Editorial Assistant

Typical Salary

£15,000 To £40,000

Typical Hours

37 to 39 a week

evenings occasionally

How To Become a Editorial Assistant

You can get into this job through:

a university course
an apprenticeship
working towards this role
specialist training courses with professional bodies

College / University

You'll usually need a degree in English, journalism or media studies.

5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English

2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

Apprenticeship

You can get into this role through an advanced apprenticeship as a publishing assistant.

Routes into this Career

You could work in a publishing office or a company's communications department as a general assistant and work your way up through in-house training and promotion.

Other Routes

You could take a proofreading or editing course, like the ones offered by the The Publishing Training Centre or the Society for Editors and Proofreaders.

Skills And Knowledge

You'll need:

knowledge of English language
knowledge of media production and communication
the ability to read English
excellent verbal communication skills
to be thorough and pay attention to detail
excellent written communication skills
the ability to work well with others
to be flexible and open to change
to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Day To Day Tasks

Your job may involve:

being a point of contact for authors
keeping databases, spreadsheets and other records up to date
reading documents and making corrections
dealing with rights and permissions
acting as personal assistant to commissioning editors
working with images and page layout software

If you work online you could be:

proofing and editing online text, including social media
compiling and sending out newsletters using design and distribution software
uploading text and images to a website using a content management system (CMS)
editing text on apps

Working Environment

You could work in an office or from home.

Career Path & Progression

With experience you could move into more senior editorial roles, or work on a freelance basis.

Volunteering Opportunities

You'll find it useful when applying for jobs, to have done some paid or unpaid work experience in publishing.

Tips & Information

Professional and industry bodies

You may find it useful to join organisations like the The Publishers Association and Professional Publishers Association for professional recognition, training opportunities and to make industry contacts.

Further information

You can find out more about becoming an editorial assistant from:

You can also get information on other publishing and creative careers from Discover Creative Careers.

Restrictions & Requirements

Restrictions & Requirements are not listed for this job.