Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Help wanted
I know that this class is titled Professional Editing, but what does that mean? Will we be professional editors after taking this class? Pat emphasized that there is a lot to learn about editing; a lot more than what is covered in the class material. What should we do after this class if we want to pursue a career in editing? Should we take more classes? Practice editing? Look for an entry level job? Many editing jobs require applicants to take an editing test as part of the interview process. If we do well in this class, will we do well on such a test?
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3 comments:
I believe the Professional Editing class was proposed by English professor Dorothy Vella, who had also worked as a copyeditor. I'm not sure if anyone has ever proposed a follow-up course, but one is sorely needed. It's my dream that UH will have a full-fledged publishing program someday; until then, I do what I can to help students enter the field.
This morning I saw Jody, one of my students from last semester; she told me that she had been hired as a proofreader by UH Press. A few other students from that class have gotten jobs at Mutual Publishing, a local private press.
Try to take advantage of the interview assignment by choosing someone from whom you can learn about the field. The questions I came up with are designed to provide you with answers that will help you decide whether or not to pursue a career in editing.
And yes, if you get an A in the class, you should be able to pass a copyediting test created for job applicants.
Hello Professional Editing class of Spring '07,
This is Jody, the student Pat mentioned in her comment. I just thought I'd give a little "after the fact" insight.
I did recieve an "A" in Pat's class and took fondly to editing. Luckily, there was an opening at UH Press at the very end of the semester. I applied, took a test, and passed quite easily (thanks to Pat's class). Also, taking Modern English Grammar (402 I think) is helpful as well.
My advice would be to keep your eyes open for positions on campus, or internships such as with Honolulu Weekly. UH Press uses the Chicago Manual of Style, so making yourself familiar with how to use CMS is very helpful.
Hope some of this was helpful to those wary of their futures with editing.
Thank you for sharing, Jody!
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