Editorial assistant roles are the classic first step into book editing at NYC trade and academic publishers. Day-to-day work often includes reading submissions or agented manuscripts, drafting reader reports, managing schedules, corresponding with authors and freelancers, and supporting acquisitions and production.

Most openings ask for a bachelor’s degree, strong written communication, and prior publishing internship experience. Knowledge of Chicago style, Excel, and manuscript tracking tools helps. See editorial assistant salaries for current NYC pay ranges from disclosed listings.

From there, many people move into assistant editor jobs. Compare pay on the book editor salaries page, or browse all editorial jobs.