publishing

English majors are often sought out by publishing companies, magazines, and newspapers. English majors are quite marketable because of their ability to communicate well and because of their familiarity with writing, reading, research, and editing. A few positions that can help you get your foot in the door include the following:

Editorial Assistant
Copyediting/Proofreading
Internships

Being an editorial assistant involves working for senior editors by preparing books for production, working with authors, copyediting, and clerical work. An editorial assistant’s tasks have a wide range and mainly depend on the department or the company itself. Starting out as an intern or an editorial assistant is the best way to advance within a department.

With a bachelor’s degree in English, interning is the most practical way to gain experience as most of the fulltime and paying internships go to students with master’s degrees. There are a few colleges that offer graduate-level certificates or degrees in publishing, so continuing to graduate school can give you the edge over the majority. While interns generally perform more clerical work than assistants, the tasks will vary from company to company; nevertheless, interning is a good way to gain experience and to be hired, as many companies hire the best interns after the program ends.

When applying for a copyediting position, most publishers will require an examination to test proficiency. As an inexperienced copyeditor, freelancing positions are more practical to apply for, as it generally takes a good reputation to be hired as a fulltime employee. Also, since editorial assistants generally work in a variety of capacities at publishing companies, starting out as an assistant can eventually lead to copyediting positions. Like being an editorial assistant, copyediting can lead to advancement in a variety of positions, but mostly within production.

After landing a full-time position, there are ways to advance in the industry. Most publishing companies have three major departments.

Production
Marketing/Publicity
Acquisitions

Production involves the preparing and printing of manuscripts, newspapers, and magazines. Marketing involves the selling, publicizing, and distribution of the product. In acquisitions, employees work with authors and find books and articles to publish. While these jobs do not technically require graduate degrees, applicants with graduate degrees in publishing are more marketable (e.g., a journalism background is useful for production, knowledge of business is useful for marketing work, and specialized subject-area knowledge is useful in acquisitions).