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READING FOR CASH
By: Penny Lockwood Ehrenrkanz
Would you like to get paid for reading? Becoming a copyeditor
is a way for you to turn the writing skills you use every day
into additional income.
With so many new publishing houses opening, particularly those
catering to electronic publishing, there are new opportunities
for utilizing your skills. If you have a good command of the
English language, are confident in your ability to use good
grammar and punctuation, and can spell correctly, copyediting
may be for you.
Copyediting happens at the manuscript stage of publishing. A
copyeditor reads to improve the writing in a manuscript including
checking facts, word usage, grammar, typos, style, and punctuation.
A copy editor’s job is to make the manuscript easy to understand,
factually and grammatically correct, and consistent.
While you don’t need a degree, you do need to prove your ability
to a prospective employer. A degree in journalism, English or
communications is a plus. Although, some type of communications
job where you can learn the basics of good writing can substitute
for a degree. You need to have knowledge of style guides used by
the publisher including Chicago, AP, or in-house. To work for a
publisher, you generally have to take a written test. Many
publishers have developed their own tests. Some will send you
three or more pages of a raw manuscript which contains errors.
A lot of publishers have a select group of freelancers, but it
is still possible to break-in. This year, I signed up with two
different publishing houses as a paid copyeditor. I was fortunate
to make these connections through a writers’ conference, but how
can you find a copyediting job?
Writers Market -
http://www.writersmarket.com/
Literary Market Place -
http://www.literarymarketplace.com/lmp/us/index_us.asp
Join The Editorial Freelancers Association -
http://www.the-efa.org/
and respond to listings.
Copyediting - http://www.copyediting.com
which includes a Job Board.
Seek out referrals from colleagues. Or, as I did, make connections
at conferences and workshops. Create a list of book publishers,
include phone numbers, addresses, e-mail addresses, and names of
managing editors, production editors or copy chiefs. Call and speak
with the person in charge of freelance copyeditors, or send a letter
or email and inquire about openings. If they have nothing available,
check back. Some firms publish on a seasonal basis.
Since so much work is done over the Internet now, it doesn’t matter
where you live as long as you have ready access to the web. Books
will be sent to you electronically. You will do your edits and
return the finished product to the publisher. Pay for doing
copyediting varies with the publishing houses. A senior copyeditor
working for a major publisher in New York could earn as much as
$90,000, while an entry level copy editor at a minor house may only
earn $25,000. Many publishers pay per page and this can range from
$3.25 to $6.00 depending upon the difficulty of the content. Large
circulation magazine editors pay from $35 to $60 per hour. Small
independent publishers pay a royalty to copyeditors of 3% to 6%
based on book sales. Pay will depend upon your experience as well
as the industry. The Editorial Freelancers Association lists common
rates for writing related different jobs at
http://www.the-efa.org/res/rates.php .
When you’re looking to make a little extra money with your writing
skills, think outside the usual areas. You may find just what you
enjoy by becoming a copyeditor.
BIO
Penny Lockwood Ehrenkranz has published more than 80 articles, 60
stories, two e-books, a chapbook, and her stories have been included in
two anthologies. She writes for both adults and children. Her fiction
has appeared in numerous genre and children’s publications and
non-fiction work has appeared in a variety of writing, parenting, and
young adult print magazines and on line publications. She is a
copyeditor for MuseItUp Publishing and Damnation Books LLC. Visit her
web site at
http://www.pennylockwoodehrenkranz.yolasite.com . Her writing
blog is located at
http://pennylockwoodehrenkranz.blogspot.com/
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