With minimal background and fresh out of college how can a beginner work for editing in the UK as an American?
I will receive my BA in Creative Writing in May and plan to move to London to work as a copy-editor in July. With a minimal background, I mean proofreading and co-editing two literary magazines. What would be the best way to go about obtaining a copy-editing job in the UK as an American citizen, being a beginner without a concrete CV (resume)?
I can only help w. part of this question. To get a job as a copy editor or proofreader n the US, having a degree in creative writing is not much help. Because those jobs focus on the mechanics and minutia of the publishing business. CW majors are not thought of as having much experience wth that or to have a business orientation–i.e., deadlines, and such.
If you took any courses on proofreading and copy editing, then you definitely need to highlight those on your resume or CV.
If you haven’t taken such courses, you can take them at a college or university or community college-but not all offer such courses.
Some colleges offer adult ed programs that award a certificate in various fields–see if you can find one with a publishing certificate program. You don’t have to take all the courses and get the certificate, just a couple of basic ones, and that will show the employer that you (a) know the basics, and (b) have a wilingness to learn because you recognized that your degree wasn’t the end of your education.
You have some experience, but you can still take the basic courses (I took lots of courses even after I was a big-shot editor, because I hated the thought that there might be anything below my level that I somehow missed and didn’t know). Also a lot of people in the publishing world think that experience somewhere else doesn’t translate to their situation, and they discount your experience, so course work helps.
As for getting a job in the UK, perhaps you could try going to the UK and enrolling in such a course or program there. Most vocational schools everywhere have some sort of help with finding jobs for their students.
Good luck!
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