candidate has a degree specializing in English, journalism or any other similar field. If a candidate has experience in writing for yearbooks, newspaper etc in his or her school, college, institution etc then being a copy editor is feasible. In addition to these skills, many publication houses and industries prefer candidates with several years of work experience.
The average salary of a copy editor is approximately $40,000 annually or payable on an hourly basis. The salary will vary depending on the type of material that is processed and the company as well.
Copy editors in small companies have more job responsibilities, in manuscripts and some even take the opportunity to advance by taking the post of directing the publication. But in large publication companies the advancement is slow compared to the small ones. Today there are job opportunities for all the copy editors in public relations and advertising fields also.
Editors are required in many companies that publish books, articles and other types of literature. Business survival depends on accuracy of content. Many copy editors also work for website content companies who regularly create pages for the internet. Some copy editors also work on a freelance basis.
