Many writers dream of becoming the next Arthur Conan Doyle or Sherlock Holmes. For those that truly want to make the jump and join the ranks of the professionals, the question becomes: “How can I become a royal editor (RE)?” The answer lies in understanding how a royalty works and the required qualifications.
A royalty is a type of contract between an author or publisher and a brand or company that requests permission to use the author’s or publisher’s name in exchange for a royalty. The relationship typically lasts for a set period of time and can either be one-time or recurring. A one-time use royalty agreement might cover a single work or product, while a recurring royalty agreement covers multiple works or products.
What does this have to do with copywriting? A lot, actually. Let’s assume that you’re a copywriter at a global agency and got asked by your manager to develop a program to attract more organic customers to our product. Your brand loyalty will likely lead you to choose Hootsuite as your platform, but you need to approach this problem from both a content and a marketing perspective.
The best way to attract people who are interested in your product is through relevant and interesting content. To get you started, you can utilize existing materials – such as marketing materials and landing pages – but you should look for ways to enhance these assets and transform them into engaging content.
The Basics Of A Royalty
In most cases, the brand or company requesting the use of your name will either be paying you a flat rate or will be contributing to your royalty in some way. For instance, if you write an article for a magazine that is subsequently published online, the brand might compensate you for the article.
The amount of the flat rate or contribution will be determined in the agreement and can be based on a number of factors, such as the size of your name in the marketplace, the number of times your name is used, the average purchase price of your product or service, and the like.
The Difference Between A Royalty And A Grant
A royalty is different from a grant in that it is a form of payment for an existing relationship, rather than a one-time payment for a single project or piece of content. A grant is usually used to financially support a creative or innovative project, such as a film or music album. The money can be used for any reason and doesn’t need to be paid back, although it often isn’t. For example, if you’re writing a novel and decide to hire a professional editor to help you polish it, you would apply for a grant for this purpose. This type of arrangement often requires that you re-apply every year, which can be both time consuming and stressful.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Like any other type of job, there are certain qualifications that you need to have in order to become a RE. While most of these can be learned, you will need to complete an unpaid internship or fellowship (typically between 3 and 6 months in length) before you can officially apply for a job as a RE. Some of the things that you will need to have include:
- Excellent grammar and usage. You write the copy, so you must be able to write clearly and accurately.
- Excellent attention to detail. If you’re going to be asked to examine multiple documents and give your opinion on whether or not something is correct, you need to be able to do it without error.
- Ability to multi-task. Being a successful RE means being able to meet the demands of the brand or company while also taking on new projects and ensuring deadlines are met.
- Strong organizational skills. Keeping track of all the details and juggling a busy schedule are essential to being a successful RE.
- Creativity. If you come up with ideas for new products or campaigns, you’ll be able to put them to use and earn your keep. Remember, though, that as a RE you won’t be doing this independently. You’ll be representing a brand or company and will therefore need to be mindful of what they want.
- A love for literature. If you’re going to be spending a lot of time with books, you might as well enjoy it. There are many opportunities for you to read and review books, both fiction and non-fiction, so don’t forget about the education you’re getting.
- A portfolio. To get started, you can simply click here to access a digital portfolio that you can use to display your work. Once you’ve uploaded your work, you can edit the content and add in any necessary documentation (such as writing samples or professional credentials).
- Familiarity with SEO. Since you’ll be writing online content, you will need to be familiar with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This involves taking an existing piece of content and figuring out a way to make it rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). Your manager might not know much about SEO, but he or she might trust you to take on this responsibility and be able to explain in simple terms how it all works.
- Broad understanding of the digital marketing industry. This is something that you’ll need to learn to be successful, so take the time to expand your knowledge base. As a RE, you’ll be working within the digital marketing industry, so you will need to know the ins and outs of paid and unpaid media, performance marketing, and more.
Once you’ve put in the necessary time and effort to learn all that you can, apply to several different brands and companies that operate within the digital marketing world. You might start out with small and mid-sized businesses that can be a stepping stone to bigger and better opportunities.