10 practical steps to start your editing career

A checklist for new editors gaining experience

Starting a career in editing can feel daunting, particularly when many roles ask for prior experience. The reality is that most editors build experience gradually, through a combination of training, practice and smaller opportunities that develop over time.

This checklist outlines practical steps you can take to begin building editorial experience and professional credibility.

1. Learn the fundamentals of editing

Make sure you understand what editing involves beyond correcting grammar and spelling.

Focus on developing skills in:

• improving clarity without altering meaning

• identifying ambiguity

• maintaining consistency

• understanding structure and flow

Structured training courses can help build this foundation. Professional organisations such as the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) offer recognised training courses. It also publishes several helpful guides to the skills and knowledge needed to be an editor: https://www.ciep.uk/knowledge-hub/guides.html

2. Develop editing experience

Editorial judgement develops through practice.

Work with real material wherever possible, such as:

• academic work from colleagues

• workplace documents

• voluntary organisation material

• publicly available articles for practice

The more material you work with, the more confident you will become.

3. Become confident using track changes in Word and marking up PDFS

Most editing is now done digitally. You should be comfortable using:

• track changes

• comments

• PDF markups

4. Learn how to professionally communicate your edits

Editing is not only about making changes, but about explaining and supporting those changes when needed.

Work on your skills in:

• explaining editorial decisions concisely, clearly and professionally

• using comments to raise queries where meaning is unclear

• distinguishing between corrections and suggestions

• recognising when to query rather than directly changing the text

5. Look for entry points through related roles

Some editors begin with in-house roles such as:

• editorial assistant

• publishing assistant

• communications assistant

• technical writer

• graphic design or layout roles

These positions often include editorial tasks and provide valuable experience.

6. Look for smaller opportunities

Your first freelance editorial work may include:

• independent writers

• small organisations

• community groups

• local charities

These projects help build experience and confidence.

7. Learn to edit carefully and responsibly

Avoid the temptation to change text unnecessarily. Good editing improves clarity and consistency while preserving the author’s meaning.

Restraint is an important editorial skill.

8. Develop familiarity with style guides

Editors are expected to apply consistent style. Become familiar with commonly used style guides such as the American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style, Chicago Manual of Style, New Hart's Rules/Oxford Style Manual and Butcher's Copy-editing.

Understanding how to apply recognised style standards helps ensure clarity, consistency, and professionalism in your work.

9. Be patient and consistent

Editorial careers develop gradually. Progress may feel slow at first, but experience builds over time.

Each document you edit contributes to your development.

10. Consider specialising once you have core experience

Specialist areas such as medical editing usually follow general editorial experience. Once you are confident in core editorial skills, you can begin developing familiarity with specialist subject areas.

Specialisation develops naturally through exposure and interest.

Final thoughts

Every experienced editor began at the beginning. There is no single path into editing, and experience develops step by step.

Focus on building strong core skills, gaining practical experience and working consistently. Over time, opportunities expand and professional confidence grows.

Editing is a profession built on judgement, care and continuous learning.

A note on terminology: The terms medical copyeditor, medical proofreader and medical editor are often confused and used interchangeably. To add to the confusion, there are yet other terms used for different niches such as plain-English editor, medico-legal copyeditor and editorial assistant (the latter is commonly used in medical communications). I personally use medical editor to describe my role, and medical editing to describe both medical copyediting and medical proofreading, as this suggests a hybrid approach as per my own clients' preferences ... plus, it's simpler! See here for more detail on the traditional differences between proofreading and copyediting.