The work of a magazine editor is not an easy task and requires boundless hard work. Let’s get some insight into the magazine editor salary and see if it is worth the hard work that needs to be put in this career. Read ahead to know more…
The post of an editor requires a lot of hard work, and is a job of high responsibility. After all, the editor is responsible for the quality of articles which are to appear in the magazine. The name ‘editor’ suggests a person who edits, and it is his/her duty to present the news in a more apt format. The editor must ensure that the piece of writing be informative and entertaining at the same time. Since a lot of hard work is required to become an editor, they are usually very well paid for what they do.
Magazine Editor Job Description
Other variants of this position include assistant editors, associate editors, and senior editors. The work of these editors do not change much with their title, they still select and edit articles or stories at individual levels.
Designations like executive editor and editor in chief, however, are usually administrative positions and job descriptions of such editors might be different . In a comparatively small structured magazine firm, the editor in chief undertakes all the editorial chores. A higher level of management describes an editor in chief responsibilities.
Editors don’t write the article but groom it. They proofread it, and make sure that it is of the right length with maximum information given. They also prepare a proper layout of the content of the article. They also sync with the production and the art team, so that the content is present as per the magazine’s design and style. Most of the time, it is the editor who decides the theme of a particular issue, its style and appearance.
Proofreading is one of the most important aspects of an editor. Evaluation and verification of news items are another important job done by them. The working hours of editors are usually forty hours a week, but then time is not a constraint for people working in the media sector. Working hours purely depend upon the workload or the deadlines which are to be met.
Education wise, an editor is required to have a degree either in English or Journalism. They should also possess a good sense of language. Having a master’s degree is always preferred in this market. An editor should be highly knowledgeable and also must be updated with current affairs. Of course, relevant experience in media, along with a know how about the media field would be icing on the cake. There is no training for editors specifically, and most of the training is done while on the job.
Responsibilities
The responsibilities of an editor would change or depend on the size of the publication. Generally, these responsibilities include:
- Helping staff members in meeting deadlines
- Rectifying the content of the article
- Managing the writing staff and assigning duties appropriately
- Coming up with various themes and ideas for an issue
- Managing articles from freelancers and in house writers
- Liaising with art team and the writers
- Handling legal matters related to copyrights
- Editing, re-writing, selecting appropriate articles
- Giving proper feedback to the writer and making them understand what is expected out of the article
Salary
The salary of a magazine editor is directly proportional to experience, the more the experience, the bigger the figures on the salary slip. Of course, that does not shadow the fact that they are hired at a relatively higher package as compared with other industries. To answer in figures, the average salary for a freshman without experience starts at about $30,000.
The package increases with experience. It may even reach $80,000 for a highly experienced candidate, where the experience is roughly more than 15 years or so. In general, a magazine editor salary ranges between $20,000 – $85,000 depending on various factors. You need to keep in mind though, that these figures vary considerably depending upon the publication house the editor is working with.
Considering the fact that the magazine editor salary is at a comparatively better scale, one must not forget the challenges of the job. Magazine editors have to be multi-taskers, good managers, and good coordinators, in addition to the requisites required for this job. The money is good but along with it also goes in a lot of hard work.