We invited Candice Judith Dcosta to tell us about her career in the scholarly publishing industry. Here, Candice talks about some responsibilities and expectations from her job and offers some advice to those who are interested in pursuing a career in the copyediting realm of the publishing industry.

About Candice Judith Dcosta, MSc, ELS

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Candice Judith Dcosta is the Head of Copyediting Services at JMIR Publications, an open access digital health science publisher in Toronto, Canada. Her academic background includes bachelor’s and master’s degrees in life sciences and multifaceted roles in the scholarly publishing industry. She is a leader and mentor, a published author, and a certified editor (Board of Editors in Life Sciences). At work, Candice enjoys coaching and training new employees and loves working on collaborative group projects. Outside of work, Candice loves spending time with her family, Netflixing, and drinking loads of coffee!

How did you get your current job? Describe the path to your current position.

My career spans a decade of varied roles in the scholarly publishing industry. I started my journey with biomedical editing in a scholarly publishing agency, where a combination of my background in life sciences and expertise in the English language served as a great foundation for the field. Owing to my inherent people and organizational skills, I progressed into management roles within a few years. For the next 5 years, I worked with several medical editing companies on a freelance basis while pursuing a master’s degree in life sciences, a research stint at a virology institute, and other academic interests. Soon after, I was offered an opportunity at an open-access digital health science publisher in Toronto, Canada. Over the past few years, I have been the Head of Copyediting at the organization; here, I manage a group of 20+ in-house and external copyeditors while overseeing the day-to-day copyediting operations for the organization.

What is a usual day/week at your job position?

My week typically involves an assortment of tasks; I’ve noted a few important ones below:

• managing my team,
• training and coaching copyeditors,
• communicating with authors through our customer support desk or directly via email,
• overseeing assignment of incoming manuscripts,
• coordinating between departments to ensure smooth flow of manuscripts,
• planning capacity and growth for the department,
• scoping and implementing new projects,
• troubleshooting technical problems with our technology team,
• maintaining and updating the company’s Knowledge Base,
• helping other departments in new ventures and projects, and
• attending meetings with my team and senior management.

From your experience, what does a company/institution look for in candidates applying to your job position?

For a managerial role within the Copyediting sphere, prior copyediting experience of biomedical journal articles is essential (at least 3-5 years). As my role is a management position, previous management of external and/or internal teams is an asset. Progression into this position would ideally be gradual, from copyeditor to team lead to manager (possibly a few more steps in between). An organization would also look for several soft skills, as these would be required for anyone assuming a leadership role. Another important aspect to consider is the candidate’s academic background. A subject area match is important for specialist/substantiative editing. For example, a candidate applying for a medical editing position should have undertaken some coursework in biomedical sciences as part of their academic background. This will ensure that the candidate understands the content assigned for editing and can easily pick up any unfamiliar concepts within the subject area.

What skills have made you and others in your field successful? Were there any unexpected skills that you needed to learn?

From my experience working with effective leaders, I can tell you that leaders have an arsenal of skills at their disposal, ones they’ve learned and accrued throughout their career. They usually lead intuitively with what feels most appropriate for the situation. A leader’s skills are a result of their knowledge and life’s experiences and those are highly subjective. In my field, most leaders have long-standing experience in the publishing industry and broadly understand most parts of the business. It is important that seasoned leaders constantly learn and grow as the field and technology continue to advance. At the other end of the spectrum, I have also witnessed people who are born leaders, who have a knack for leadership and can ace any leadership role with limited knowledge of the field. In my opinion, becoming a leader depends on how well you’re able to present yourself (your skills and knowledge) and how open you are to learning. One may have expertise in the field, but every new organization, every new role, presents new information and new challenges—one’s success depends on how quickly they are able to grasp the newness, adapt to the changes, and contribute to the organization’s goals. I believe good leaders put their faith in their people, providing minimum oversight and maximum support for their employees to do their best work. Some of the best leaders I know are realistic, supportive, and encouraging. As a leader, me motto is to lead with empathy, and it has served me well. I must mention that I have had the good fortune of working with some of the most talented, brilliant people in the industry, which has made my career very fulfilling.

Every new role brought some unexpected challenges and required quick learning, be it with new software or processes or people. A large part of one’s success in this industry depends on how well they can manage pressure, adapt to change, and learn on the go.

What advice do you have for current graduate students looking into work in this job position?

Historically, there hasn’t been much information available on career paths or job options in the copyediting realm of the publishing industry, but there are many relevant jobs available, and you don’t always require formal training to break into the field. It is important to invest some time on building your portfolio before you start the job hunt, and I’d like to give you a few pointers on how you could prepare for it while still studying:

• Get involved in editorial boards of your university’s magazines or newsletters. This is a good starting point to showcase your understanding of editorial work, and you could also highlight some soft skills gained from the experience.
• Get your hands on any copyediting opportunities, even if it is proofreading a friend’s thesis. If it is an unofficial stint, you can still include it in your cover letter!
• Take courses in publishing/academic writing and editing if you have the option. These don’t strictly have to be done through formal education and they don’t have to be expensive; free massive open online courses (MOOCs) count too.
• Create a LinkedIn account and connect with people working in publishing organizations. There are plenty of tips for professional networking online on websites like LinkedIn and Indeed. If you’re interested in scholarly publishing, look up the employees of such publishers and introduce yourself. If you’re not sure what work you specifically want to do in publishing, connect with them nonetheless and ask if they’d be open to a chat to enlighten you on the subject. Most often, they’d be happy to lend their expertise. That way, when the time comes for you to begin your job hunt, you’ll have your connections ready to go. Once you have built those useful connections in the industry, reach out to them when you are ready to apply and express your interest in the field; inquire about any available opportunities. You could also go the other way around—find relevant opportunities in an organization and then reach out to your contacts for a referral.
• Become members of professional publishing societies like the Society of Scholarly Publishing (SSP), Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP), International Society of Managing and Technical Editors (ISMTE), and Council of Science Editors (CSE). These societies host many networking events and have their own job boards. Most of these societies also have special student membership rates, which are a fraction of their regular membership fees. They also conduct mentorship programs to help groom early career professionals and guide their career development in the field. Once you become a member of such a society, explore their benefits thoroughly and take advantage of their offerings.
• Maintain an active, updated CV always and keep a digital copy handy. You never know when or with whom you may need to share it.
• Don’t leave any typos in your CV! Proofread your CV at least twice and run spell checks on it. Language expertise and attention to detail are primary skills hiring managers will look for in these roles; a copyediting expert will evaluate the language presented in your CV too, to sniff out these skills.

Organizations are always on the lookout for recent graduates with potential. With a little bit of relevant experience, you can break into the field and chart your career path from there. I’d like to note here that scholarly publishers are not the only organizations that employ copyeditors. Some other types of organizations that have extensive scope for (copy)editing are (medical) communication agencies, universities, publishing vendors, pharmaceutical companies, banks, and tech companies, amongst others. Some companies also offer special programs for recent graduates where they provide intensive on-the-job training. In addition, copyediting can also be performed on contract/freelance basis while you are still at university or on a break.

Coming to the CV, a recent graduate should highlight a few core skills for copyediting positions in their CV (pick all that apply):

• English language expertise
• any writing/editing experience
• ability to provide constructive feedback
• academic background match
• expertise with MS Office (specifically MS Word, or other editing software)
• familiarity with style guides
• ability to work with new/proprietary software
• keen interest in learning the work

A hiring manager would also look for certain soft skills in an applicant, including time management, attention to detail, written and oral communication skills, organizational skills, and adaptability. These are standard skills required in the publishing industry, and any student who has had to work on assignments/presentations or held a part-time job would be able to speak to at least some of them. Because an applicant may not have all the skills required for the job, the application should be supplemented with a strong cover letter showing interest in the role and potential to learn and fill any gaps. Hiring managers are aware that recent graduates may not have all the skills required for the role, so they often look for potential that will allow a candidate to grow into an asset to the company. Copyediting is a skill that can be taught if you have fluent English language skills. So, upsell the skills you have and highlight what you are capable of in your cover letter. Lay out a couple of examples of instances where you have exercised the relevant skills and tie it into a neat package demonstrating how you can meet and even surpass expectations. Extra brownie points for reading up on an organization beforehand and addressing their mission or goals in your cover letter.

As we approach the end of this article, I’d like to leave you with a few thoughts: As a graduate student, you have many valuable skills and experiences to offer any employer. Present yourself confidently—that’s half the battle won! And remind yourself that everyone starts somewhere, so why not here?

Now, if you’ve made it to the end and you’d like to test that pesky attention to detail skill…did you spot the typo left in this article?

Interview by Janhavi Damani