<p>As in, an editor for say a publishing company? I get the feeling majoring in English is not the trick.</p>
<p>I think it's part of the trick. I believe you must have an English background. I think it's one of those jobs where you just work your way up. Few people go straight to editor. They might start out as a copy editor, then move to editor's assistant, and then to editor. But, of course, there's more than one way to skin a cat.</p>
<p>like mead13 said, you have to move your way up by excelling in your previous role. you're going to have to prove you're a solid writer first before you can edit someone else's writing. it's kinda like asking how do you become CEO of a big company? well, the answer for that would be to climb the corporate ladder from wherever you started out. same goes for editor of a publishing company.</p>
<p>Im a book editor who majored in English, but, assuming a reasonably high level of competence in the language, Im not sure the college major matters. Most editors start out with entry-level jobs, often as editorial assistants or sometimes in sales or marketing. These jobs are badly paid and largely secretarial, but really smart and ambitious assistantsthe ones who read as many manuscripts as they can and have the taste and luck to find some publishable projects of their ownhave a decent chance of promotion. In my experience, writing and copyediting are relatively minor aspects of the job; full-fledged editors are valued most for their success in acquisitions (spotting promising authors and manuscripts and negotiating for the rights to publish them) and publication strategy. </p>
<p>The majority of editorial assistants are hired straight out of college, and are expected to be vastly overqualified for the work theyll be asked to do. Some of them will have internships with publishers or literary agents on their resumes; a few will have attended a respected (and expensive) summer publishing course like the ones at Columbia ( <a href="http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/admissions/programs/publishing/%5B/url%5D">http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/admissions/programs/publishing/</a>), the University of Denver ( <a href="http://www.du.edu/pi/%5B/url%5D">http://www.du.edu/pi/</a>), or NYU (<a href="http://www.scps.nyu.edu/landing/index.jsp?wfId=140%5B/url%5D">http://www.scps.nyu.edu/landing/index.jsp?wfId=140</a>). While these courses may expedite the job search, theyre usually not necessary if you have a strong college transcript, some work or internship experience, and a clearly articulated interest in books and publishing.</p>
<p>As it happens, I just read a novel, The Wonder Spot, by Melissa Bank, with a chapter about the heroines trials as an editorial assistant; and it rang pretty true to me.</p>
<p>editrix, thanks for the information, and RaboKarabekian, thanks for asking -- it's something I've been wondering about. :)</p>