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How to Edit a Magazine

Magazine editors are responsible for every page that appears within their publication. Successful magazines maintain a consistent level of writing quality, have a minimal number of factual errors and remain entertaining to read for their target audience. To achieve this, editors must accomplish several tasks thoroughly and repeatedly to ensure that every issues of their publication meets the strictest standards of excellence.

Instructions

    • 1

      Read all articles written for publication within the magazine. Edit for length if submissions come in too long, or return them to writers if they come in too short or incomplete. Use the number of pages you need to fill as a guide when evaluating the articles you have commissioned.

    • 2

      Edit according to the magazine's tone and format. Every magazine has a distinct voice as well as a house style guide. Edit all articles so that they conform to all style rules, from tone to sentence structure to spelling.

    • 3

      Prepare informative but eye-catching headlines. Writers may include their own headlines in the work they submit, However, editors have the final say on the appropriateness of all headlines or sub-headlines.

    • 4

      Pay attention to the legal details. Part of your job as editor requires checking for the inappropriate use of other writers' materials, which constitutes plagiarism. Make sure all articles are original works. If your writers include material from other writers, make sure they are properly cited. The same holds true for photographs. Verify that you have the legal right to publish all materials and photographs used in an article by seeking permission from the original author (or the publisher that owns the copyright) or the photographer.

      Check rights and original material. If articles within the magazine have used photographs or words from other creators, ensure that you have legal right to print the material, or attempt to secure permission for it to be published.

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