Features Editor's job role within the magazine industry

Magazines fall into two categories business and professional and those intended for the general public. A magazine's success depends largely on the work of its editors. There are different kinds of editors on a magazine, and their specific duties vary. On large magazines, the executive editor or editor in chief sees that the company's editorial policy is carried out. This job is primarily administrative, but the whole magazine text, pictures, captions, and headings is the final responsibility of the editor in chief. On most magazines the chief editor also expresses the magazine's point of view through editorials, which are short essays on subjects of current reader interest.

A magazine features editor ensures that their magazine is full of entertaining, informative and newsworthy articles. They are responsible for generating their own ideas within the features, commissioning work by freelance writers, proofreading and managing the work produced before releasing it to press, maintaining the profile of the magazine and networking with others in the industry gaining contacts and building a diverse network, attending meetings, conferences and photo shoots and deciding which feature will appear in which issue. Most opportunities are in large publishing companies that produce a wide range of titles. However features editors are also employed by trade magazines, specialist publishers, online media and in-house magazines.

Although it is possible to enter the profession without a degree, most new entrants are graduates or postgraduates below the age of 30. As previously stated employers place much more emphasis on work experience than qualifications therefore entrants hoping to succeed within this line of work must have enthusiasm for visual creativity, the ability to multi-task, to have confidence within themselves which will help reflect through their work, the ability to take constructive criticism, have excellent writing skills, to have a positive attitude which will determine them to keep persistent and achieve high standards and to share interest and enthusiasm with the rest of the team.
Due to journalism being such a competitive industry to enter in to, it is advisable to gain as much work experience one can, showing personal determination and interacting yourself with others, which will allow one to build a network and increase their chances of their work being published.

Many people hoping to succeed to become a features editor have already have between five to seven years of experience within other journalism jobs. Once one has been successful in being a features editor, if they feel the need to be promoted or would like to apply further in the hierarchy then the positions available would be Deputy Editor and Main Editor for the entire magazine however depending on the size of the company there are no guaranteed positions and it will take a long time for one to reach this position. A Features Editor salary can range between £15,000 to £40,000 for those who are starting out and still gaining experience. However, if one has had 10 – 15 years experience in this line of work then they can earn considerably more up to £70,000. The salary will depend on the responsibilities of the role and the size and type of publication.