Be Part of What's Next
Join Hearst Books & Specials and help bring exceptional editorial products to life. As a Temporary Copyeditor, you'll play a critical role in ensuring our books, bookazines, and special-interest publications meet the highest standards of quality, accuracy, and consistency while supporting some of the most recognized media brands in the industry.
About Hearst Magazines (Why Us?)
Hearst Magazines is one of the largest publishers in the world, with a portfolio of 30 brands that reach millions of readers across print, digital, social, and experiential platforms. Our brands inspire, inform, and entertain audiences through trusted storytelling and innovative content. At Hearst, you'll collaborate with talented teams who are passionate about creating exceptional experiences while shaping the future of media.
Key Responsibilities (What You're Doing)
- Copyedit manuscripts for grammar, spelling, punctuation, syntax, clarity, consistency, and readability while preserving each author's voice and brand style.
- Ensure all editorial content adheres to Hearst editorial standards and The Chicago Manual of Style.
- Edit manuscripts in Microsoft Word using Track Changes and review editorial content within Adobe InCopy.
- Review and mark corrections on Adobe Acrobat PDF page proofs, ensuring editorial changes are accurately incorporated throughout multiple proof rounds.
- Verify the accuracy and consistency of recipes, captions, sidebars, tables, charts, pull quotes, URLs, cross-references, page references, running heads, folios, and other editorial elements, as applicable.
- Identify factual inconsistencies, ambiguous language, permissions concerns, legal issues, and editorial questions, partnering with Project Editors and Managing Editors to resolve them.
- Collaborate with editorial, design, and production teams to manage multiple concurrent projects and meet production deadlines.
- Perform final quality-control reviews before files are released to prepress and printing.
Qualifications (What We're Looking For)
- 3+ years of experience copyediting books, magazines, bookazines, or special-interest publications, or equivalent professional experience.
- Expert knowledge of English grammar, punctuation, spelling, usage, and The Chicago Manual of Style.
- Proficiency using Microsoft Word with Track Changes, Adobe InCopy, and Adobe Acrobat Pro.
- Strong attention to detail with exceptional proofreading, organizational, and time-management skills.
- Ability to identify inconsistencies while maintaining author voice, editorial integrity, and brand standards.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively across editorial, design, and production teams.
- Experience with book, magazine, or bookazine production workflows is preferred.
- Experience copyediting lifestyle, food, wellness, home, automotive, or consumer publications is a plus.
- Familiarity with Adobe InDesign, print production, and page composition is preferred.
- This is a fully remote, project-based position. Hours will vary based on production schedules and project workload.
The hourly rate for this role is $35.00 per hour. This position is not eligible for bonus or commission compensation. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, skills, qualifications, and location.
Hearst Magazines is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
#LI-DNI
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in English, Journalism, Communications, Publishing, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
- Minimum of three (3) years of professional copyediting experience in book, magazine, or special-interest publishing.
- Expert knowledge of English grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage.
- Strong working knowledge of The Chicago Manual of Style.
- Experience editing content in:
- Microsoft Word using Track Changes
- Adobe InCopy
- Adobe Acrobat Pro (PDF markup and commenting)
- Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to manage multiple deadlines in a fast-paced publishing environment.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience copyediting cookbooks, lifestyle, health, wellness, home, food, automotive, or consumer publications.
- Experience working within book, magazine, or bookazine production workflows.
- Familiarity with Adobe InDesign workflows.
- Understanding of print production and page composition.
- Experience reviewing multiple rounds of page proofs through final files.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
- Exceptional copyediting and proofreading skills.
- Thorough knowledge of editorial standards and publishing best practices.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
- Ability to identify inconsistencies while maintaining author voice and brand tone.
- Excellent time-management and organizational skills.
- Ability to prioritize multiple projects with competing deadlines.
- Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills.
- Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
- High degree of professionalism, discretion, and confidentiality.
Technical Skills
Required
- Microsoft Word (Track Changes)
- Adobe InCopy
- Adobe Acrobat Pro
Preferred
- Adobe InDesign
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Teams
- Google Workspace
Work Arrangement
- Temporary, project-based position.
- Hours vary based on production schedules and project workload.
Remote work arrangement
Scope of Work
The Copyeditor will provide editorial support throughout various stages of production and may be assigned multiple projects simultaneously.
Responsibilities are project based and can include:
Assignments may include books, bookazines, special-interest publications, and other editorial products.
Essential Responsibilities
- Copyedit manuscripts for grammar, spelling, punctuation, syntax, clarity, consistency, and readability.
- Ensure content complies with Hearst editorial standards and The Chicago Manual of Style.
- Copyedit manuscripts in Microsoft Word using Track Changes.
- Edit laid-out editorial content using Adobe InCopy.
- Review and mark corrections on Adobe Acrobat PDF proofs using commenting and markup tools.
- Review recipes, sidebars, captions, tables, charts, pull quotes, display copy, and other editorial elements for consistency and accuracy, as applicable.
- Verify cross-references, page references, running heads, folios, URLs, and navigational elements.
- Ensure consistency in:
- Grammar and punctuation
- Capitalization
- Hyphenation
- Numbers and measurements
- Abbreviations
- Brand terminology
- Product names
- Recipe formatting and ingredient style (when applicable)
- Identify factual inconsistencies, ambiguous language, legal concerns, permissions issues, and editorial questions for review.
- Review page proofs to identify editorial errors introduced during layout.
- Verify corrections are accurately incorporated between proof rounds.
- Maintain consistency of voice while preserving the author's and brand's style.
- Manage multiple assignments while meeting established production deadlines.
- Communicate effectively with editors, designers, and production staff throughout the publishing process.
- Participate in final quality-control reviews prior to release to prepress and printing.