Can you be both a copy editor and a content editor?

Hi, Catherine. Yes, you can pursue both—sweetening your value to potential clients. As a full-time writer/editor who predates the Internet, I've encountered confusion among clients who actually had no idea that "content" is simply another term for "text." All writing is text; all text is content. Industry standards have expanded to consider "content" the same as subject matter—but it always was.

In today's market, though, it's best to realize that most clients perceive copy- and content-editing as two distinct services. True, there are editors who prefer to work only with subject matter (i.e., content), and another writer here was correct to refer to that discipline as developmental editing: a detailed process for extracting a publishable book from a completed first-draft manuscript that has structural flaws—common to all works, even that of seasoned writers. A competent developmental editor must possess subject expertise, market knowledge (not quite as exacting if the client is self-publishing, but still important), tenacity and tact to hash out solutions when the author's preferences and the market's needs are in conflict.

Hope this response helps, Catherine. However you proceed, may you enjoy success in your ventures!

Absolutely. I'm a copy editor and an author of both nonfiction and nonfiction books (under a pseudonym), and in the past I've done content editing and developmental editing and been a managing editor. I've found it helpful when applying for jobs--or better yet, researching companies/people that seem like they could use my services and reaching out to them directly even though no job has been posted, because then you're not competing with a thousand other applicants--to tailor each resume and cover letter to highlight which skill set applies to the job or opportunity I'm pitching. Extra work but makes all the difference.

Yes, you can be both. I've been a developmental editor for 30 years, and I copy edit on the side because it's fun. My career advice would be to focus on becoming a developmental editor because that requires a broader range of skills. At the same time, hone your copy-editing skills because they will help you no matter what career you pursue.

I don't see a problem of being both. I'm a copy editor and a content writer for a publication I write for and they don't really clash at all. However, you do learn about how to be a better writer and what kind of writing no-nos you shouldn't do that you'll see in other writers.

Depends where you want to work -- at a bigger (or even mid-sized) trade publishing house, you'll need to pursue a path in either the Editorial or Managing/Production Editorial department, so you would need to pick one. As an editor/editorial assistant, you'll work on reading and acquiring manuscripts for publication, editing for content (from broad story suggestions through line-by-line edits), pitching books to other departments, and coordinating with other departments to make decisions about marketing, design, production, copyediting, foreign rights, and sales. As a production editor/production editorial assistant, you'll edit books for grammar, style, and continuity. At my company, we copyedit picture books in-house but farm out novels to freelance copyeditors . But our in-house staff does review many versions of each manuscript throughout the copyediting, proofreading, and design process. The managing editor oversees the book and materials schedules for the whole department.

This said, you could absolutely try internships in both departments and see which you like better!