Every bibliophile’s dream is to read endless books and get paid for it. It sounds really simple, but being a book editor isn’t as easy as it sounds. The Bombay Circle Press is here to break down the process and give you real-time insights on how to enter the publishing world.
If you want to be a book editor, you need to have a language degree in whichever language publishing you wish to work in. It shows that you have professionally studied and researched that language and understand it enough to edit pieces of literature. A strong hold on the language’s grammar and vocabulary will be a valuable asset.
A book editor thoroughly goes through a manuscript several times to ensure that the book is a smooth read for the audience. Structural edits, copy edits, and proofreading are the major series of edits that a manuscript goes through. These stages of editing make sure that there are no loose ends left in the content, the plot is laid out well, the dialogues are in the right personality of the characters and so much more apart from just correct grammar and spelling. Different genres of fiction books require different kinds of editing. A romance book will have to communicate love or heartbreak to its readers, while a murder mystery author needs to outsmart their readers in order to keep them in suspense. So on and so forth, it becomes an editor’s job to polish the book with plenty of rigor to guarantee a good book.
A non-fiction book requires a whole different skill set of editing. If an editor is working on a non-fiction book, they have to fact-check and go through the references that the author used.
The book editor ensures that these kinds of books read well and are not just information dumped from various sources. Hence, a non-fiction book becomes a powerful tool against misinformation in this digital age.
Another prerequisite for being a book editor is to have an eternal love for books and a never ending TBR list that haunts your dreams. Jokes aside, being an avid reader and appreciating literature always comes in handy. If you want to be a book editor, you have to be well versed in whichever language you wish to work with. It not only helps to expand your horizon, you also understand the nuances of writing and why some books stand the test of time while the rest do not. Make sure you are updated with the latest writings too, so that you know what are the current publishing trends, for various audiences.
Book editors are very often left out of the picture, disregarding their contribution to the book. They have to put into a lot of effort in the book to make it a finished product. If you want tips on writing, head on to How Not to Begin the First Chapter of Your Novel: Things First-time Fiction Writers Get Wrong.