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

What is a publishing editor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Bradley Shreve

These experts are in charge of overseeing the content teams of a publication. Publishing Editors direct and assign the tasks of the team to create engaging content for print or digital use. They ensure accuracy, quality, and timely delivery of publications. As a publishing editor, you'll review and approve proofs and set publication standards and goals. You will also design the contents of publications using the company's publication's style, editorial policy, and publishing specifications. Besides that, you'll collaborate with designers, photographers, writers, and artists.

To become a publishing editor, you need at least a bachelor's degree in English, journalism, or a related field. To succeed in this role, you need excellent writing, editing, and proofreading skills. Likewise, you must be proficient in Microsoft Office and design software. The average annual salary for a publishing editor is $54,147 or $26. Their salary ranges from $39,716 to $66,157.

What general advice would you give to a Publishing Editor?

Bradley Shreve

Editor, Tribal College Journal

Be flexible. An undergraduate degree in history offers a solid liberal arts background, but not a skill set that is finely tuned for most jobs. Think outside the box, and understand that the job you land probably won't be in the history profession.

ScorePublishing EditorUS Average

Salary

4.8

Avg. Salary $61,550

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 6.93%

Black or African American 3.46%

Hispanic or Latino 7.77%

Unknown 4.54%

White 77.04%

Gender

female 47.41%

male 52.59%

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 publishing editor

Explore publishing editor education requirements

Most common publishing editor degrees

Bachelor's

73.2 %

Master's

12.1 %

Associate

8.6 %

Start to develop specific publishing editor skills

Skills	Percentages
Web Site	10.72%
Feature Stories	10.03%
Edit Content	6.54%
Graphic Design	5.17%
Content Development	4.84%

Complete relevant publishing editor training and internships

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

Research publishing editor duties and responsibilities

Supervise all editorial activities, including developing editorial story boards, managing freelance copywriters and directing contract photo assignments.
Use HTML encoding when formatting content.
Drive readership through the use of professional and social media and SEO.
Oversee corporation s digital marketing strategy: SEM, SEO, PPC.

Prepare your publishing editor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your publishing 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 publishing 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 Publishing Editor Resume templates

Build a professional Publishing 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 Publishing Editor resume.

Apply for publishing editor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a publishing editor job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do publishing editors rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Publishing Editor reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2019

Pros

Being an editor allowed me to give shape to a story or point of view that I otherwise would not have had any say in. I got to create a vision and put my mark on the work.