How To Become A Book Editor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a book editor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Viola Ardeni

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a book editor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $30.79 an hour? That's $64,052 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -5% and produce -5,500 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a book editor?

Viola Ardeni

Assistant Professor & Italian Language Area Head, California State University - Sacramento

To recent graduates in any field, I would recommend making sure they are doing two things: 'Ask questions' and 'Show up.' In the Romance languages, literatures, and linguistics field, asking questions may mean asking for a long of informational interviews, even in places where there are no current jobs openings. You never know what you will learn from talking to someone who is working and has your same degree. Asking questions also means to be present, aware, and critical. Showing up may instead mean trying different things. Besides teaching, there is no clear job following degrees in Romance languages etc. (and even 'teaching' includes a variety of jobs), so taking advantage of different opportunities may come in handy.

ScoreBook EditorUS Average

Salary

5.0

Avg. Salary $64,052

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 7.06%

Black or African American 3.50%

Hispanic or Latino 7.89%

Unknown 4.55%

White 76.74%

Gender

female 67.04%

male 32.96%

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 a book editor

Explore book editor education requirements

Most common book editor degrees

Bachelor's

72.6 %

Master's

17.8 %

Associate

3.8 %

Start to develop specific book editor skills

Skills	Percentages
Fiction	12.91%
Copyedit	8.58%
Literature	7.82%
Adobe Photoshop	7.58%
Production Schedules	6.36%

Complete relevant book editor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New book 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 a book editor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real book editor resumes.

Research book editor duties and responsibilities

Manage content using CMS tools and ongoing social media campaign and reader engagement via social media networks and blog.
Contract to edit works of fiction in all genres.
Assist with various tasks as needed by the editor-in-chief.
Initiate use of macros to expedite HTML coding of articles.

Prepare your book editor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your book 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 a book 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 book editor resume templates

Build a professional book 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 book editor resume.