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Commissioning editor

Commissioning editors commission or buy authors, book titles or ideas for publication.

Average salary (a year)

£20,000 Starter

to

£40,000 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

37 to 39 a week

You could work

evenings / weekends away from home

How to become a commissioning editor

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • working towards this role
  • applying directly
  • specialist courses run by professional bodies

University

The degree subject you choose is not usually important but particularly relevant subjects might include:

  • publishing
  • creative writing
  • journalism

However, if you want to work for a specialist publication, for example, a technical, medical or scientific journal, you're likely to need a related degree or a high level of specialist subject knowledge.

You could take a postgraduate qualification in publishing or digital publishing, but this isn't essential.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grade 4 (C) or above, including English and maths
  • 2 to 3 A levels for a degree

More information

Work

You'll usually start out as an editorial assistant and work your way up. There's a lot of competition for jobs so you may find it useful to have a degree.

Volunteering and experience

You'll need to get some experience before applying for your first job in publishing. To build up your experience you can:

  • volunteer for student and community newspapers
  • keep an online blog
  • have an online presence on sites such as Twitter
  • submit articles and reviews to local papers or websites

This is also a good way to develop contacts, as many jobs are not advertised.

Direct application

You may be able to apply directly for a job as a commissioning editor in academic and professional publishing, if you have a high level of specialist subject knowledge.

Other routes

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

More 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 a commissioning editor from:

What it takes

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

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

Your day-to-day duties could include:

  • keeping up to date with trends in the book market
  • identifying future markets and new products
  • deciding whether to accept submitted manuscripts
  • developing ideas for books and identifying suitable authors
  • preparing publishing proposals, including costings, projected sales and income
  • making decisions on reprinting, revising, and producing new editions
  • making sure schedules are followed and deadlines are met

Working environment

You could work in an office.

Career path and progression

With experience, you could progress to senior commissioning editor, editorial manager, director, or work as a freelance consultant.

Training opportunities

Apprenticeships In England

We can't find any apprenticeship vacancies in England for a commissioning editor right now.

The Find an apprenticeship service can help you with your search, send alerts when new apprenticeships become available and has advice on how to apply.

Courses In England

BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma Creative Digital Media Production: Digital Publishing

  • Provider: Range High School
  • Start date: 04 September 2019
  • Location: Formby

Creative Media Production (Digital Publishing) BTEC Diploma 2-YR

  • Provider: Havering Sixth Form College
  • Start date: 05 September 2019
  • Location: Hornchurch
Find courses near you

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