Posts tagged ‘editor writer’

Any book that encourages writers to think more like editors is a good bet–this one gets strong reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal. Thinking Like Your Editor could make the difference for a new writer trying to land that first book proposal. This one’s not for magazine or blog writer/editors, it’s aimed squarely at the book writer.

So what’s this doing on EditorWriter? It’s our belief that any book explaining the editorial mindset is a valuable resource for people who want to make the leap from writer to editor or editor/writer. There’s a lot of initial self doubt that can come with your first journey towards editing someone else; it’s good to have a few references to help you understand what your colleagues in the industry are thinking when they get to work on other people’s writing.

And this book makes a good gift from a kindly editor to a new book writer…a gentle nudge in the right direction is never a bad thing.

by Joe Wallace

Time for another round of hand-selected editor jobs. No Craigslist crap here–other sites have that editor writer angle covered so why should we bother duplicating the effort? Instead, what you get here is all HAND SELECTED editor jobs for a range of experience and expertise levels.

AOL Living needs a senior editor who can write for a female audience. This gig requires a well-connected person who has contacts in PR and with freelance writers who can make things happen. Beginners in the editing part of the editor writer equation are probably not the best candidates for this gig, but if you have a good track record you may yet get a foot in the door.

Crate and Barrel are looking for an editor to handle their catalog. This one requires a journalism degree according to the ad, but don’t let that stop you from applying if you don’t have one but DO have the right kind of experience.

CBS Interactive seeks a managing editor for BNET. You need five years experience as a story editor for a mainstream business website or newsstand publication.

More editing gigs coming soon…thanks for checking.

“Dear Editor–I’m not an authority on (this subject I’m writing about)–how do I write intelligently about it? How can I take a position when I don’t really know the issues?”

One mistake experienced editors frequently see? Early-career writers trying to write as an authority on a subject they don’t really know well. New writers–you don’t have to be the authority on a topic in order to write about it, so don’t TRY to sound like you know.

It’s obvious to anyone who does have experience in your subject when you try to fake your way through. Instead, don’t set yourself up as ANYTHING. Write from a neutral position, or write that you’re learning along with the audience. That makes for a much more compelling article than when you try to blunder your way through. Those with experience in the subject you write about will spot your newbie-isms right away.

For example: In music, there is a vast difference between microphones. Vocal mics have different sensitivities than mics that are used to record drum sounds. If you didn’t know what a pickup pattern is, you would be easily confused by the terms “cardioid” and “unidirectional” and probably wouldn’t guess that a lavalier mic is used for a specific purpose far different than a boom mic.

What do all those terms mean? To the uninformed this is a minefield because you might hear someone say “The singer has to adjust his lavalier mic to get the best results on stage” and assume that ANY mic a singer uses is a “lavalier”. That would be dead wrong–but you as a newcomer to all that jargon wouldn’t know.

It’s better just to ask the right questions–”What other mics can singers use on stage? Are lavalier mics the only kind or are therea diversity and why do they use so many different kinds?” The point is, you should write from your own experience level-don’t worry about appearing like a noob. The idea is to get the story and make your points without blowing your credibility.

Here’s the latest round of editor jobs, hand picked from a variety of sources—but NOT Craigslist. Why bother duplicating CL when it’s already all laid out there for you to see?

Taunton.com seeks a production copy editor for its Fine Homebuilding magazine. You must be experienced with InDesign and while home building experience isn’t required, it is a definite plus.

There’s a New Jersey-based temp editor/proofreader job listed–just one of many editing gigs listed–at the creative temp agency Adecco. If you’re really in need of some work, a creative temp agency might be a good thing…

GSW Worldwide has an opening for a health editor--a fulltime position which includes the usual proofing, fact-check and accuracy detail needed for medical writing.

AOL wants an editor for its AisleDash section. AisleDash sounds to us like some kind of grocery store deal finder gig, but this is actually a wedding-themed operation. The ad mentions a “deep comittment to read weddings for real women.” We do find the lack of diversity in this ad a bit amusingly sad (after all, gay couples like to get married, too.) but we know they were just trying to get the ad running and probably aren’t interested in political hot potato-tossing.

Being avid Penn & Teller fans, we weren’t sure if we should run this, but it IS an editor job and we won’t turn our nose up at a paycheck for a hungry editor who might need the gig. PETA advertises an editor opening, but let the applicant beware, they want someone who can speak Spanish and/or Dutch. They aren’t asking much on the Dutch front, eh? Perhaps the right person could convince them to moderate the rhetoric a bit? But that’s editorializing…and this is an editor job listing.

As always, if you know of a good editor gig, please don’t hesitate to share with the rest of us!

Interesting that while there are many insultingly low-paying gigs for writers–two dollars for an article, for example–and scammer sites aimed at freelancers, editors hardly seem to be on the radar.

There could be a number of reasons for this, but it is fascinating as a concept. Writers’ work is frequently seen as little more than a commodity. I remember one CEO asking what the difference between a product description and a blog was. He failed to understand even the most basic concept of blogging–that a blog is an entity and not an individual piece of work.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with that–until you presume to try and structure a company around things like blogs and social media. But I digress. It’s fascinating that editing isn’t the target of scam sites and low-payers. It seems that giving someone the ultimate responsibility for printed or online material getting completed in an accurate, readable fashion isn’t something you can simply throw a few pennies at.

Imagine a job ad where an editor was offered the same terms as some of these low-balling writing gigs. “Editor wanted for revisions. One dollar per article.” They’d be laughed out of court!

That said, I am sure some try–or have tried. Have you seen such laughable ads? If so, we’re dying to hear from you. Please post your experiences in the comments and share your favorite bad editor job story. Some of us think these are less plentiful than for writers…but what’s YOUR experience?

Northrop Grumman is still looking for a technical editor for Army manuals and related content. Bachelor’s degree required. These types of gigs can be lucrative if you don’t mind working in the defense industry…

EditorJobs.com advertises an opening at Beyond.com–they’re seeking an editor writer to handle newsletters and e-mail marketing campaigns.

McGraw Hill seeks an editor for its Humanities, Social Science and World Languages division. This is an on-site job in NYC and requires two years of associated experience in publishing.

The BOSS Group has an immediate opening in Bethesda, MD for an experienced editor with a bachelor’s degree, three years of experience and fluency in AMA and Chicago Manual of Style.

If you know of any editor jobs you’d like to see posted here, drop us a line in the comments section and we’ll get in touch.

The Editor’s Toolbox is a reference volume for editors. It’s aimed mostly at those working in print, but the book doesn’t stop with basics like grammar and spelling issues–emphasis on proper fact checking and proper layout principles make this a more well-rounded print guide.

Can online writers learn anything from this book? There’s certainly nothing wrong with applying the same fact checking and layout concepts where appropriate. In fact, I think many websites could use with a bit more thinking time in the visual presentation–perhaps a move towards more print-based visual aesthetics could be a good thing.

In spite of the Amazon Kindle and other gadgets which intend to put the axe at the root of the trees of the print industry, print isn’t in its deathbed quite yet. This book should prove valuable to anyone with a vested interest in keeping print alive in the early days of their editing career.

Dear Editor:

I’ve placed a Craigslist ad seeking writers and I am overwhelmed with replies, but most of them are terrible or not right for my needs. How can I find some good writers? I know they are out there. But they aren’t replying to my ad that’s for sure.

Ahh, the search for a decent writer. It’s not easy to find a diamond among all the lumps of coal, but one thing is certain; many editors don’t help themselves out toomuch because they post calls for writers that are vague or ill-defined.

For starters–advertise for good writers in the places good writers gather. If you hang out a job ad on Craigslist, you’re going to attract a lot of newcomers, wanna-bes and just plain lame writers. Not all writers who search Craigslist ads for jobs are poor writers, but the ratio is extremely skewed.

Try posting your call for writers in a much more targeted way–put an ad online in the really good freelance writing sites and avoid places that cater solely to new writers. You can also try seeking writers on your city’s job board websites or subject-specific sites related to your publication’s audience.

by Joe Wallace

Dear Editor: My writers constantly turn in material that’s off the mark either with rampant errors or directions not followed. I’m starting to think I hired a staff full of idiots. Help!

There are many reasons why writers get it wrong when on assignment. Some of can be laziness, some of it is circumstantial, but the problem I want to concentrate on for this post is the one that originates with YOU, the editor.

Writers often fail because editors don’t give them complete instructions. Don’t assume a writer automatically knows what to do, especially if you’re assigning a project they might not have done before. One great example–I once assigned a writer to cover a news story about military airplane mechanics. My writer had never covered that type of story before, and I had.

She came back with an excellent piece because I explained to her what she could expect when she got down to the repair bay. I told her who would be best to speak to, the most knowledgeable person on the floor based on positional authority and etc. I also warned her about a couple of pitfalls that could interfere with covering the story.

Most reporters won’t know (the first time) that when recording an interview in a military aircraft repair area, you’re often dealing with a lot of aircraft traffic and you should grab your interview when it’s quiet (usually when you first show up for some reason) as it might be a long wait once the planes start moving out to the runway. Armed with that seemingly insignificant information, the entire story gets done in a much shorter amount of time.

But editors, if you don’t give your writers complete information–as complete as you know at the time–it’s tough for the writers to figure out what’s on your mind. In this particular case, I told my writer that I wanted a story about where the repair crews felt they fit into the overall mission–and how specifically they operate in that capacity. (Without the repair crews, there basically is no mission–once the plane breaks, the repair guys are more important than the pilots.)

Now think about that one for a second. If I had just told the writer to go down and “Get me a story about airplane mechanics,” while chomping my cigar, I’d never get what I’m after. New editors, sometimes detailed instructions are best.

The most attractive parts of the McGraw-Hill Proofreading Handbook include a how-to on creating a personal style sheet, a section on fact checking, and some advice on how to train your eyes to spot copy errors.

Like the absolutely essential Elements of Style, the Proofreading Handbook is small, compact, and an easy read at just over 160 pages.

No, you’ll probably never need that section of typesetter’s marks, but you never know, and the existence of that section in the book shouldn’t dissuade you from taking advantage of the other solid info in these pages.

This is a serious professional manual. It’s lousy for reading on the subway, but for those who want to transition from writer to editor, it’s a good addition to the old professional library.