Book editor to fact checker
A book editor already meets 39% of what the fact checker role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
53.1/ 100
1 How much of what a fact checker is expected to do is already part of a book editor’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the fact checker role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A fact checker role treats 4 of its required skills as things a book editor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- consult information sources
- develop professional network
- proofread text
- read manuscripts
What stands in the way is 6 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 7 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A fact checker role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a book editor background worth leading with.
- already held rewrite manuscripts communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held read manuscripts information skills
- already held writing techniques arts and humanities
- already held use word processing software working with computers
- already held proofread text communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held consult information sources information skills
All 7 carried skills, including the 4 the fact checker role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 11 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn perform background research on writing subject required
- still to learn review unpublished articles required
- still to learn communicate by telephone required
- optional, not held interview people optional
- optional, not held consult with editor optional
- still to learn search engines required
- optional, not held media and information literacy optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- still to learn search databases required
- optional, not held press law optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a fact checker role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 perform background research on writing subject practise this
- 02 review unpublished articles practise this
- 03 search engines study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 7 skills that carry over
- already held consult information sources skill
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held proofread text skill
- already held read manuscripts skill
- already held rewrite manuscripts skill
- already held use word processing software skill
- already held writing techniques knowledge
5 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held interview people optional
- optional, not held media and information literacy optional
- optional, not held consult with editor optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
- optional, not held press law optional
25 held skills the fact checker role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse texts to be illustrated skill
- not needed by the target role apply desktop publishing techniques skill
- not needed by the target role apply grammar and spelling rules skill
- not needed by the target role assess financial viability skill
- not needed by the target role attend book fairs skill
- not needed by the target role check correctness of information skill
- not needed by the target role conserve new media skill
- not needed by the target role copyright legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role desktop publishing knowledge
- not needed by the target role establish collaborative relations skill
- not needed by the target role grammar knowledge
- not needed by the target role implement marketing strategies skill
- not needed by the target role interpret illustration needs skill
- not needed by the target role literature knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage contracts skill
- not needed by the target role network within the writing industry skill
- not needed by the target role perform market research skill
- not needed by the target role provide support to authors skill
- not needed by the target role publishing market knowledge
- not needed by the target role select illustration styles skill
- not needed by the target role select manuscripts skill
- not needed by the target role show diplomacy skill
- not needed by the target role spelling knowledge
- not needed by the target role suggest revision of manuscripts skill
5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn search engines required
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held media and information literacy optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
- optional, not held press law optional
Other moves recorded from book editor
- book publisher 55% covered · moderate
- proofreader 48% covered · moderate
- copy editor 46% covered · moderate
- speechwriter 40% covered · substantial
- writer 38% covered · substantial
- lexicographer 34% covered · substantial
- magazine editor 32% covered · substantial
- publishing rights manager 31% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a book editor become a fact checker?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A book editor already covers 39% of what a fact checker is expected to do: 7 skills carry over, 4 of which the fact checker role treats as required.
What skills does a book editor need to become a fact checker?
6 required skills are missing, plus 5 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is perform background research on writing subject.
How hard is the move from book editor to fact checker?
Its learning distance is 53.1 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.