Ray
Editors and publishers- what was your major?
I've heard that English is too broad and journalism is dying. Are these true? What did you major in to become an editor or publisher? I intend to major in psychology, but I am looking to dual major or minor in some kind of English. Can I still get a career as a publisher or editor if I just minor in an English?
#english #college-major #major #editor #publisher
6 answers
Nadina P
Nadina’s Answer
I'm an editor with 10 years of book publishing experience, and I majored in English. In the book publishing world, that's what almost all of us majored in. There are a handful of journalism majors, with other humanities degrees behind that; however, I'd say more people with journalism degrees end up in magazine, news, or marketing.
In truth, I think publishing is the sort of space where any sort of major will serve you well if you're smart about what you do while you're in school. As you study, build the skills you need for a life in publishing. You probably won't write literary analyses of Jane Austen, but you will have to write, learn how to tailor your content for specific markets, and think critically. Develop your voice. Build your research skills. Get good at time management. Be very organized, since you'll be doing a lot of grunt work in any sector of publishing before you get somewhere. Network. Learn how to analyze the data. Learn how to let go; as an editor, my writers do a lot of things I wouldn't personally do; you have to learn when to live with someone else's style. You absolutely must get an internship under your belt, more if you can. I always recommend that you work in a writing center. If you can't work in a writing center, tutoring helps immensely. If you can flesh these things out of your major, you'll be solid for a career in publishing--and in a lot of other things too.
Good luck!
Nadina recommends the following next steps:
Shalini S.
Shalini’s Answer
- Research: Demonstrate that you are able to jump into researching a subject you might know nothing about while differentiating between credible and non-credible sources (including statistical data). Show that you can organize only what you need for the task at hand.
- Writing: Develop your writing style. Write clearly on a wide range of subjects. Demonstrate critical thinking in your writing.
- Editing: Always self-edit your work. If possible, review the work of peers, siblings, etc., and offer thoughtful feedback that enhances the author's point without compromising his/her voice (i.e, don't just rewrite!). Refine your copy-editing skills as well. As another reviewer mentioned, writing centers and tutoring provide excellent opportunities for this.
Read a lot and seek out internships where you can, but don't feel like you're stuck in one sector of the industry if it's not for you. Publishing is a huge field with room for a lot of backgrounds and interests!
Norma Brenes
Norma’s Answer
Keri Ouye
Keri’s Answer
While I can't offer direct feedback regarding majors for publishers, I can offer some perspective to your question. My husband was a journalist major in college as he felt the field of communications offers a good foundational skillset that is applicable for all jobs. While he is not a journalist today, he did work in fields such as public relations and content writer/editor for web/phone apps. Having a major or experience in psychology plus communications can also open up other opportunities (e.g., website user interface/user experience design) that leverages skillsets and knowledge of human behavior and communicating in a clear way.
Allison Moore
Allison’s Answer
I was a Journalism major with a Statistics minor. Both have been helpful indirectly, the former in developing my writing skills and letting me learn about interesting people and ideas, and the latter for running sales numbers and interpreting and sharing data, also a big part of my job. Most people in my department had writing-centric majors, but they ranged -- English, Journalism, Political Science, Creative Writing, Art History. Much more important is getting an internship and/or office experience and bookstore experience.
Allison recommends the following next steps:
I intend to put an emphasis on creative writing in my English courses. I will have to take statistics for psychology. I currently do work part-time at my local library, and when I have time I read. It looks like I am on the right track. Thank you! :)
Ray
Jason Bassford
Jason’s Answer
As a teen, I learned about computers on my own. I took a computer class in high school, and ended up as a teaching assistant to other students. I maintained my interest in computers in my personal life, but went took philosophy in university. After graduating, I had several jobs in IT, then worked in technical support for Microsoft (briefly) and VMware (much longer).
In my final year at VMware, without any formal training as an editor, I made a lateral career move to become a technical editor.
I have always been an avid reader, and somebody who pays attention to grammar. Even before I held a formal position as a technical editor at VMware, I took a lead on writing and editing knowledge-base articles when VMware started its initiative in that area. I was lucky enough to meet a woman who instructed me in a technical course at VMware, and who would eventually offer me a job as a technical editor, working for her (after she also had a lateral career move). She mentored me, and led me pursue what I'd discovered was the career I was more interested in.
Unfortunately, I was laid off when Dell bought VMware. However, I joined Editors Canada, took several editing courses at a local university, and also spent several years involved in English language and grammar forums at Stack Exchange.
After some time, all of that led me to find a job as a technical writer and editor at Dell (ironically), and I've been happily employed there since.
You don't need to have a formal education in editing, but it certainly helps. Any field that involves reading, interpreting, understanding, and writing is useful. There are some essential, and perhaps obvious, basic skills that editing involves: grammar, logical structure, and plain language. However less obvious skills include patience, listening, and interpretation.
As an editor, you don't write how you think you should write. Instead, it's the author who's the writer. It's your job to take what they produce, and manipulate it so it not only follows certain standards (which you might or might not personally agree with), but it is also something easily understandable to the particular audience who will be reading it.
Being an editor can be humbling—because it's not about you or what you personally think. You also need to be knowledgeable about different styles of writing, and be able to apply a particular style (that might or might not be your own) consistently.
Both psychology and English would contribute to all of this, and they are no less valuable areas of study than several others.
The best way to learn how to edit is to practise editing. I learned a lot from peers after joining Editors Canada, and also from participating in grammar discussions on Stack Exchange (even though there isn't room for real editing there). As with many other jobs, a certain amount of luck also doesn't hurt in terms of finding the right person and place to help you start your career path.