How to Get Started as a Developmental Editor

A tale of three aspiring editors. This post is based on real people, but I’ve changed names and other identifying details – I’m not trying to embarrass anyone, I’m trying to inspire action.

About three years ago, three students started taking classes at Club Ed at the same time. Let’s call them Jane, Martha, and Simone. They all wanted to be story editors (another name for developmental editors) and they all were equally enthusiastic about the training.

Commit to Training

All three of them started at the beginning. None of them had much in the way of book editing experience. All three had day jobs and other demands on their time, such young children or elderly parents or volunteer work.

Martha and Simone set aside time in their schedules to train as editors. They blocked out specific hours each week for reading the lessons, doing the homework assignments, asking questions, and engaging with other students.

Jane assumed she could just shoehorn her training into her daily life, but whenever anything unexpected came up, the training got pushed to the side. Soon she was late with assignments and not doing any of the self-paced classes she’d signed up for.

Within three or four months, she sort of disappeared. She pops up now and then to say hello, but she hasn’t made any real progress towards her goal of becoming a professional book editor.

It’s okay if Jane decided she doesn’t really want to be an editor. There’s nothing wrong with reaching that conclusion. But it’s a decision a person should make: “This isn’t my cup of tea, so I’m not going to pursue it, goodbye.”

That’s different from stringing yourself along and saying you’ll get back to it eventually. If you’re training to become an editor, you have to commit to it. You have to schedule the time in your calendar. You have to make it at least as important as a doctor’s appointment and more important than an evening with Netflix.

Commit to Starting

After they’d been taking classes for about a year, Martha began doing beta reads for friends. Then she joined an editors’ organization near where she lives. She began spreading the word about becoming an editor. She told her friends and family. She created a basic website and a LinkedIn profile. She started trying different approaches to marketing to see what would work. At first, she didn’t get much traction, but she applied herself to her studies, connected with other editors, and eventually started filling her schedule with paying clients.

Simone, on the other hand, wants to start working as an editor, but other than taking classes, she hasn’t done anything to reach her goal. She has to finish a volunteer project first. And then there’s someone’s wedding coming up, so she really should wait until after that. And then she’s planning a trip, and it would be silly to get started just to have to put everything on hold…

Martha is thrilled with her new career. People sometimes say she’s lucky. And luck always plays at least a small role in our lives. But looking at these examples, wouldn’t you say a lot more was involved besides luck? Martha has had her setbacks, but she has always been intentional about her goal. I have no doubt that she’ll weather whatever challenges freelance editing brings her.

Editing isn’t an entry-level position, so you need training. But you also need to commit to that training. And when you’ve got the basics down, you have to put yourself out there and start doing the work.