Publishing & freelance editing
Book Editor
Traditional publishing pays badly; freelance editing pays the bills.
Typical pay
$45k-$85k
How you get in
English or humanities degree, or a freelance track record
Outlook
Flat in traditional publishing; growing in independent author services
Few openings
69/100Openings are uncommon relative to how many people do this work, and the field is shrinking.
JobPOVs index, calculated from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025-2035 for Editors. It measures how many openings arise each year relative to the size of the field — not how many people apply. BLS does not publish a saturation figure.
Editors acquire, develop and refine manuscripts. Traditional publishing salaries are famously low and concentrated in expensive cities, while freelance developmental and copy editing for independent authors has become a genuinely viable business.
A day in the life
9:00a – 6:00p · 9 hours
- 9:00aRead submissions and query letters
- 10:30aDevelopmental edit — structure, pacing, character
- 1:00pLunch
- 2:00pEditorial letter for an author, several pages long
- 4:00pMeeting with marketing about positioning
- 6:00pManuscript reading at home, which is most of the job
How to get in
Publishing house track
Duration
4-8 years
Cost
$40,000-$180,000
Credential
Bachelor's plus internships
- Complete a humanities degree and do publishing internships
- Start as an editorial assistant, which pays very little
- Move to assistant editor, then editor as you build a list
- Expect several years before the salary becomes livable
Freelance editing business
Duration
1-3 years
Cost
$500-$5,000
Credential
None — client results and testimonials
- Learn the distinct levels — developmental, line, copy and proofreading
- Take a professional editing course to formalize the craft
- Build testimonials with early clients at modest rates
- Specialize in a genre and raise rates as your reputation builds
Adjacent editorial roles
Duration
2-5 years
Cost
$40,000-$180,000
Credential
Degree plus editorial experience
- Work in content, corporate communications or academic publishing
- Better pay and hours than trade book publishing
- Keep freelance manuscript work on the side
- Many career editors ultimately combine both
What people love
- · Deep engagement with books and writers
- · Freelance editing is genuinely remote and scalable
- · Self-publishing has expanded the client base enormously
- · No credential gate for freelance work
What wears people down
- · Traditional publishing pay is low for the cost of living required
- · Entry roles are concentrated in a few cities
- · Much of the reading happens on your own time
- · Freelance income depends on constant client acquisition