Andrea Modica '11, Epic for Kids

Andrea Modica ’11 is senior project editor at Epic for Kids, a digital publishing platform. While at Saint Joseph's University, Modica majored in English and was copy chief for The Hawk.

Can you tell us about your job at Epic?

My job is a little bit of a hybrid role. I am a senior project editor, so half of my job is copyediting for grammar syntax, spelling, glaring plot holes or something that really does not make sense. I also do proofreading, so once the book is actually laid out, I will look at it to make sure that all the illustrations match up and there is no discrepancy there. The other half of the time I am doing developmental editor work, which means that I work directly with the author. I have to wear a couple of hats to fit the needs, but it is actually really nice because I enjoy doing both sides of editing and do not have to give one up to fit into the role.

Why did you decide to go into editing?

For a long time, I was not really sure what I wanted to do for a living. As a kid, I really loved to write, which is why I took so many writing classes at St. Joe’s. Editing did not occur to me until I actually had my internship [at Running Press]. I got to learn on the job what happens behind the scenes and what you have to do to work in this business. For me, editing was very intuitive. It felt like second nature. Being able to look at something and know how to approach it was never something I had to work extremely hard at. It always just felt like the right thing for me.

So your internship was a catalyst?

I realized that after I had my internship, book publishing was really where my passion was and what I wanted to do. I had a lot of people telling me that it was going to be impossible to break into this industry, but I was really determined to do whatever it took. It may be an industry that people say is really tough, but once I was able to get in, I knew that it was the right thing and enjoyed doing different parts of it ever since.

Are there any skills you learned from working with The Hawk which still apply to your current job?

Yes, absolutely. Editing was always my dream job, and The Hawk was a really cool experience. The first half of my senior year I was a writer and copy editor before that, but it was really helpful in terms of just editing. Anything can be applicable to any field that they need an editor for and learning different types of styles and writing is never a bad thing. For me, having all the different experiences I had made me a very well-rounded editor, so I think any editing experience is really helpful. That was all stuff that I learned from working on The Hawk

What advice do you have for aspiring editors?

Networking was always my biggest thing. I was really close with a couple of my professors and would ask a lot of questions. In the beginning, I did not have a lot of those answers, so it is always helpful to ask everybody around you. I definitely asked a lot of questions and did a lot of job searching and research on companies. Any kind of work experience, if there is an opportunity for internships, is also always invaluable. You make a lot of great contacts from that and get to see what a day-to-day life of an editor would be.

— Rachel Kwok '22