Copyeditors’ Knowledge Base

Basics

“3 Lessons Children Can Learn From a Freelancing Parent”
A blog entry on the healthy life lessons that children learn by having a parent who freelances [online]
“101 Reasons Freelancers Do it Better”
A blog entry on the many reasons being a freelancer is better than being an employee [online]
“Becoming an Editor”
A blog entry on how to get into the editing business [online]
BookJobs.com
A centralized place for job seekers and basic information about the book publishing industry [online]
Editorial Services Guide
Definitions of various editorial services, from developmental editing to copyediting to proofreading and beyond [online]
“Freelance Permissions Editor: Julie Cancio Harper at Permissions Trackers”
Blog post about what a permissions editor does and how to find work in the field [online]
“From the University Presses—The Value Added byCopyediting”
Article in the journal Against the Grain about why copyediting is still needed even in the digital age. [online]
“Hail to the Copy Editor”
Blog post singing the praises of copyeditors [online]
“How to Transition to Copyediting From Another Career”
Blog post outlining steps to take to get into copyediting from another field [online]
“Let us now praise editors”
Article about what it is editors really do (Note that the link is to a Salon article. If you’re not a subscriber, you can still read the article; you’ll just have to put up with the ads. Firefox users, you’ll need to view the article with Internet Explorer, as Salon’s site doesn’t deal well with Firefox.) [online]
Occupational outlook for writers and editors
Article from the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, covering working conditions, training, job outlook, and earnings [online]
“Ode to a Copy Editor”
Blog post singing the praises of copyeditors [online]
“On Copy Editors”
Article from the Washington Post on why editors are necessary [online]
Publishing Careers
A blog that serves as an online “informational interview” for college students, new graduates, and career-changers interested in knowing what jobs in publishing are like and how they can get them [online]
“So, You Want to Be an Editor?”
Article from the Editors’ Association of Canada [online]
“A Tax Form for the Marginally Employed”
A spoof from the New York Times of income-tax forms for freelancers[online]
Tom's Glossary of Book Publishing Terms
Section from the blog Right-Reading with humorous definitions of publishing terms [online]
“What It’s Really Like To Be A Copy Editor”
An essay on what life is like for copyeditors [online]