How I Got into a Publishing Career

By Eric Smith

My path took a big twist before I got into a publishing career. I want to share some details of my journey, in hopes this might help someone who is also considering a publishing career.

I loved the English language as a child and teenager—reading, writing, and even editing. I don’t think I really knew the word editing, but I had an innate love of correcting writing, including the ward newsletter when it came around.

In college I pursued English literature because of my love of reading and writing. At some point I also became aware that editing was a career path. I took a usage course and an editing course. I also tutored writing and got a job as a freelance editor for a scholarly publisher. At this point I knew I loved editing and would be happy in an editing career, but I also had always planned on graduate school.

For a variety of reasons I went to law school and then began a career as a corporate attorney at a large firm. Much of what I learned in the law was later very useful when I became an editor—managing multiple projects, handling stress, working with clients, analyzing arguments, communicating promptly and professionally. I did a lot of reading, writing, and research as a law student and attorney, and that too was all quite relevant to editorial work.

Though various aspects of legal work appealed to me, I was not deeply passionate about my job. Maybe I would have lasted a long time as an attorney except that I had previously had the experience of really loving editing work as an undergraduate. Editing had felt like something I was almost born to do, like a calling, whereas being an attorney felt like more of a grind.

I began to consider different careers in the law other than working for a large firm. After a few months, I came across a posting for a full-time editing job. Almost on a lark I applied for the job. As I moved through the interview process I became more and more interested in the job. As I looked back at my life to that point, I could see that the dots of preparation could be lined up as a path leading to an editing career. My passions were in that area; my undergraduate schooling and prior work experience were right on point; my experiences in the legal world were also relevant.

When I was offered the full-time editing job, I made the leap. A few attorney friends thought it was a bit crazy to leave the practice of law and the more lucrative pay that came with it. Many others were supportive and said they wished they had the opportunity to try something different. Ultimately, I knew I was following my heart and that it was better to make such a big change early in my career.

Upon beginning the editing position, I was immediately comfortable that I had made a good move. There was an inherent satisfaction in working on improving other people’s writing, and I felt a strong collegiality with the other editors I worked with. I have never regretted the decision to change careers. I have never looked back.

My primarily initial assignment as an editor was to support another editor with a large print project. I also got some assignments to edit web content, which gave me experience with HTML. I edited public affairs materials for a number of years and also learned a lot about permissions for illustrations. I learned to work directly with graphic designers on layout. I helped prepare indexes and created custom style guides for clients. It seems like all that experience has been directly helpful as my career has wound on and my assignments have become more complex.

Later, I got management opportunities. I enjoy these because I love trying to be helpful to people I supervise, and I love thinking about workflow and process and resources—how to get the work done in the most efficient way in a way that is hopefully deeply satisfying to the people doing the work. Looking back, I can hardly believe how lucky I was to get that first full-time editing job—how lucky I have been to have had a 15-year career (so far) in publishing.

If anyone reading this is considering a career in publishing (or a career change to get into publishing), I encourage you to follow your heart. Be realistic too. If you think a publishing career is your calling in life and can provide you the income you need, go for it.