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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Written Works Editor

💰 $50,000 - $95,000

EditorialPublishingContent

🎯 Role Definition

The Written Works Editor is responsible for shaping, refining, and delivering high-quality long-form and short-form content across print and digital channels. This role combines developmental editing, line and copy editing, project management, and stakeholder collaboration to move manuscripts and content from pitch to publication. The Written Works Editor ensures editorial quality, brand voice consistency, publisher standards (AP/Chicago/house style), and SEO-aware metadata while managing timelines, budgets, and relationships with authors, freelancers, designers, legal, and marketing teams.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Assistant Editor — managing initial edits, proofreading, and layout queries.
  • Editorial Assistant — supporting acquisitions, tracking manuscripts, and coordinating reviewers.
  • Copyeditor or Proofreader — expert at line edits and preparing files for production.

Advancement To:

  • Senior Editor — leading multiple imprints or content verticals and owning editorial strategy.
  • Editorial Manager / Publishing Manager — overseeing teams, budgets, and cross-functional goals.
  • Acquisitions Editor or Commissioning Editor — driving content acquisition and author relationships.

Lateral Moves:

  • Content Strategy Lead — focusing on SEO, audience development, and content performance.
  • Production Editor or Project Manager — focusing on scheduling, vendor management, and manufacturing.
  • Rights & Licensing Coordinator — handling permissions, translations, and subsidiary rights.

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead developmental editing for manuscripts and long-form projects by evaluating structure, argument, pacing, tone, and audience fit; deliver clear, actionable revision letters and annotated manuscripts to authors and stakeholders.
  • Perform substantive line edits to improve clarity, flow, and narrative cohesion while preserving author voice across fiction, non-fiction, and technical works.
  • Execute meticulous copyedits and proofreading using Track Changes and editorial markup, ensuring grammatical accuracy, consistency with house and industry style guides (AP, Chicago Manual of Style), and error-free final proofs ready for production.
  • Manage the full editorial lifecycle for assigned titles from acquisition through final signoff: schedule editorial milestones, coordinate peer review and fact-checking, and ensure timely handoff to design and production teams.
  • Commission and manage freelance editors, fact-checkers, indexers, proofreaders, and subject-matter experts; create clear briefs, negotiate rates, review deliverables, and maintain quality control.
  • Collaborate with acquisitions, rights, and legal departments to evaluate contracts, secure permissions, clear images and third-party content, and mitigate legal risk for libel, privacy, and copyright issues.
  • Work closely with design and production teams to review page proofs, typographic decisions, cover copy, and front/back matter; provide editorial direction for captions, sidebars, and illustrations.
  • Optimize content for discoverability by writing and editing metadata, back-of-book copy, SEO titles and descriptions, and keyword-targeted synopses for online catalogs, marketplaces, and publisher CMS.
  • Develop and maintain house style guides and editorial standards, train staff and freelancers on style and process updates, and enforce consistent voice across an imprint or content portfolio.
  • Provide clear editorial recommendations and acquisition memos for senior leadership, including market analysis, competitive positioning, target readership, and projected timelines and budgets.
  • Plan and supervise beta reads, peer reviews, and sensitivity reads; incorporate diverse perspectives and accessibility best practices to ensure inclusive content and reduce reputational risk.
  • Monitor editorial budgets and schedules, flagging scope changes, recommending scope adjustments, and escalating resource needs to keep titles on budget and on time.
  • Coordinate marketing and publicity inputs by providing editorial assets, author bios, excerpt selections, and talking points; support launch plans and cross-channel promotional strategies.
  • Oversee quality assurance for final proofs, EPUB and PDF conversions, and audiobook scripts; verify pagination, footnotes/endnotes, and cross-references are intact and correctly formatted.
  • Mentor and line-manage junior editors and editorial assistants; conduct performance reviews, coach on editorial judgment, and build capacity through structured feedback and training.
  • Maintain a curated network of authors, agents, and subject-matter contributors; pitch ideas to agents and authors and negotiate editorial scope and timelines that align with publishing goals.
  • Lead contingency planning for production issues such as schedule slips, rights denials, and unexpected revisions; develop mitigation strategies that minimize impact to publication dates.
  • Analyze sales and reader feedback post-publication to inform editorial decisions and future acquisitions; use metrics and editorial judgment to iterate on content strategy.
  • Prepare and present editorial reports and post-mortems to stakeholders summarizing lessons learned, cost variances, and recommendations for process improvement.
  • Maintain proficiency with editorial tools and platforms (MS Word, InDesign basics, Editorial Manager, Contentful, WordPress, or other CMS) to streamline workflows and handoffs.
  • Ensure compliance with accessibility standards (WCAG) for digital content, advising on alt text, structured headings, and readable typography for diverse audiences.
  • Facilitate cross-functional editorial meetings, editorial board reviews, and signoff processes to ensure alignment with organizational brand and legal standards.
  • Champion continuous improvement by documenting editorial processes, creating templates and checklists, and experimenting with NLP/AI-assisted editing tools while maintaining human quality assurance.

Secondary Functions

  • Assist with ad-hoc content audits and gap analyses to align the editorial calendar with strategic priorities, seasonal themes, and market demand.
  • Contribute editorial perspective to the organization's content strategy, product roadmaps, and audience development initiatives.
  • Translate content goals into actionable editorial requirements for product, design, and engineering teams working on publishing platforms.
  • Participate in agile planning and cross-functional sprint ceremonies when editorial work is integrated into product releases or digital platform updates.
  • Support rights and metadata ingestion for title launches in third-party platforms and marketplaces.
  • Help coordinate author advance and royalty reporting inputs in partnership with finance and rights teams.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Expert-level editing: developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, and proofreading for long-form content and books.
  • Mastery of style guides: Chicago Manual of Style, AP Style, and ability to implement a consistent house style across titles.
  • Strong command of MS Word with Track Changes, advanced find-and-replace, and change acceptance workflows.
  • Familiarity with publishing production tools: Adobe InDesign basics, EPUB workflow, and PDF proofing.
  • Experience with content management systems (CMS) such as WordPress, Contentful, Drupal, or proprietary publisher platforms.
  • Metadata and SEO skills: writing SEO titles, descriptions, keywords, and structured metadata for discoverability.
  • Rights, permissions, and legal literacy: navigating copyright clearances, licensing, and third-party permissions processes.
  • Experience commissioning and managing freelance editorial contractors, including budgeting and contract management.
  • Proficiency with editorial project management tools: Asana, Trello, Airtable, JIRA, or similar.
  • Accessibility awareness: applying WCAG principles to digital content, alt text for images, and semantic structuring for screen readers.
  • Familiarity with indexing, fact-checking processes, and working with indexers and fact-check teams.
  • Comfort using AI-assisted editing tools and NLP utilities responsibly, with human oversight and quality control.

Soft Skills

  • Excellent editorial judgment: ability to balance author voice with market needs, clarity, and readability.
  • Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy under tight deadlines.
  • Strong written and verbal communication: crafting clear editorial notes, memos, and feedback for authors and teams.
  • Project management mindset: scheduling, prioritization, and risk management for multiple concurrent titles.
  • Collaborative leadership: ability to influence cross-functional partners (design, marketing, legal) and lead small editorial teams.
  • Diplomacy and tact when delivering constructive criticism to authors and stakeholders.
  • Problem-solving orientation: troubleshooting production issues and identifying scalable process improvements.
  • Time management and resilience under shifting deadlines and scope changes.
  • Curiosity about market trends, reader behavior, and competitive publishing landscapes.
  • Commitment to inclusion, sensitivity reading, and ethical editorial practices.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in English, Journalism, Creative Writing, Communications, Publishing, or related humanities discipline.

Preferred Education:

  • Master's degree in Publishing, Literature, Creative Writing, or a related field; or a professional certificate in publishing/editing.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • English Literature
  • Journalism
  • Creative Writing
  • Publishing Studies
  • Communications

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 3–7 years of professional editorial experience in book publishing, trade publishing, magazine long-form, or content-heavy organizations.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years of progressive editorial responsibility with demonstrated experience in developmental editing and project management; proven track record of shepherding multiple titles from acquisition to publication and experience managing freelance editorial teams.

  • Portfolio requirement: Submit samples of edited manuscripts, before/after editing examples, or links to published work demonstrating developmental and copyediting capabilities.

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