In this series, editors share their experiences, insights, and tips on the practical aspects of working as an editor. In previous “Editors Advise” instalments, we’ve covered such topics such as training, resources, and professional development for editors. For Part 1 of this pair of posts, we asked four editors for their thoughts on finding in-house work.
What advice would you give to editors hoping to work in-house?
Shirarose Wilensky, editor at House of Anansi Press
The best way I have found for an editor to get their foot in the door if they want to work in-house is to do an internship at a publishing house. I was incredibly fortunate to do my first internship in 2007 with Arsenal Pulp Press, where I had the opportunity to learn from an excellent indie press with a diverse list of innovative fiction and non-fiction. They were very generous with their mentorship, letting me jump right into reading submissions, proofreading cookbooks, and working on an exciting and complex project called The Dictionary of Homophobia, which was translated into English from French and so needed significant line editing. That internship set me up well on my editorial path by introducing me to wonderful industry colleagues and teaching me about acquisitions, editing, and the overall publishing process. In fact, it was the gift that kept on giving, because after I had gained more experience—completing SFU’s Master of Publishing program, doing other internships, and working as both a freelance and in-house editor for other presses—I later became Arsenal’s in-house editor from 2018 to 2021. I was then extra privileged to transition to my current role as editor at House of Anansi, where I get to work in-house for a Toronto company while living on the West Coast! Ultimately, it is often the delicate combination of education, internships, work experience, networking, perseverance, and luck that can help an editor achieve their goal of working in-house.
Kaela Cadieux, managing and acquiring editor at Annick Press
Prioritize your goals, keep an open mind, and work on building lasting relationships.
When I first started taking editorial courses, I remember the instructor asking the class what kind of work we wanted to be doing in the future. The clear majority answered that we wanted to be in-house substantive editors of adult trade fiction. This makes sense—it’s the type of publishing that we’re often taught has the most prestige and cultural impact, and it’s the role many people are familiar with even without any prior knowledge of publishing as an industry.
I was adamant about that choice at the time, but a decade later, I’m a managing editor in children’s trade publishing (though I do occasionally acquire, develop, and edit books as well). When I realized that the most important thing to me was to be in-house, it made me more open to and curious about other roles within publishing. In the end, I found a much better fit for me, and I’m grateful every day to have landed here.
Because of our initial draw toward the same kind of role, I also remember feeling a strong undercurrent of competition with fellow editors at different points in my career. But even if you do wind up in the running for the same jobs, I would avoid any temptation to compete or compare and would instead focus on building lasting relationships. My peers are a continuing source of inspiration and support as we progress in our careers alongside each other. And while it’s easy to think that you’d stand to learn the most from those who have been in the industry the longest, that isn’t necessarily true either—as evidenced by the willingness of my younger colleagues to teach me about new genre trends, author care considerations, and the impact of BookTok.
Allister Thompson, freelance editor
I have two pieces of advice: First, be careful about internships. They should pay you a decent honorarium—not nothing. Also, try to determine whether the internship might actually lead to a job, either at the company you would be interning at, or the experience you get and the company’s status will actually look good on your CV and help your career. Unpaid or barely paid internships have been a feature of this industry for a long time. An unfortunate one, in my opinion.
Second, in-house work is low-paid to start and mostly in urban areas, which means it’s hard to make a living off it. Working in-house to start your career is exciting, and you learn a lot and give yourself a profile. But at the same time, consider the possibility of eventually working independently. In other words, don’t turn down freelance work on the side!
Fazeela Jiwa, acquisitions and development editor at Fernwood Publishing
First, pick the genre of writing you most like to edit, because that is likely where your skills are most developed—do you prefer poetry, fiction, or non-fiction? Within those, do you want to mostly work with literary fiction, genre fiction, academic non-fiction, cookbooks, or memoirs? These preferences are important to identify because if you know what you like to do, then it will be easier to identify the right publisher to benefit from your skills.
Then, pick the publisher you want to work with. Many publishers have lists of multiple genres and topics, and while bigger presses may hire editors to specialize in a particular genre or field, smaller presses will expect their in-house editors to be able to edit everything they publish. For example, I have an interest in both academic non-fiction and literary fiction, but I am specifically interested in issues of social justice. I found a press that needed an in-house editor in that exact niche, so it’s a really good fit for me. However, it’s really important to know that if you’re working in an organization, you’re definitely not spending all your time editing. When you’re working in-house, you’re also participating in the organizational aspects of work like staff meetings or training, or the other parts of the book publishing process like marketing and promotional plans.
The last thing I’ll say is this: Don’t be afraid to approach your favourite publishers to offer your services if you want to eventually work in-house. Freelancing is a great way to experience lots of different organizational cultures as well as different kinds of editing, and it’s a great way to get to know the folks who will eventually be hiring an in-house editor. It really matters, when hiring, that you already have experience working with that publisher.
This article was copy edited by Andrea Benjamin, MA, JD, a legal editor and proofreader based in Toronto. She is the owner of AB Editorial.
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