First and foremost, let’s get done with figuring out the role of an editor. In any organization’s writing department, the hierarchy works as the writer, then the sub-editor, and then comes the editor. The roles of sub-editor and editor are similar. The writer writes content, and the editor is supposed to check the content. The editor is also responsible for figuring out any issues factual and figural. Making corrections of any kind, be it in the format, paragraphs, grammar, punctuation, or spelling mistakes, also falls under the umbrella of the editor’s responsibilities.
Every writer needs an editor for himself. No writer can function entirely without this man. If you’re thinking about diving into the career of editing, then stay with us.
These are the essential skills required to become an expert editor. Check out if you have any of them.
4 Must-Have Skills Required to Become an Editor
Good observational skills:
As an editor, you receive tons of content regularly with thousands of words in each of them. Can you imagine going through each of them? Not only this, you should be able to find the tiniest mistakes hidden in those thousands of words. Sounds challenging enough already? Well, that is the life of a regular content editor. An editor should have good observational skills and an eagle’s eye.
An exceptional amount of knowledge:
A good editor should have the know-how of multiple topics. You can and will receive content to be edited in any case. It could range from a simple recipe to a piece on the moon’s impact on the Earth.
Learning essential skills could prove to be fruitful for your career in the future. It is the era of the digital. People are selling their skills online at high rates as freelancers, including book proofreading services. By reading this article, you can learn and increase your editing skills and successfully become qualified for a high-paying job.
If you have a limited amount of knowledge of some subjects, you will not be able to succeed in understanding the writer’s words. Let alone make any improvements or corrections to them. Expand your knowledge. It’s one of the key features of a good editor. A good editor is also an avid reader. Read as much as you can.
Aware of writing rules:
A good editor should have knowledge of style guides. They should be aware of the rules of professional writing. An editor must have full command of grammatical rules.
Strong research skills:
An editor is responsible for gatekeeping wrong facts and figures from passing on to the reader. For this, an editor should have strong research skills to research hundreds of types of content to confirm and fact-check the content.
6 Tips to elevate your editing skills
Set a cozy environment:
Complete Focus and attention to detail is the single most crucial thing in editing any type of content. Distractions can ruin the mood of an editor and risk making you skip minor errors.
Avoid loud or unpleasant environments while working on projects. Set the mood according to your taste. We recommend working in a well-lit, comfortable, and quiet room for sensitive work like this.
Read till the end:
A good editor should give it a full and thorough read before making any changes to the article. Try to absorb the words of the writer into your mind. Get to the bottom and find out the point of the article. You should also consider the context in which the piece is written before giving any criticism.
Focus on each line:
When you’re done skimming the entire article, the next step comes. Go over each line one by one. Try to find and correct any mistakes in facts, figures, grammar, punctuation, or spelling. You should be able to do a little tweaking by yourself.
If you think the content might be going in a bad direction, you always ask the writer to rewrite some specific parts of it. Provide feedback and proper guidelines to the writer.
Accept different styles:
As an editor, you will receive content from thousands of different writers. Each writer has a specific writing style different from anyone. You should have the flexibility to work with their type. As long as the writer has followed all the grammar rules and a legit style guide, he’s good to go.
Learn about style guides:
Gather some knowledge about famous style guides commonly followed in the field of writing. Choosing a style guide also depends on the type of content you’re working on. Pick the correct style guide for the type of content you’re editing and provide a reference to that style guide while making corrections for the writer.
Use AI and tools:
There are digital tools available online to help you pick errors and spelling mistakes in any content more efficiently. These tools exist to make an editor’s life heaven. If you happen to receive a file with a difficult task, let’s say a book for editing. If you are not satisfied with your work and still have doubts, you can always hire a book editor from any online service provider.
Using AI tools might give you an edge in your research and may make your job easy. You can type in your queries, data, or any fact from the content you’re not sure about. The AI will quickly confirm or deny it for you.
Feedback:
Try to take out some time from your busy schedule for this next step. Provide detailed feedback to the writer with complete references. Explain where and why you decided to make a certain correction. Explain how the angle of this story can be improved. This will help the writer increase their skills. While also increasing your respect and value as an editor in the job market. Small things count.
Winding up
People like to think of an editor’s job description as opening an article and adjusting two spelling mistakes while sipping on a margarita. The reality is far away from that. It requires immense pressure, focus, and attention. You might spend your whole day sitting in your chair reviewing tons of articles repeatedly.
Now you know what basic skills are required to be an editor. We also gave you some valuable tips to make you a pro in the world of editors. If you think you have the right man for this type of work, we wish you all the best!