An editorial assistant is a member of the publishing industry’s entry-level staff. Newsrooms, publishing houses, magazine offices, and offices of new media companies that publish online all employ these assistants. This type of job is typically taken someone who is just starting out in the publishing industry, though some experience is required in some cases.
Depending on the publication, an editorial assistant’s responsibilities can vary greatly. Some may primarily perform the functions of secretaries, such as answering phones, sending out correspondence, making copies, filing, and tracking filed materials throughout the office and between departments. The editorial assistant may also be responsible for assisting guests with getting settled in the office, attending meetings, and keeping the editorial schedule on track and focused.
Some publications may provide more hands-on work. An editorial assistant, for example, may be responsible for reading any unsolicited materials that arrive and reporting on them to higher-ranking editors. In fact, the editorial assistant may play a key role in determining which content is passed on to higher-ranking members of the editorial team. In addition, as materials are prepared for publication, the assistant may be involved in the editing and proofing process.
Editorial assistants are frequently involved in maintaining the presence of publications that have an online presence. He or she could be in charge of a blog or bulletin board, for example, or coordinate an online community for the parent company. Experience in online communities is usually required for these positions, and some companies prefer to work with people who have actively participated in their online communities. Someone who has participated in the Xyz publishers’ message boards, for example, is more likely to be hired to manage that community than someone who has not.
Some offices require employees to begin in very low-level positions, such as editorial assistant, and work their way up gradually. In some cases, people with college degrees are hired directly as editorial assistants, bypassing some of the lower rungs. College students interested in a career in publishing should look for internships while still in school so that they can begin developing their professional skills, which will help them land jobs after graduation.