How To Become An Acquisitions Editor: What It Is and Career Path

What is an acquisitions editor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Acquisitions editors work typically for publishing companies, literary agencies, or publishing operations of universities and other educational institutions. If you have an interest in reading literature and have an eye for what will succeed in the market, then this is the position you have been looking for. As an acquisitions editor, your purpose will be to work as part of a publishing team, acquiring manuscripts for publications.

Some of the duties and responsibilities that you will be performing in this capacity include finding manuscripts and developing content that publishers can market profitably, evaluating the publishing potential of a proposal. Moreover, you will also prepare cost and sales forecasts and prepare proposals for seniors to evaluate and negotiate with authors regarding contracts and royalties for the published manuscripts.

Essential skills required for this position are communication, attention to detail, analytical, market trend analysis, and interpersonal skills. To qualify for this position, employers typically require at least a bachelor's degree in literature or a relevant discipline. Moreover, proven work experience is also required to gain an advantage over other applicants. The average hourly salary for this position is $29.89, which amounts to over $62,000 annually. So, if you are interested in getting insight into how books are published and who approves them, then this is the position you should take up, provided you have the necessary credentials.

ScoreAcquisitions EditorUS Average

Salary

4.7

Avg. Salary $60,342

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.7

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.27%

Asian 7.26%

Black or African American 3.59%

Hispanic or Latino 8.13%

Unknown 4.59%

White 76.18%

Gender

female 60.31%

male 39.69%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

6.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.3

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an acquisitions editor

Explore acquisitions editor education requirements

Most common acquisitions editor degrees

Bachelor's

79.7 %

Master's

16.1 %

Doctorate

2.2 %

Start to develop specific acquisitions editor skills

Skills	Percentages
Project Management	19.71%
Market Trends	17.40%
Market Research	15.06%
Product Development	9.64%
Fiction	8.38%

Complete relevant acquisitions editor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New acquisitions editors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an acquisitions editor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real acquisitions editor resumes.

Research acquisitions editor duties and responsibilities

Manage content using CMS tools and ongoing social media campaign and reader engagement via social media networks and blog.
Develop content for website design and social networking including Facebook, twitter, blogging and more.
Edit and format fiction and non-fiction for eventual publication.
Edit and proofread article submissions.

Prepare your acquisitions editor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your acquisitions editor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an acquisitions editor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable acquisitions editor resume templates

Build a professional acquisitions editor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your acquisitions editor resume.