Fact Checker

Anytime a fact is printed, be it in a non-fiction book, a magazine, or any other periodical, it has gone through the hands and eyes of a Fact Checker. (With newspapers though, fact-checking is a Reporter ’s job.) Just like the title says, Fact Checkers check every fact, verifying information before it gets printed.

This is an entry-level job, but it is an important one. As a Fact Checker, you keep mistakes like misspellings, wrong dates, or false information out of a publication. This keeps Publishers and Authors out of trouble with their readers—trouble that can range from letters to the Editor to lawsuits.

Your job starts with an article or chapter that needs to be checked. You go over the piece with a fine-tooth comb (really just a highlighter), and look for any piece of information that can be considered a fact. The things you check up on range from the concrete—say, a person’s birthdate—to the obscure—if a restaurant has ever served a certain dish, for instance. This job can be fast-paced, since often you’re working under tight deadlines.

You check facts by doing research, and lots of it. This research can range from calling a person in order to verify the spelling of a name or the correct wording of a quote, all the way to looking up old photographs or documents. So prepare to spend a lot of time on the internet, in a library, and on the phone, tracking down the information you need in any way you can.