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Editorial assistant

Alternative titles for this job include Publishing assistant

Editorial assistants provide support at all stages of the publication process for books, journals, magazines and online content.

Average salary (a year)

£18,000 Starter

to

£28,000 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

37 to 39 a week

You could work

evenings occasionally

How to become

Explore the different ways to get into this role.

How to become an editorial assistant

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role
  • specialist training courses with professional bodies

University

Subjects like English, journalism or media studies are often preferred.

If you want to specialise in a particular field of publishing, you may need a degree that's closely related to it, for example physics or maths for a scientific journal.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English
  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

More Information

Apprenticeship

You can get into this role through an advanced apprenticeship as a publishing assistant.

This typically takes 18 months to complete as a mix of workplace learning and off-the-job study.

Entry requirements

Employers will set their own entry requirements.

More Information

Work

You could work in a publishing office or a company's communications department as a general assistant and work your way up through in-house training and promotion.

Volunteering

You'll find it useful when applying for jobs, to have done some paid or unpaid work experience in publishing.

Other Routes

You could take a proofreading or editing course, like the ones offered by the The Publishing Training Centre or the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading.

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 an editorial assistant from:

You can also get information on other publishing and creative careers from Discover Creative Careers.

What it takes

Find out what skills you’ll use in this role.

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

Discover the day to day tasks you’ll do in this role.

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

In this role you could:

  • be a point of contact for authors
  • keep databases, spreadsheets and other records up to date
  • read documents and make corrections
  • deal with rights and permissions
  • act as personal assistant to commissioning editors
  • work with images and page layout software
  • proof and edit online text, including social media content
  • compile and send out newsletters using design and distribution software
  • edit text and images using a content management system (CMS)
  • edit text on apps

Working environment

You could work in an office or from home.

Career path and progression

Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities.

Career path and progression

With experience you could move into more senior editorial roles, or work on a freelance basis.

Current opportunities

Find apprenticeships, courses and jobs available near you.

Current opportunities

Apprenticeships In England

We can't find any apprenticeship vacancies in England for an editorial assistant 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

NCTJ L3 Cert in Journalism

  • Provider: PRIESTLEY COLLEGE
  • Start date: 06 September 2024
  • Location: Warrington

NCTJ Diploma in Journalism (18 months - September)

  • Provider: CITY OF PORTSMOUTH COLLEGE
  • Start date: 09 September 2024
  • Location: Portsmouth

Jobs In the United Kingdom

The Find a job service can help you with your search for jobs and send alerts when new jobs become available.

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