Become a Magazine Editor

The pinnacle of a magazine writer's career is to become a magazine editor. Magazine editors oversee the writing content of company staffers or freelancers. Editors ensure the view, content, style and tone of the writing matches the focus of the magazine. If you want to be a magazine editor, the path is long and can be difficult. You will have to pursue the right education and spend years building your skills as a writer. With years of dedication, however, you should have a solid shot of landing the role of a magazine editor.

Steps

Gaining Early Experience

1. Take English and writing courses in high school. The path to an editorial career begins in high school. It's vital that you develop your writing, editing, and reading comprehension skills early on. As you'll need at least a bachelor's degree to become an editor, stock up on English and writing courses throughout your high school career. When applying for a degree related to writing and editing, this will help your application stand out.
   • Try to take a couple of English classes every semester. If your school offers classes on writing and journalism, stock up on these courses as well.
   • You should also work on developing skills with technology. You will have to work on computers a lot as an editor, as you'll need to format articles for publication. Take any courses related to computers your high school offers.
   • Look into AP courses. An AP English class can look great on your resume if you want to get into a solid school.
2. Gain experience writing and editing. You will need years of experience writing and editing as a magazine editor. Start gaining that experience in high school. Look into ways to bolster your resume early on.
   • Look into extracurriculars that involve writing and editing. A position on your school newspaper or your yearbook can help.
   • You can also look for part time jobs or volunteer work related to writing and editing. Try to volunteer to work on your local newspaper, for example, or see if a local charity needs someone to proofread newsletters.
3. Read a variety of magazines. If you want to work for a magazine, you'll need to be familiar with contemporary magazines. Take out subscriptions to a variety of popular magazines and read them each week.
   • Think about your area of interest. If you want to edit for a sport's magazine, a subscription to something like Sports Illustrated can help. If you're interested in literary magazines, read something like The New Yorker.
   • Read online magazines as well. Many popular magazines, like Salon, have a lot of content online.
4. Learn about the career. Before you embark on the path to become a magazine editor, you should familiarize yourself with the career. Being a magazine editor can be a stressful job, and the industry is highly competitive. However, it can be rewarding if writing and journalism are your passions.
   • As an editor, you will review submissions from freelance writers, assign writing jobs to your staff, determine the kinds of content your magazine produces, and think of headlines and review photo captions.
   • The job can include long hours and a lot of responsibility, which can sometimes be stressful. However, as an editor you also get a lot of creative control of the direction a publication takes, giving you an opportunity to put content you're passionate about into the world.
   • The salary for an editor varies. On average, magazine editors make about $55,000 per year. However, if you end up working for a larger publication, you can make about $90,000 a year.

Getting the Proper Education

1. Get a bachelor's degree in English, communications, or journalism. The vast majority of editors have at least a bachelor's degree in English, communications, or journalism. When applying to colleges, specify that you want to major in one of these fields. Double majoring or taking on a minor can also help your career.
   • Study hard in school. While your GPA may not be the number one factor potential employers will look at for hiring, you want to impress your professors. A recommendation from a professor can help you when applying for jobs later on.
   • Make time to study each week, and always turn assignments in on time. While college can be a fun place for socialization and personal growth, your primary goal should be to learn. The harder you work on your undergraduate degree, the easier it will be for you to find work after graduating.
2. Participate in extracurriculars to bolster your resume. Do not do the bare minimum in college. In addition to studying hard and getting good grades, take on some extracurriculars. Most magazine editors do internships in college, and a large amount of extracurricular activities could help you land an internship down the road.
   • Take on a role on a campus newspaper or literary journal. This will give you vital editorial experience.
   • You can also try to get some writing published in local newspapers and school journals. Many magazines will ask for a writing sample before making a hiring decision.
3. Complete many internships during college. If you want to land a job after college, you need a large amount of internship experience. It's a good idea to strive to complete one internship for every year of college.
   • Talk to your school's career counselor about internships. He or she should be able to help you with your search, and also give you advice on your resume and the application process.
   • Talk to professors and people you work with at school clubs. They may have internships leads, and may be able to put in a good word for you.
   • It's vital you take any internship you get seriously. You will want a solid recommendation after the internship is finished, so work hard and be professional. A glowing letter of recommendation can help you land a job after completing college.
4. Work on your social media skills. A lot of magazines build readership via social media, and maintain positive PR through things like Facebook and Twitter. Look for experience working with social media during college. This will pay off down the road as it's something to put on your resume upon graduation.
   • Look for internships related to social media. Working as a social media intern for a local magazine or journal is a great resume booster.
   • Volunteer to tackle social media at a campus club. For example, you could volunteer to operate the Twitter page for your school's literary journal.
5. Look for leadership positions. As an editor, your job will be to manage others. Therefore, it's a good idea to seek out leadership positions. Take on as many leadership positions as you can in college, as this will pay off down the road.
   • Volunteer to be the managing poetry editor in a college literary journal. Run for president of a student run newspaper.
   • Look into internships that provide leadership experience. You could, for example, take on an internship where you help manage volunteers of a local charity organization.
6. Decide whether or not pursue a master's degree after college. After college, you can look into higher education. Many managing editors have a master's degree in a field like journalism. There are benefits and drawbacks to pursuing higher education, so think long and hard about whether or not you want to gain another degree after graduation.
   • For some fields, a degree in journalism is probably not necessary. For example, if your dream is to edit for a fashion magazine, a journalism degree is not really necessary. If you're looking into a literary magazine, however, a master's in something like English may help.
   • Keep in mind that experience is usually the number one thing employers look at. You may be better off entering the work force and attempting to gain as much experience as possible. Also, a master's degree may put you into debt, which can cause financial stress later in life.

Breaking into the Field

1. Write a solid resume. Once you're ready to enter the workforce, put together a solid resume. A clear, concise resume, that lists all your relevant experience, can help you get called in for an interview.
   • Keep formatting consistent. Use bolded headings to separate sections like "education," "work experience," and "professional skills." Use a legible font, like Arial or Times New Roman, over anything potentially difficult to read.
   • Be choosy with your resume. You should not list all your experience. Stick to experience relevant to the job you're seeking out. For example, internships and work on your college's newspaper are important. A part time job at a coffee shop you worked at over the summer is probably not.
   • You want to put your most relevant experience "above the fold." This means, if you were to fold your resume in half, the most important experience would be above the crease of the fold.
2. Ask previous connections for job leads. Networking is one of the best means to find a job. When you begin the job hunt, return to old contacts. Talk to supervisors from your internships. Ask professors if they have any job leads. Email fellow students you worked with professionally in college. You're more likely to get called into an interview if you have an existing connection to a magazine.
3. Practice good interview skills. Once you start getting called in for interviews, you'll want to impress the hiring managers. Make sure you brush up on great interview skills, as this will increase your chance of landing a job.
   • Research a magazine beforehand. You should read up on the hiring manager, the editor and staff, the magazine's goals and mission statement, and read an issue of the magazine.
   • Make sure to dress professionally. You may want to read the dress policy online so you can match it with your attire. Make sure to dress up, however, as it's always better to be overdressed than underdressed. Avoid excessive jewelry and accessories, and make sure all your clothes are clean.
   • Use confident body language. Sit up straight, make eye contact, and nod as the interviewer talks. At the end of the interview, always ask questions. Go for open-ended questions, like, "What's your company culture like?" These are better than questions about logistics, like "When will I hear back?" You want to show you're genuinely interested in the company.
4. Work as a writer for a few years. Most editors start off as staff writers at a magazine. You'll have to spend a few years covering stories that you're assigned. Work hard as a writer, and in a few years you may be able to move up to an editorial position.
   • Always produce excellent work. Even if you're not in love with a story, do your best. This shows dedication and work ethic. You should also carefully proofread stories to weed out typos and grammatical errors.
   • Strive to meet deadlines. You want to come off as well organized and hardworking, so never be late on a story.
5. Pursue the role of an editorial assistant. Once you've spent a few years as a writer, pursue the role of an editorial assistant. This will give you the necessary experience to eventually land a role as an editor. You can try applying to an internal position with the magazine you write for, or you can apply for positions with other magazines.
   • As with your role as a writer, you should take your editorial work seriously. You want to be able to impress your boss. This will set you apart when the magazine is looking to hire a new editor, or allow you to get a good recommendation when you apply to outside editorial jobs.
   • Keep in mind, you may not work in a magazine of your choice right away. You may end up working outside your chosen genre or passion. This can be frustrating, but keep in mind a lot of the skills you're gaining are transferrable to other jobs. You can still apply for a managing editor position in your chosen magazine in the future.
6. Move on to an editor role. After working a few years as an assistant editor, you can begin to apply to editor positions. It's a good idea to go for your dream magazine here, as you may end up in this position longterm.
   • Have patience. Editor positions for magazines, especially popular magazines, can be hard to come by. You will get a lot of rejections along the way.
   • Keep sending out applications. You may have to do dozens of interviews before you land the right job.
7. Be an excellent editor throughout your career. An editor role is a lot of extra commitment. You will be supervising many different writers and freelancers, as well as deciding on a magazine's content and overall direction. If you are passionate about your work, an editorial role can be as fulfilling as it is hectic.
   • Stay on top of organization. You'll be managing staff writers, as well as freelancers, so keep track of everyone's deadlines. You may also have to read through articles for basic grammar, and do things like fact checking.
   • Keep your magazine developing over time. As an editor, you will be responsible for the creative direction of your magazine. Make sure you stay creative and generate new ideas for content, series, headlines, and more. Keep thinking of new and creative ways to engage the interest of readers.

Tips

• Take every opportunity to network and join journalism or writers' groups.
• Attending a writer's conference may help you make connections.
• When looking for an internship or employment after college, check with the school employment placement service. A placement service is usually free.

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Sources and Citations

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