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What are typical copy editor salaries?
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Comments (7)

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Do some companies pay a lot more for this position than others? What does a top earner make in this field?

What skills should you learn to increase your salary?

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Anna Collins

57 months ago

I am curious as I am contemplating this profession.

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lynn in Algonquin, Illinois

56 months ago

newspaper copy editors' pay varies widely depending on market. depending on the newspaper size, market/cost of living, company that owns the paper and experience, i'd say anywhere from $20 to $50k a year. you'll make more working outside the newspaper industry though. :)

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Sarah in Fullerton, California

51 months ago

I went to school to be a journalist, ended up copy editing for the college newspaper, and then figured I'd do that when I graduated. Being a newspaper copy editor requires a lot of late nights, and many papers want a copy editor to know how to lay out the section(s), as well. If you're thinking about going into newspaper editing, learn how to do layouts, too. Magazine editing, on the other hand, comes with a more normal schedule and slightly better starting pay (about $34K here in California). Trade magazines are a lot easier to get into than the "exciting" ones, but the more experience you have, the better! Also, having connections in the biz (haha) helps a lot! Good luck!!!!

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Longtime copy editor in Washington, District of Columbia

46 months ago

www.indeed.com/salary?q1=Copy+Editors&l1=Washington%2C+DC

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Copy Editor in New York, New York

43 months ago

Agree that connections really help. It took me longer to make connections than to learn the relevant style for my portion of the business!

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Nancy in Duluth, Georgia

10 months ago

I was a copy editor in the Atlanta, GA, area since 1997. I was laid off in 2010. My salary when I was let go was only $27,000. Of course, this is Georgia, not known for high salaries. The company was generous in giving me 6 months severance pay. Fortunately, I was also collecting social security, so I decided to retire. But I would like to find some free-lance copy-editing jobs. So far, I have not had much success.

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