Contributors
answered the following 9 questions:
1. How long have you been a medical editor/copy
editor?
Contributor Response: I’ve been an editor in the medical
publishing /advertising / education industry for nearly 9 years.
2. Do you know AMA? If so, how did you learn
it?
Contributor Response: I initially learned
AMA when I first started out as an assistant editor, but always keep my AMA
style guide close at hand, because . . .
3. How did you get into the field?
Contributor Response:
I got into this field purely
by accident. I was going to school in the Midwest as a pre-med major but
gravitated toward English elective classes. When I told one of my English
professors that I was going to transfer to an East Coast school because I
was homesick -- I'm from New York -- he suggested I change my major to
English when I transfer out. . .
4. Describe a typical day on the job?
Contributor Response: A typical day could
go from doing nothing to editing ads, editing monologues and transcribing
CD's or making correction.
5. If you've worked in other fields, do
you think medical editing/copyediting more difficult, less difficult, or has
about the same difficulty as other types of editing / copyediting? Explain
your response.
Contributor Response:
Medical
copyediting would probably be on the same level as legal and financial but
somewhat more intense mainly because of . .
.
6. In your opinion, what specific
requirements are necessary to obtain employment in this field?
Contributor Response:
You have to know proofreading
symbols. Also, no one expects you to memorize the whole book, but it's
important that you become familiar with the AMA Manual. Brush up on
spelling, grammar and punctuation . . .
7. If someone has no experience, how would
you advise they break into the field?
Contributor Response:
If you want to break into
the field, ask other copyeditors how they got into copyediting. I recommend
taking proofreading and copyediting classes . .
8. In your opinion, does medical
editing/copy editing pay more/less/about the same as other types of
editing/copy editing? Please give high/low, hourly/yearly wage ranges where
possible.
Contributor Response:
In my opinion, I think medical
copyediting pays more than other types of editing. Publishing companies have
an average hourly (at least what I've seen) . . . One publishing company I
work for pays on a fee-per-project basis, or a flat fee.
9. Over the last five years, have you found
it easier/harder/about the same to find employment in this field?
Contributor Response:
Over the last five years,
finding work in this field is about the same. A few months before September
11, 2001, finding freelance work was difficult, but not impossible...
SUMMARY
As you can see, contributor accounts are insightful because they
detail specific experiences from real people who explain how they got into the
field, what a typical day is like, and what you can look forward to as an
editorial professional within this discipline -- and much more.
This is e-pamphlet
is a good place to start if you are curious about this field and want to
gain a true, inside glimpse of what it would be like to be employed in
this field.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABOUT THE
AUTHOR
PREFACE
DEDICATION
CONTRIBUTOR ACCOUNTS
Account #1: Medical Editor, 9 Years Experience
Account #2: Production Editor, Copy Editor, Editor 10+ Years Experience
Account #3: Medical Editor, Copy Editor, 15 Years Experience
Account #4: Medical Copy Editor, 5 Years Experience
SUMMARIZING
THE CONTRIBUTORS
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