Developmental Editor for Op-Eds and Cultural Analysis Essays
• *Developmental Editor for Op-Ed Articles – Story Craft & Conceptual Depth**
I write op-ed style articles that engage seriously with ideas. I'm looking for an editor who can work at the level the work demands. Not looking for an editor to just clean up prose, but someone who thinks hard alongside me about how a piece is constructed.
• *What this role actually is**
This is story-craft editing at the conceptual level. That means interrogating the architecture of a piece and thinking about where the tension lives, whether the argument earns its conclusion, how the narrative elements are sequenced and why, and what's being left on the table. You would work directly in the draft using track changes, with sidebar comments used for context where helpful — but comments are not a substitute for suggesting actual changes. If something needs to be tightened, tighten it. If a passage should move, move it. If a particular sentence sounds too emotionally charged for the tone I'm aiming for, tweak it per your editorial instincts rather than just making a note about it in the comments. I'm looking for engagement with the content, not just annotation.
• *What I'm NOT looking for**
— Copy editors or proofreaders
— Editors who work at the level of sentence polish without engaging the ideas
— Editors who aren't comfortable wrestling with abstract or complex concepts and telling me when my framing is muddled, my logic is soft, my structure is not optimal or tone is properly calibrated to the audience.
— Editors who are hands-off or passive. I need a thought partner with deep editorial instincts
• *What I AM looking for**
— Someone who reads widely and thinks rigorously across disciplines, not just in journalism or media
— Demonstrated experience with opinion, essay, or long-form narrative writing (not just news or content)
— The confidence to push back, propose alternatives, and restructure or reframe aggressively when the piece needs it
— Comfort sitting with conceptual ambiguity while helping find the clearest possible expression of a difficult idea
— Someone who understands that narrative architecture in non-fiction is as intentional and craft-driven as in fiction
• *The experience level I'm looking for**
I'm looking for someone whose work has appeared in (or who has edited for) outlets in any area with high editorial standards.
Examples: Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Fast Company, The Free Press, the Times opinion section, The Atlantic, Esquire Magazine, City Journal, or the equivalent in whatever field you work in. This could include a top trade publication, a major business or culture outlet, news opinion pages on any side of the political aisle, or a very selective Substack-based newsletter that takes outside submissions. This list is illustrative, not exhaustive. The area of focus does not matter as long as you've worked with these editorial standards.
• *How to apply**
Please send me:
1. At least two links to published work you've written or edited. Please only include work that is publicly accessible via a live URL. Applications without publicly accessible links will not be considered.
2. A brief answer to this question: What's a non-obvious thing you look for when you open a draft for the first time?
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I write op-ed style articles that engage seriously with ideas. I'm looking for an editor who can work at the level the work demands. Not looking for an editor to just clean up prose, but someone who thinks hard alongside me about how a piece is constructed.
• *What this role actually is**
This is story-craft editing at the conceptual level. That means interrogating the architecture of a piece and thinking about where the tension lives, whether the argument earns its conclusion, how the narrative elements are sequenced and why, and what's being left on the table. You would work directly in the draft using track changes, with sidebar comments used for context where helpful — but comments are not a substitute for suggesting actual changes. If something needs to be tightened, tighten it. If a passage should move, move it. If a particular sentence sounds too emotionally charged for the tone I'm aiming for, tweak it per your editorial instincts rather than just making a note about it in the comments. I'm looking for engagement with the content, not just annotation.
• *What I'm NOT looking for**
— Copy editors or proofreaders
— Editors who work at the level of sentence polish without engaging the ideas
— Editors who aren't comfortable wrestling with abstract or complex concepts and telling me when my framing is muddled, my logic is soft, my structure is not optimal or tone is properly calibrated to the audience.
— Editors who are hands-off or passive. I need a thought partner with deep editorial instincts
• *What I AM looking for**
— Someone who reads widely and thinks rigorously across disciplines, not just in journalism or media
— Demonstrated experience with opinion, essay, or long-form narrative writing (not just news or content)
— The confidence to push back, propose alternatives, and restructure or reframe aggressively when the piece needs it
— Comfort sitting with conceptual ambiguity while helping find the clearest possible expression of a difficult idea
— Someone who understands that narrative architecture in non-fiction is as intentional and craft-driven as in fiction
• *The experience level I'm looking for**
I'm looking for someone whose work has appeared in (or who has edited for) outlets in any area with high editorial standards.
Examples: Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Fast Company, The Free Press, the Times opinion section, The Atlantic, Esquire Magazine, City Journal, or the equivalent in whatever field you work in. This could include a top trade publication, a major business or culture outlet, news opinion pages on any side of the political aisle, or a very selective Substack-based newsletter that takes outside submissions. This list is illustrative, not exhaustive. The area of focus does not matter as long as you've worked with these editorial standards.
• *How to apply**
Please send me:
1. At least two links to published work you've written or edited. Please only include work that is publicly accessible via a live URL. Applications without publicly accessible links will not be considered.
2. A brief answer to this question: What's a non-obvious thing you look for when you open a draft for the first time?
Thank you for reading this job listing!
Apply tot his job
Apply To this Job