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Here are 8 suggestions for you to consider when disclosing how you use AI in your editing business.
In this post
Read on to find out more about:
The impact of AI on editors and proofreaders
Editors and proofreaders are already feeling the effects of AI-assisted technologies on their work.
Why disclosure is important
Making time to understand whether AI is part of our editorial workflow because of the digital tools we use, and then disclosing that usage, ensures we model transparency for our clients and our community.
And when we do it, others feel inspired to do the same. That helps everyone make informed decisions based on the best information we have available at the moment. Being transparent also means we’re participating in a journey that fosters professional integrity and trust. Clients are more likely to feel confident in our recommendations when they see us being honest and understand which tools we’re using, why, and what the limitations and risks are. Perhaps, like me, your approach to disclosure is a work in progress, but I think we should all be accepting of that given how rapidly the landscape around us is changing, and how complex some of the issues are! Where to disclose your AI use
There’s no single best place. It’s up to you where you make your disclosure and how you link to it.
I work solely with indie authors and so I’ve chosen to include a section in the terms and conditions that make up my contract of services agreement. That’s because this is the text that clients are required to read prior to making a booking. However, some of you might prefer to create a separate disclosure page and link to it from the T&Cs or your contracts. If modelling transparency is important to you, it’s less about where your disclosure is than that it exists in the first place. What to include in your disclosure
I’ve suggested 8 things to consider for inclusion in your disclosure, though admittedly these are based on my particular needs.
If I’ve omitted anything that you think would be critical to your editorial business, please do leave a comment! Tip 1. Why you use digital tools
This is an opportunity to state at the outset not just that you are using digital tools – and most of us are using them, though not all of them are AI-assisted – but also why.
It shows clients that you’re able to use technology responsibly, and that the goal is to maintain professional standards for their benefit. Example from my T&Cs
To enhance the quality, accuracy, consistency and efficiency of my editing service, I use digital tools that may have AI-assisted technologies running in the background (even if I'm not actively using them).
Reason
I want to clients to know that I’m not working in the Stone Age, and that my use of digital tools will help give them a better result. Tip 2. Who’s accountable for the output
This is an opportunity to make it clear that regardless of a machine’s involvement in your editing process, it’s you, the editor, who’s accountable and responsible for what’s delivered.
Here you’re focusing on your human value – the sense and sensibility you bring to your work for them, even though you’re using tools to help with some of the mundane heavy-lifting. Example from my T&Cs
All outputs are reviewed and refined by me, a qualified human editor, before delivery to ensure quality and contextual accuracy. Software and AI tools are used strictly to support my human editing process and do not replace my human judgement or professional oversight.
Reason
I want to draw attention to the fact that a human is in control of the process at all times. Tip 3. Your use of generative AI in the editing process
Here’s where you can make a clear statement about your specific use of generative AI. It can help to clarify this because not all AI is the same.
Some editors use AI-assisted tools such as ChatGPT, Draftsmith or ProWritingAid for generative support with revisions; some might not. Being transparent helps clients understand what your particular skills are and who or what is doing the work. Example from my T&Cs
Reason
I pride myself on my stylistic line editing skills and want clients to know that I, a human editor, have the capability to do this nuanced and emotional work. Tip 4. Which specific digital tools you use
This is where you can name the digital tools you use as part of your workflow, their specific purpose and whether they’re licenced.
You don’t have to limit yourself to AI-assisted technologies. You can include word-processing and spreadsheet software, PDF tools, consistency checkers, macros, search engines and file management tools associated with your editorial process. Including a full list also means that when you seek a client’s consent (see #8 below), they know exactly which tools they’re consenting to the use of. 3 examples from my T&Cs
Reason
I want my clients to see the breadth of digital tools I use to support my service and to understand that I’m not using any old junk off the internet – where required, I have licences from reputable providers. Tip 5. Where the tools are hosted
This is an opportunity to tell clients whether each of your tools is hosted locally, in the cloud or elsewhere. Bear in mind the following:
If you’ve committed not to uploading client material to third-party sites, creating this information is a good way of double checking that you’re not in breach of that commitment. 3 examples from my T&Cs
Reason
By stating where my digital tools are hosted, I hope my clients will trust that I’m handling their data honestly and responsibly, but within the realms of what’s on offer and practical for my business. Tip 6. AI’s presence and interaction
Some of the editing tools we use may have AI operating in the background, and even though we’re not using it, it’s still ‘reading’ text and transmitting data.
This is an opportunity to be honest about that, and for your client to make informed decisions about whether they’re okay with it. Examples from my T&Cs
Reason
Compare the italic text in the above examples. I think it’s really important that I’m up front about the fact that Copilot is still sniffing around in the background when I’m using Microsoft Word, even though I’m not actively using the AI to suggest textual edits. This is especially the case given that I’m not yet ready to turn the function off because I’m still exploring how it might aid efficiency with non-client work that I do in Word. Tip 7. Use of open and closed systems
You can also disclose whether any AI systems you use are open or closed, or what your position is on this matter.
Providing this information shows clients that you understand the differences and are making responsible decisions. Example from my T&Cs
Reason
I’m still learning about AI, and the list of editorial digital tools I’m using in 2025 may look different in two years’ time. However, I want my clients to be confident that I’m using them in a way that respects their privacy to the best of my ability. Tip 8. Seeking client consent
If your disclosure is part of your T&Cs and contract agreement, seeking consent is an opportunity for informed transparency, legal compliance and professional integrity.
It’s protects you both, and you’re being clear that there’s choice involved here. You’ve chosen to use a set of tools, but they can decide whether they’re okay with that … before the project’s underway rather than halfway into it, when it's too late. Example from my T&Cs
Reason
I want my clients to formally agree that they’re happy for me to use the tools I’ve listed. That way, it’s part of our service agreement from the get-go and avoids misunderstandings. Can I copy your disclosure statement?
What's right for me, my business and my clients may be partially or completely unsuitable for you and yours, so I wouldn't recommend this.
Instead, think about the tips that I and others in our community have offered up for consideration, and then use that information as a jumping-off point ... something to help you craft your own AI and digital tools disclosure statement – one that's perfect for your business. However, if you're a member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), you can access a free webinar called Policy Foundations for Editorial Professionals. This includes prompt-based guidelines to help you build your own disclosure. Go to the on-demand area of the knowledge hub to access the webinar and companion pack. Summing up
I hope you've found these tips useful. Creating a transparent digital tools and AI disclosure statement helps all of us professional editors to build trust, demonstrate ethical practice and ensure we're complying with privacy regulations.
It clarifies how our clients' materials are going to be handled, distinguishes our human expertise from automated support, and protects both parties by obtaining informed consent. And, ultimately, by doing this, we're showing our clients that we're professionals who are committed to treating their data and creative work responsibly and securely. Want to take a look at how I've approached the disclosure of digital tools in my terms and conditions? The button below will take you there – scroll down to section 14. About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
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Learn about editorial foundations, growth, sustainability, legacy and marketing with this 5-book series from the hosts of The Editing Podcast.
Fancy reading some of the core takeaways from The Editing Podcast? Notes from the Podcast is a brand-new book series that focuses on five core areas of editorial business development.
What’s in the series?
Currently there are five books in the Notes from the Podcast series, all focusing on what Denise and I like gassing about the most – running, growing, sustaining and marketing an editing and proofreading business.
Is the content identical to The Editing Podcast?
So, yes, it’s still our podcast content, but it’s been repurposed and reworked so that it’s book-fit.
How long did it take to create the books?
The answer to how long it took depends on your starting point.
We didn’t write the books from scratch – creating them required having the podcast scripts in the first place. And since we broadcast our first episode in 2019, so you could say the journey started then.
We’ve spent the past three years doing the following to bring these books to life:
Did you use AI?
The biggest challenge we faced in making this project viable was untangling well over 100,000 scripted words spread across 145 separate episodes broadcast in no particular order.
Some of that scripted content was irrelevant because it:
Even the content that was relevant wasn’t located only in episodes whose titles made it obvious. It was all over the place! Plus, it was scripted in a way that suited voices rather than books.
Unless we got help.
We talked over the options and wondered if AI might come to the rescue. We decided to give it the task of:
That was a learning curve because it took a while to work out how give it the right prompts to ensure it gave us exactly what we wanted. However, it was time well spent because we got there in the end! So, yes, we did use AI – to analyse our own content and extract the chunks of it that we wanted. From then on, it was up to us to do what we do best … What Louise and Denise did
With that done, we turned to:
And finally, we published! Why bother publishing when people can listen?
Denise and I have always been massive advocates for repurposing valuable content because it respects the fact that people like to get their information in different ways.
Some like to listen. Some like to watch. And some like to read.
How to buy the books
All five books are available through Amazon.
Still want to listen? Head over to The Editing Podcast!
About Louise
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
A common stumbling block for editorial business owners is making time for marketing. Here’s why we must make time, and some resources to help you organize your business-promotion schedule.
What’s in this post …
Read on to find out more about:
Why running a business means finding clients
Every time an editor or proofreader says they don’t have time to build and implement a marketing strategy, they’re saying they don’t have time to find work.
None of us can run a business if there’s no business to run. Editing and proofreading work is essential. Otherwise we’re nothing more than a fancy title on a business card. If marketing isn’t a part of your business model, it’s time either to work for someone else or shift your mindset. Working for others – being an employee
There’s nothing wrong with being an employee. For some it’s a more suitable career choice. Unless you apply for a job in the marketing department, it will be someone else’s responsibility to do the company’s promotional work, to pull in the clients.
If you want to do your own thing, however, a commitment to business marketing must be part of the mix. That’s the difference between being self-employed and self-unemployed. Working on your business and in your business
Every independent editorial business owner has two jobs:
There’s no way around this. The approach we use to find work will depend on who our target clients are. Think social media, content marketing, advertising, directory listings, professional membership, a visible website, letters, emails, networking, phone calls, and SEO. All or some of these will be in play. If a no-time mindset is tripping you up, ask yourself whether you can imagine saying any of the following:
Those statements sound daft, don’t they? Of course we’d make time for editing, invoicing and checking spelling! We’re professionals and we’re business owners – those things are essential. Finding work is just as important. If we don’t, there’s no editing to do, no invoices to send, no spellings to check. Since we’re employers (of ourselves), not employees, we must do our own marketing, right from the get-go, and continue to do it for as long as we’re in business. Setting up a business and marketing: The order of play
Marketing doesn’t come after we’ve set up our business. That’s a misfire. It views marketing as if it’s a separate entity.
If we spend 12 months training to be a professional editor but dedicate no time to our marketing strategy, all we’ll have at the end is a skillset that’s invisible to everyone but us. I know how to make lasagne, change a tyre, and remove a thorn from a Labrador’s paw, but those skills in themselves don’t mean people are offering me work as a chef, a mechanic or a veterinary nurse. Why would they? No one but me, my husband, my kid and my dog know I can do that stuff. I’ve not promoted those skills or set up a business around them (nor do I plan to, just in case you’re wondering!). If you’re serious about becoming a professional editor, so much so that you’ve invested your hard-earned cash in a high-quality training course, start working on your marketing strategy at the same time so that you don’t end up as a professional thumb-twiddler! Shifting from a no-time mindset to an all-the-time mindset
Whatever marketing approach(es) you choose, do them regularly so that they’re a normal part of editorial business ownership.
Invoicing and tax returns are my least favourite aspects of running a business but I do them anyway. I have to. We all do. Same thing with marketing. You don’t have to love marketing. You don’t even have to like it. Just do it anyway, all the time. Dedicate time in your business week to the task. Every time you’re tempted to use that slot in your schedule to do something else, remind yourself that you don’t want to be self-unemployed, that you do want to earn a living from your editing business, and that when the client cupboard is bare it makes you feel miserable and stressed. Taking a strategic approach to marketing
Here are three things every editor needs to recognize about strategy:
A long-term marketing strategy is planned, targeted, and implemented continuously. That’s what keeps the cupboard full of good-fit clients, and what gives us the power to decide a project’s not a good fit, the price isn’t right, or the scheduling’s too tight. Summing up
If you’re already marketing your editing business, fantastic. If you’re not, start now and don’t stop!
You don’t have to do your marketing the way I do my marketing. The foundation of my strategy is content marketing, but that’s because I work exclusively with independent authors in a specialist genre, and want those authors to find me via Google. Your marketing strategy should reflect the best method of being visible to your ideal clients. That might mean sending emails, making phones calls, engaging in a group or forum, or advertising in a particular space. And even if you don’t like marketing, make it part of your business practice anyway. Place it alongside the other aspects of your business that you’re obliged to do but would rather not. Why? Because marketing can mean the difference between working and walking away. If you’ve already invested your energy and money in training, that’s a waste of your valuable skills. You deserve more than that. And who knows? You might even enjoy promoting your business once you start reaping the fruits of your labour! More marketing resources
Check out these additional resources about building a sustainable editorial business:
About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
Is your editing or proofreading business new? Here are two mindset tips that will help you frame every action you take in terms of multiple goals, and stay positive while you’re waiting for the fruits of your labour to ripen.
Linear vs holistic thinking: Beyond the to-do list
I love a list! Recording the stuff I need to do helps me organize my thoughts. It also steers me away from procrastination and towards action.
What follows is therefore by no means a call for the abandonment of the to-do list. New starters and old hands alike can benefit from a list of actionable points. Caution is required though. The to-do list does have the potential to encourage linear thinking, and this can be a hindrance when it comes to the business of editing and proofreading. Linear thinking can lead us down a road of focusing too heavily on one part of our business in the belief that if we get X just right, everything else will fall into place, or that X is more important than Y and therefore must be completed in full before Y is considered. Holistic thinking, however, recognizes that X impacts on Y, which impacts on Z, and that – together – X, Y and Z drive success. Let’s look at what this means for our business practices. A simplified example
Shami is in the process of setting up an editing business. She’s completed a comprehensive training course followed by mentoring. She’s confident in her skills and believes she’s fit for purpose. And she is – from a technical point of view.
However, there’s a potential problem. She’s been so focused on her training that she’s not spent any time considering how she’ll make herself visible to paying clients. Training was at the top of her list – and while this is certainly no bad thing to be at the top of any freelance business owner’s list, focusing on it alone won’t bring in paying work. Shami's business to-do list Shami’s to-do list looks like this:
Shami could do one thing at a time, and tick all those jobs off as she goes. But might she benefit from looking at her editing business in a different way?
An alternative view: The business wheel
What if, instead, Shami visualized her business as a wheel rather than a list?
The list and the wheel address the same issues, but the wheel helps Shami to visualize her business holistically; it shows her the interconnectedness of the various elements.
Let’s consider her training in relation to other aspects of business development.
Training and visibility
Training and the learning centre
Training and client acquisition
Training and membership upgrades
Training and credibility
Training and network-building
Other ways to use the business-wheel mindset
I could go on, but you get the point. Training isn’t something you do before marketing. Rather, it’s connected to marketing. They are but two spokes on a wheel, and they link the hub (the business) to the rim (clients and colleagues).
Training gives substance to the marketing message. Marketing generates visibility and, therefore, new clients. New clients become regular clients because of the standards embedded by training. And up and down the spokes and round the rim we go. We might carry out a similar exercise when considering the links between pricing, an accounting schedule and stationery; or resource creation and business promotion; or brand awareness, accounting and stationery. Taking the long view
Developing a successful editing business doesn’t happen overnight. No matter how good our skills, how creative our marketing, how professional our practice, it takes time.
And, even then, we can’t sit on our heels because our industry, broad as it is, is always changing.
Moving from entitlement to investment
This means that, as business owners, we need to be keeping our ear to the ground so that change is something we embrace, not resent, and something we view as providing opportunity, not marginalization.
When we own our own businesses, we don’t have the luxury of spending time on blaming a lack of success on others who are now doing things in ways that don’t suit us. When we own our own businesses, we’re not entitled to be paid X by a publisher whose profit margins are being squeezed its own customers. Nor are we entitled to work on paper because that’s the way we prefer it. For example, most independent authors want us to work in Word or on PDF. Instead, we have to invest in what makes us interesting and discoverable to those we want to work for and who will pay us what we want/need to earn if our businesses are to be profitable. Whether that means acquiring new skills, learning how to use new tools, changing the way we do our tax returns, targeting new client types, replacing old equipment, or testing and evaluating new and innovative marketing activities that increase customer engagement, the responsibility lies with us, and us alone. Time and hard work are part of the deal
We might not see the fruits of our labour for months. None of us can say how long it will take for an individual’s marketing strategy to put them on pages 1–3 of Google. And that’s okay. It’s normal for it not to happen overnight.
None of us can predict whether a favourite publisher client will merge with another press and freeze its freelance rates. None of us can know whether the skill we learned in 2008 will still be relevant in 2025. When I first started proofreading back in 2006, I was working almost exclusively on paper. At the time of writing in 2020, I edit exclusively in Word. What we can be sure of is that there are no shortcuts – building an editorial business takes time, effort, and not a little courage because there will be times when we’re pushed out of our comfort zone. Taking the short view leads to disappointment, frustration and stagnancy:
Embracing that longer timeframe means we’re less likely to feel deflated when our hard work doesn’t give us immediate results. Instead we could do the following:
Summing up
If you’re the type of person who’s capable of looking at a list without feeling compelled to move through it only from top to bottom, go for it. List away!
However, if you think that your to-do list is leading you into a mode of thinking that ignores the connections between the various aspects of running your business, try redrawing it as a wheel. It may be just the ticket to seeing your editing or proofreading business in a whole new interconnected light – and focusing your energy accordingly. And it's okay to set a realistic time frame for getting your editorial business to where you want it to be. The hard work we put in at the beginning doesn’t necessarily generate immediate results. Taking the long view means we give our efforts space to breathe. About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
If you’re struggling to decide what to call your new editing or proofreading business, here’s a 6-step framework to set you on the right path.
Your business name is part of your brand
Deciding what to call your editing or proofreading business is part of the BRANDING process and needs careful consideration. Follow these steps to work out what’s right for you.
Step 1: Brainstorm a list of possible business names
Let your imagination fly. Put your silly hat on. Then your serious one. Then your smarty-pants one. Anything goes at this point. This is all about you and what floats your boat. There’s no wrong or right – just ideas.
For demonstration, let’s imagine a new proofreader called Basil Rhoueny. Basil is trying to decide on a business name and comes up with the following ideas: 1. Basil Rhoueny | Academic Proofreading Services 2. Basil Rhoueny Editorial 3. Bulletproof Editorial 4. Comma Sutra 5. Full-proof Editorial Services 6. Norfolk Editorial 7. Perfect Prose 8. Responsible Editing Step 2: Identify target clients
The next step is for Basil to identify his target clients. If he doesn’t know who he wants to work for, he can’t create a message that compels them – via his business name, his mission statement, his elevator pitch, his web copy, or any other marketing materials.
And if he doesn’t have a compelling message, why would anyone choose him over any one of the tens of thousands of colleagues who are also offer editing services? ‘I’ll edit and proofread anything for anyone’ isn’t a standout proposition. Basil needs to do better. Even if an editor is prepared to be something of a generalist, I recommend talking like a specialist when communicating with different client groups. On our websites, that means giving visitors signals so that they can navigate to specialist messaging on different pages that focus on solving group-specific problems. Some people know who they want to work for right from the get-go. Some have no clue. Some think they do, but seven years ahead find that they’ve completely shifted their client base. We’ll deal with that issue in Step 6. For now, let’s imagine that Basil thinks his editorial training, educational background and former career make him best suited to the following client groups:
Identifying these groups will help him with Steps 3 and 4. Step 3: Identify core brand values
A brand can be loosely defined as what others think about us – external perceptions. A brand identity is the distinctive business persona we present that nudges target clients to notice the things that we want them to notice. It’s what allows us to influence those external perceptions.
Brand values are the essence of our brand identity. They represent the kind of editorial pro we want to be seen as – the things we stand for, what we’re passionate about, what makes us tick, why we’re different. Our business name, photographs, colour palette, web copy and marketing materials should reflect our brand values so that the clients we’d most love to work with will most love to work with us. It’s no small thing to develop a brand identity. If you need help, I have an online course called Branding for Business Growth that can help you develop an emotion-based business brand identity. Let’s imagine that Basil has identified the following brand values that he wishes to convey at every touchpoint of his business:
Identifying these brand values will help him with Step 5. Step 4: Serve the client
In this step, Basil revisits his list of business-name ideas and considers whether they’re appropriate for his target client groups: academic publishers, students and independent academics.
1. Basil Rhoueny | Academic Proofreading Services 2. Basil Rhoueny Editorial 3. Bulletproof Editorial 4. Comma Sutra 5. Full-proof Editorial Services 6. Norfolk Editorial 7. Perfect Prose 8. Responsible Editing He asks himself the following questions:
Names (1) , (2) and (8) best reflect exactly what he’s offering. Names (3), (5) and (6) are next in line, though they’re less specific. Name (4) alludes to sentence-level editing work, and some will think it amusing. However, Basil wonders whether some of his non-fluent English-speaking clients will get the joke and bypass him. Name (5) is a problem – there’s an existing established business called Full Proof | Professional Proofreading Solutions. Names (4) and (7) give him cause for concern regarding their searchability. It’s likely that the words ‘proofreading’ or ‘editing’ or ‘editorial’ will be searched for by potential clients. It’s far less likely that someone will search for ‘comma sutra’ or ‘perfect prose’ if they need proofreading assistance, though they are distinctive. Name (6), however, might be great for being found in the search engines by local clients. Basil decides to remove Comma Sutra, Full-proof Editorial Services, and Perfect Prose from the list of contenders. Now he turns to the branding issue. Step 5: Serve the brand
In this step, Basil revisits his list of business-name ideas and considers whether they’re good brand practice. His remaining names are:
1. Basil Rhoueny | Academic Proofreading Services 2. Basil Rhoueny Editorial 3. Bulletproof Editorial 6. Norfolk Editorial 8. Responsible Editing He asks himself the following questions:
Basil has an unusual name. If he’d been called John Smith, he might have been easy to confuse with other editors called John Smith, at least in the West. However, either of his remaining business names would work. There is, however, a good chance that his name might be misspelled. Is this something he needs to worry about if people are searching for him by name? This could be an issue if he’s referring someone to his website by phone, or if a word-of-mouth lead is trying to find him. Here’s a test. Type ‘louise harby editor’ or ‘louis hornby proofreader’ into the search engines. Can you find me? I can find me! I’m not convinced that tricky-to-spell names are as problematic as we might think. Back to Basil. Name (3) is at odds with the sentiment of BV-Green Editor. This brand value seeks to nudge potential clients towards thinking of Basil as compassionate, respectful, broad-minded, ethical, warm … someone who can see the bigger picture. The word ‘bullet’ might bring to mind thoughts of violence, death, harm and brutality. It’s potentially a negative nudge rather than one that evokes positivity. Name (6), while potentially clickbaity for local searches, doesn’t sit so well with BV-Globalist. Basil would be happy to work with local clients, but he’s not sure he can build a sustainable business on this alone. Name (8) has a definite though subtle nod to BV-Green Editor. He elects to remove Bulletproof Editorial and Norfolk Editorial from the list of contenders. Step 6: Think ahead but don’t get bogged down
Can any of us be absolutely sure that what we want to do now is what we will want to do in the years ahead? Choosing a business name requires us to think ahead, but also to be true to who we are and what we’re offering in the present time.
In case you didn’t spot it, Basil’s name is an anagram of mine. When I set up my business in 2005, I was a dedicated proofreader who specialized in working for social-science publishers. If you’d told me back then that by 2016 I’d be specializing in line- and copyediting for indie fiction authors, I’d have been a tad surprised. But that’s exactly what happened. My original business name was Louise Harnby | Proofreader. My URL was and still is: www.louiseharnbyproofreader.com. My business name now is Louise Harnby | Proofreader & Copyeditor. It wasn’t actually a big deal to add an ampersand and the word ‘copyeditor’ into my business name and didn’t affect my findability in the search engines. Would it have if I’d changed it to Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor, or Fabulous Fiction Editing, or something else? Possibly, but Google Search is a tricky beast to master and shifts the goalposts often in a bid to thwart those who’d use black-hat SEO techniques rather than genuine attempts to be interesting and discoverable online. Basil is left with choosing between the following:
There are good arguments for the SEO-friendliness of the first two, and the flexibility of the third. My view is that any would work because they are true to his business’s brand identity in different ways. What’s right for you?
Basil’s brand identity and your brand identity will not be the same because you and Basil are individuals, each with your own businesses, ideal clients, goals, hopes, dreams and passions. The decisions you make will therefore be different to the one Basil makes. That’s fine.
Will there be a perfect solution? Unlikely. There will be choices to be made.
What’s important is that you choose a business name that you feel comfortable with: one that reflects your brand identity and nudges your ideal clients towards an awareness of the kind of editor you are and why you’ll be a great fit with them; one that alludes to what you do. Here are just a few of my favourites:
It’s likely your choice will not be clear cut. Try not to get bogged down by that. Business names alone will not make you visible or discoverable. The compromises you make can be offset by other business-promotion activities that strengthen your online presence. Happy naming! About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
If we’re serious about setting up an editing and proofreading business, free resources will get us so far, but only so far.
What free is good for
Free is brilliant when we’re starting out, particularly in the following circumstances:
Free is equally great when we’re experienced but looking to shift the goalposts:
Free stuff is about discovery, so that when the time comes to reach into the coffers we’re spending money in the right place. Free helps us to turn expense into investment. What free is not good for
Free isn’t great in the long term because the offering usually comes with limitations. It will give us a glimpse, enough to help us on the journey. But that’s all.
The reason free has its limitations is because even creating free stuff and offering free help takes time, and time is money. Imagine the following scenarios:
CASE STUDY 1
Jane wants to offer developmental editing but has no experience. She does some research and finds the following:
CASE STUDY 2
Jack has identified a skills gap. He’s a great editor but a poor marketer and is dissatisfied with the rates he’s earning from his existing client base. Currently, he works with project-management agencies who find publisher work for him. And those publishers find authors for the agency. There’s a cost to that author-acquisition work – those agencies and publishers take a cut of the fee at each stage because they have to invest their own time and expertise in making themselves visible. It's that visibility that puts the editing work on Jack's desk. He starts a discussion in a large editorial Facebook group about his concerns and is offered the following:
What tasters teach us ... and what they don't
In both cases, the freebies are of exceptionally high quality and Jane and Jack learn a ton from them. Creating that content must have taken time and effort.
However, free articles, blog posts and webinars are tasters. Those kinds of things help us understand the lie of the land, and give us a deeper sense of what more we need to learn. What they won’t do is teach us everything we need to know. We can’t learn how to become professional developmental editors from those resources alone ... any more than we could learn to cut hair or wire a house to acceptable standards without proper training and guidance. Same goes for marketing. Take me, for example. It’s not luck and Google that made me a strong marketer. I pay a monthly sub to learn how to do it well from professional marketers, and invest time in implementing the strategies I’m learning. If Jane wants to become a professional developmental editor and Jack wants to become a strong editorial marketer, both need to take all those freebies and use them to make informed decisions about the money they will invest to turn their investigations into reality. Examples might include:
Free will help Jane and Jack make decisions. Investment will make them fit for professional purpose. A better money mindset
It’s perfectly okay to decide that you can’t afford to run a professional editorial business ... but only as long as you decide not to run a professional editorial business.
No one on the planet owns a business that doesn’t have operating costs. Business owners have to take responsibility for training, equipment, invoicing, money transfer, software, marketing, client acquisition, office space, pension provision, taxation responsibilities, and more. It’s true that the international editorial community is incredibly generous, which means that free resources and guidance abound on multiple platforms. However, those who are serious about running an editorial business know they have to avoid hobbyist and employee mindsets.
The shoe on the other foot – when you’re asked for a freebie
We can’t have everything we want when we want it. We have to make choices. Freebies help us make the right choices so that the money we spend actually increases our prospects and income in the longer term.
And imagine yourself on the other side of the fence for a moment. A potential client calls you. They have a book that needs copyediting. ‘The thing is,’ they say, ‘I can’t afford professional editing. How can I get out of paying you? To be honest, I’m just looking for free stuff.’ How fast would you hang up? Now imagine another writer calls you. ‘I’m in the middle of doing as much self-editing as I can using some free tutorials I found online and some advice from my writing group. There’s a fair way to go,’ they say, ‘but I figured I’d start saving now. Can you give me a rough idea of how much it might cost and how much notice you’d need? That way I can start planning my book budget.’ That’s the kind of client I’m excited about working with. The editor with the same mindset will be rewarded with guidance and help because they deserve it. The editor who wants it all for nothing won’t and doesn’t. By all means, grab all the freebies. The creators of those resources want you to have them. Making free stuff that’s invisible and unused is a waste of time and effort. Just don’t forget that free is the starting blocks. Investment is what gets us to the finish line! Further reading
About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
The topic of editing and proofreading rates is always hot in our community. And the 'race to the bottom' especially has been known to garner more attention than an Olympic 100-metre final. So what should we do about it?
Why some people go price-shopping
In Norwich there’s a mall. In that mall is a discount store selling techie stuff ... phones, tablets and whatnot. You go into that shop expecting a deal.
It’s where people go when they’re price-shopping. Not because they’re terrible people who are always looking for cheap but because the coffers are low. Maybe the car failed its MOT and they had to find an extra seven hundred quid that month. Or they recently lost their job. Maybe their energy bills have gone through the roof. Or something. In that mall on the floor above is an Apple store selling shiny things for shiny people. You don’t go into that shop expecting a deal. You go in expecting to pay what you have to pay to get the shiny thing you want. It’s where people go when they’re product- or service-shopping. The coffers are flush. The car passed its MOT and the job is secure. Or something. Why some businesses choose not to attract price-shoppers
Now, Apple could decide not to have a store in that mall. It could say, ‘This is ridiculous. No one’s going to buy our stuff when they can get similar products from the shop on the floor below for one fifth of the price. Being in that mall is a race to the bottom.’
But Apple doesn’t say that. Why? Because it knows that the customers who come into the mall aren’t all the same. Some won’t come near its store because the prices are too high. But others – those who are looking specifically for an Apple product, those who are Apple fans, those whose cars passed their MOTs or who are wealthy enough to bear the increase in energy prices – might pay Apple a visit. If it doesn’t have a store in the mall, Apple knows it will lose the custom of all the people who’d like to buy there but can’t because it’s decided not to set up shop ... and all because it got the hump about the race-to-the-bottom store on the floor below. In fact, Apple doesn’t focus on the store below. It doesn’t care what that store is charging. That store can service the price-shoppers – those customers whose budgets are limited – because those customers are NOT Apple’s customers. Instead, Apple invests its energy in making the service-shoppers – its fans – have an amazing experience ... lots of knowledgeable, passionate staff on hand, a Genius Bar, technicians out back who’ll fix or replace a product in-store or replace it, and lots of lovely shiny stuff to play with while we wait. Apple knows that there’s room in the mall for both types of store and both types of customer. And it’s the same for editors and proofreaders. Standing up for the market or hiding behind a curtain?
If you decide not to make yourself visible in particular directories or other online spaces because you know there are colleagues charging what you consider to be unacceptably low rates, and you think no one will hire you because you’re charging more, you’re assuming that all clients are the same.
But they’re not. Some clients will have low incomes or busted cars that need expensive repairs, and they will be attracted to the discount editors. Some will have more flexible budgets and will be focused on finding the right-fit editor first and foremost. Price will not be the clincher for the latter group. However, clients can only commission services from an editor they know exists. If you have the hump about the race to the bottom and have decided not to join the party, you’re not standing up for the editorial market. All you’re doing is hiding behind the curtain, making yourself invisible to those clients who would have liked to work with you if they’d been able to find you. And don’t forget that Google is the biggest directory of all. There’s no other online space with more editors in it. Some of them are cheap as chips. Has that stopped you having a website? No. The same logic should apply elsewhere. How to be the Apple editor
Of course, we can’t have it both ways. If we don’t want to compete with discount editors then we need to get attention in a way that shifts the client’s focus away from price.
Expecting to benefit from the same footfall as the discount editor without offering a compelling alternative is just wanting to have our cake and eat it. We need to stand out for some other reason. We need to make the client think: That editor looks perfect for me, seems to get me, is really generous and knowledgeable. I hope she’s available. Sure, the price-focused clients aren’t going to touch us with a barge pole. But that’s fine because we’re not targeting them; we’re targeting the service-focused clients. To be the Apple editor we need to present potential clients with an amazing experience – a story that says we have solutions, that we have their backs, that we can help them achieve their goals ... a story that persuades them we’re worth waiting for and worth paying for. It’s about the words we use to convey our understanding of our clients’ problems. It’s about the images we use to convey our professional values. Blurry headshots with our mates or kids in them won’t do. It’s about how we instil trust. Telling them that we know our stuff – that we have the skills, the knowledge and the experience – is one thing. Showing them with free resources and a knowledge base that helps them more easily walk the publication path ... that’s quite another. Spend time on standing out
Every minute we spend worrying about what other editors are charging is a minute in which we could be building our own compelling brand identity and creating our own valuable resources, stuff that helps our potential clients feel we’re the right fit.
Every directory that we don’t advertise in because we think it’s a race to the bottom is another tick on our invisibility list. Every minute we spend berating the fact that this or that publisher or packager isn't paying enough is a minute we could spend being findable to clients that have the budget to pay us what we want to earn. If you’re invisible, it doesn’t matter how high your prices are. No one will hire you. Not because your prices are too high but because you can’t be seen. Being invisible is of no economic value to any editor or proofreader. Choosing to compete by being compelling
Charge what you want to charge. If you want to compete on price, go ahead. If you want to compete on compulsion, go ahead.
The compulsion route isn’t easy. It means investing time and effort in standing out – all that content marketing stuff I bang on about! It means thinking deeply about how every word of your directory entries and every page of your website helps a potential client and makes them feel that you’re just too wowser to ignore. All that hard graft pays off though. You can sit beside the cheaper editors without fear. You can let them have the price-shoppers while you work with those who can afford you. Just like Apple and the discount store, we’re dealing with two different markets. The idea that your business could be undermined by a colleague charging way lower than what you deem to be acceptable is, says Jake Poinier, ‘nonsense. Creative freelancing is a market, and only you can establish the value you bring to it. I don’t view the low end of the freelance rate scale as my competition’ (Stop worrying about freelancers who undercharge). I agree with Jake. Honestly, there’s room for everyone. Don’t waste your valuable time on the issue. Instead, build your business, your brand identity, your visibility and your value. Therein lies success. About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
If you're proofreading final designed page proofs, there's more to look out for than the odd typo or double space. Professional proofreaders identify and find solutions to a range of layout problems too.
Who is this checklist for?
This is for anyone checking final designed page proofs. For example:
What the checklist is based on
I've proofread over 500 books for the mainstream publishing industry. The checklist below is based on the house guidelines provided by the publishers I've worked for.
The titles I've proofread include social science textbooks, handbooks and monographs, and works of fiction and narrative non-fiction. And while the subject matter has varied, the requirements for checking final page proofs hasn't. Note my use of the term 'final designed page proofs'. This checklist is not for those doing a final quality-control check in a Word document. Rather, we're dealing with a typeset PDF or hardcopy of the book as it will appear when printed or published online. For that reason, the proofreader is tasked with ensuring that the appearance of the book is consistent and correct according to client preference. This PDF provides a summary of the required checks. To get a free copy, sign up to The Editorial Letter, monthly news about fiction editing and editorial business growth. 
About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
What's different about fiction editing, and is it for you? This post explores emotional responsiveness, mindfulness and artistry.
A line editing and copyediting focus
To keep things tidy, I'm talking in the main about line editing and copyediting fiction because I specialize in sentence-level work, but some of the key principles will apply to developmental fiction editing too.
Why fiction editing is a different kind of artistry
Have you ever tried something for the first time and found it difficult?
Did someone review your initial effort? Did they outline problems before celebrating your achievement? If so, how did you feel? I suspect most of us have encountered this scenario at some time or other. I have, and it feels just awful. A review of anything that focuses only on the negatives – however kindly those negatives are offered – is a poor review. It matters not whether you’re an editor, a business executive, a marketer, or a parent; if you can’t find a single good thing to celebrate in the work in front of your nose, then you’ve not done the job properly. When editing fiction, the ability to celebrate first is critical – more so, I think, than with non-fiction. Note that by non-fiction I’m referring to academic, technical and journalistic works, not narrative non-fiction (sometimes called creative or literary non-fiction) such as memoir or biography, where I think the editing challenges are similar to the fiction specialist’s. In a nutshell, editing criminology requires a different touch to editing crime fiction. It’s personal for writers
Every writer’s book is their baby, and most writers will infuse their tomes with their own experiences. But when those experiences concern matters of love, grief, sex or despair, the process of writing – and of being edited – takes on a whole new level of intimacy.
I’ve lost count of the number of authors who’ve told me they felt physically sick at the thought of contacting an editor, never mind emailing me the file. Many feel vulnerable, exposed, embarrassed. And why wouldn’t they? Imagine handing over hundreds, even thousands of pounds to a stranger to look at an image of you and suggest how to make it better – not just any image, mind. You’re naked in this one. For many, that’s what it feels like to be edited. And so the fiction editor is charged with a responsibility. And it’s huge. Best versus best-fit editors
Put 10 fiction editors in a room and ask them to work on the same 2,000 words. You’ll likely come back with 10 very different samples. That’s because fiction editing is subjective.
It’s not that the rules of grammar, spelling and punctuation don’t apply. It’s not even that they apply less rigidly. It’s rather that they apply differently. Just a single change to a punctuation mark can affect tension, pace, mood. One of my regular authors has a mantra: ‘Louise, as always, keep it lean and mean.’ He’s a crime writer. It’s high-octane stuff. Low on adverbs. Low on conjunctions. Short, choppy sentences. The protagonist looks over his shoulder a lot. And if the punctuation is sympathetic, the reader looks with him. Compare this with another recent project. It’s essentially a love story – a woman’s search for her exiled family. The tale is one of heartbreak, abandonment, reconciliation and redemption. The author’s style is more fluid, prosaic. The protagonist isn’t looking over her shoulder but searching her soul. Every change needs to reflect this. How I go about reflecting these authors’ intentions will not necessarily be the same as one of my colleagues. It’s not that one of us is better at editing than the other. Rather, it’s how we interpret those intentions – and seek to mimic them – that’s different. We’re not talking about who’s the best, but who’s the best fit. That’s something the author must decide. And it’s tricky. How does a writer search for best fit on Google, or in an editorial directory, or on social media? How do they find that elusive emotional responsiveness to their writing? Assessing emotional responsiveness – the sample edit
Fiction editors don’t have a monopoly on sample edits, but there is, I believe, an added dimension here in which samples really come into their own.
Physically working on a piece of text helps every editor get a sense of the writing style, where the problems are and whether they’re capable of solving them, how long the job will take and how it should be priced. For the fiction editor, there’s something else, though – the feel of it. It’s our first opportunity to find out whether we can get under the skin of the author. And if we can’t, it might mean walking away. If we can’t respond emotionally to the author’s intentions – feel our way through the words and into the characters and the world they inhabit – the edit could be impaired. You can’t mimic an author seamlessly if you’re unmoved by what you’re reading. There’s a lot of talk about authorial voice in the editing world. In fiction editing, the concept can be a tad limiting.
A sample edit has its limitations, of course, by virtue of size. But it gives the author and the editor a glimpse of whether that emotional responsiveness is present and how it’ll be managed on the page such that the fit feels right. Ultimately, fiction editing is as much about the heart as the head. The mindful rules of fiction editing
Once the author and editor have found each other, the mindful rules of fiction editing will come into play ... during the edit, and in the post-edit summary or report. Here are mine:
The author should leave the editing studio feeling empowered to move forward, not reaching for a mop because their self-confidence has leaked all over the floor. Fiction is a specialism
Fiction editing isn’t for everyone. If you’re keen to specialize in this kind of work, ask yourself where you lie on the empathy scale.
Many specialist fiction editors I know describe themselves as being a little on the oversensitive side. Terms such as introspective or contemplative are never far away. I cry at some adverts, so it’s no surprise to me that I ended up in this line of work! This emotionality can serve the fiction editor well, but it’s not something that can be learned on a training course. That’s not to say that specialist fiction editorial training isn’t worth doing – far from it. But mindfulness is your friend, too – don’t be afraid to embrace it in your editorial practice! About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
Just becoming editors or proofreaders doesn’t bestow special privileges upon us that are not available to other types of working people. It doesn’t mean we’re entitled to be commissioned. Nor does it mean that we’re entitled to earn what we’d like to earn.
Why entitlement won’t work for the self-employed
Entitlements are the domain of employees. Freelance editorial pros aren't employees of businesses; they're the owners of those businesses.
Work has to be found, which means clients have to be found. We don't live in command economies where the State hands out jobs and you take what you get. We've chosen to run businesses so we have to find a way to make them function successfully. The alternative is unpalatable. In a global market, where clients come from all over, and have different budgets, requirements and expectations, what those clients will be able or prepared to pay will vary enormously. Consequently, of all the clients we find via our extensive marketing efforts, only some will be a price match for us. For that reason, we need to be visible to as many as possible, because the bigger the pot the greater the chance of a conversion. To recap, just being an editor in itself will provide us with neither work nor the money we expect to be paid for the value we believe we bring to the table. Doing visibility is the key to cracking the problem. Imagine being a teacher ...
Do you know a teacher? Does that person have a paying teaching job? How did they get that teaching job? Are they happy with their salary? If not, ask them what they would have to do to solve the problem.
I know a teacher. She trained for the role. After her training was complete, she didn't have a job. So she had to find a job. She didn't sit there and say, ‘I'm a teacher. Where's the work?’ She went and searched for the work. She did loads of research, applied for tons of jobs, reviewed the packages on offer, prepared for a stack of interviews, attended them (which was stressful), filled in her spare time with voluntary work in the education sector to make her CV sing, and finally found a school who wanted her and for whom she wanted to work. For a few years the package worked for her, and then it didn't. She didn't say, ‘This school is predatory.’ She said, ‘I need to find a new job.’ So she did a lot more work. Now that she was more experienced and had higher expectations, it was tricky to find a good match. It took a lot of time, a lot of hard graft, a lot of research, but I never heard her moan. I'd ask how the job search was going. ‘Ticking along. No news yet but I'll know when I find it. The current post isn't perfect but it's better than being unemployed. You hear about Si? He’s been made redundant. Nightmare. He's really down in the dumps.’ My friend did secure a better teaching post. She worked her backside off to find that job. It would've been nice if it had landed in her lap, but that’s not how the teaching sector works. And it's not how the freelance editing sector works either. We have to work our backsides off to find the work we want to do and that pays the fees we want to earn. Feeling ripped off?
If you're feeling ripped off, that's okay. We’ve all done work that made us feel undervalued and underpaid. That's kind of how my teacher friend was feeling. Time to replace that rip-off work with a better package.
Be aware, though – this won't happen overnight. If you're not visible to those offering better-paying work, you'll have to make yourself visible, which takes a lot of hard graft. It took my teacher pal a couple of years to replace her employer with one offering the package she wanted. It might take you a couple of years to make yourself visible to the clients you want to work with. This could mean you have to stick with the current client while you're working your backside off to find a new and better-paying replacement. The client under the microscope
In the meantime, take a good hard look at the client. If you're feeling ripped off, it can be useful to examine not just the deficiencies but also the benefits. This kind of exercise can shine a light on some of the value you might have overlooked, value that you may not have costed into your analysis.
Turnover So the work isn't paying you what you'd like to earn, but is there a lot of it on offer? Every time you receive an email that offers you work on a plate, you get to fill your schedule with absolutely no effort on your part whatsoever. Some people have a few regular clients who provide 90% of their work. Others have a few regular clients who provide only 20% of their work; the other 80% is new business. New business needs to be found and converted into a working relationship. Which leads us to marketing … Marketing If you fill your schedule with a lot of work from one agency (or publisher or packager), and you think said agency is ripping you off, ask yourself how come they've got so much work that they can fill 80% of your schedule and the same percentage of many of your colleagues’ schedules. Is it because they’re marketing their backsides off? Then ask yourself whether you're prepared to make the same investment, because that's what you'll have to do. You'll have to do all the hard graft yourself. Marketing an editorial business isn't just a cute little hobby you dip your toes into a couple of times a year. Well, actually, it can be if you get someone else, like the agency, to do the graft for you (and there’s nothing wrong with that), but there'll be a cost to it because they'll take a cut of every penny you earn. And that's fair enough because there is a cost to finding clients. Marketing takes time, and time is money. So if you don't want to lose a cut, you have to fork out for the marketing investment. In other words, we don't get to have it both ways. We can't expect someone else to find our clients for us and expect to earn as much as if those clients were coming direct. If we did expect that, who'd be ripping off whom? Still want an exit?
If you still want an exit, that's fair enough. Start actively promoting so that you can phase out the lower-paying client(s) and replace them with new customers who'll pay what you want to earn. Plan for this to take time and a lot of work.
If you don't fancy the transitional approach, you can wave goodbye to the work immediately. If that's the case, you either live with someone who can pay all your bills (quite possible, and good for you), you have a trust fund (less likely, but wow), or you're happy to be partially unemployed for a while. As you can probably tell, I favour the transition method! That's because my family situation means my income is essential. When I was starting out, I couldn't afford to turn down work on principle while I was finding better-paying alternatives. I had to use a phasing-out approach (if negotiation wasn't on the table). Of course, it may be that you already have enough higher-paying clients to cover the lost income from the existing customer, but if that's the case you probably nailed your marketing strategy years ago! We’re responsible
No one else is responsible for the rates we earn, the clients we find (or whom we enable to find us), the tools we use to make ourselves visible, the equipment we buy, the tax returns we file, the colleagues we talk to, the meetings we attend. It's all down to us.
We're not entitled to have anything land in our lap. As business owners, we reap all the benefits, but we have to do all the work. Every time we hand over some of that graft to another entity (finance to the accountant; client-finding to an agency; fee-handling to a money-transfer organisation), we see a cut in profits. That's not being ripped off; it's a cost of business. If you don't want to bear the cost, you have to do it yourself. Being an editor isn't enough when we're freelance. If we're not wearing the many hats required for business ownership (or we resent bearing the cost of someone else wearing them for us), we need to take a step back and consider whether it’s time to make some changes. What we are entitled to
What we are entitled to do is to make our own decisions. We’re entitled to choose the clients, the rates, and the types of work that suit our needs.
So if you want to work for a packager or an agency that pays less than a colleague thinks is acceptable, but there’s value in it for you and your business, that’s fine. If you want to decline the work and source your own clients direct, that’s fine too. Me? I’ve done both in my time because it was right for me. You’re entitled to the same choice. About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
Are you thinking of switching careers and becoming a proofreader or copyeditor? I have 7 tips to help you decide whether it's right for you.
1. Do you have relevant background experience?
Do you have a good-fit background? Probably! See how I answered that without knowing a thing about your educational and career experience?
Here’s the thing – if you want to specialize in medical editing for publishers and you have a degree in economics, a rethink’s in order. Social science publishers, though? That’s more like it. Ultimately, it’s about aligning your experience and skills with those who speak the same language.
So, yes, you do probably have the right background to enable you to transition to a proofreading or copyediting career. Just make sure you focus (initially) on targeting clients to whom you have the best chance of offering an exemplary service – clients who’ll think you’re interesting and hireable because you’re comfortable with the language of their subject. That doesn’t mean you have to specialize forever, or stay with the same specialization over the course of your career. When I launched my editorial business, I proofread almost exclusively for social science publishers. These days, I line edit exclusively for indie crime fiction and thriller authors. A lot can change in a decade, so nothing is set in stone! 2. Is training necessary and worthwhile?
Is training necessary and worthwhile? In a nutshell, yes. Why?
Take advice from your national editorial society on the most appropriate training course. The list I’ve linked to includes organizations in Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. 3. Where’s your market?Perhaps a better question is: Where isn’t your market? Most proofreading and copyediting is done onscreen these days. Even traditional page-proof markup, using proof-correction symbols, is increasingly taking place in a digital environment. That means geography is not the barrier it once was. Thirty years ago, an author from Colorado wouldn’t have hired me to proofread his crime thrillers – not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t find me. Now, thanks to Tim Berners-Lee, he can and he has.
If you live in Dublin, your market is people who want to work with someone who lives in Dublin, and people who want to work with someone who lives in Ireland, and people who don’t care where you live but believe you have the skills to solve their problems. Same kind of thing applies to the Tromsønian and the Panxwegian. It’s not always about where you live or where your clients live, but whether you can find each other, and whether, once you have, you can instil a belief in those clients that you’re the right person for the job. 4. Will the pay be enough to earn a living wage?This question gets rehashed over and over. There’s no quick answer. Here are some thoughts:
5. Will you be able to find clients?
Yes, you'll be able to find clients if you’re prepared to be an active marketer.
Don’t wait – start thinking about your marketing strategy as soon as you can. Marketing is about being interesting and discoverable. If you’re not interesting, it won’t matter who finds you because they won’t feel compelled to hire you. If you’re invisible, it won’t matter if you have a wardrobe full of USPs because no one will know you exist.
If you’re not ready to do what’s necessary to make yourself visible to good-fit clients, you’re probably not yet ready to run your own editorial business. There's nothing wrong with that. Some people are best suited to employment rather than self-employment. If you think that word of mouth will be enough at the start of your editorial career, think again. I do have a few colleagues who’ve relied, successfully, on that but they’re few and far between, and they have a lot of experience (and clients to spread the word). Being active puts you in a position where, over time, you acquire choice. Choice is the road to alignment – where what you need to earn, what you want to earn, how much time you have available to work for those earnings, and what the clients who can find you are prepared to pay all come together in a way that works for you and your business. 6. What kind of information is relevant?
It’s always about the client. When you’re creating content, put yourself in your client’s shoes and ask, ‘If I were searching for a proofreader, what would I want to know and what problems might I have?’
Some experts would say that my website has too many words and too many pages, that the portfolio is too cluttered, that there’s too much information below the fold, that my blog titles are too long ... I do break some of the ‘rules’ of online promotion; I also follow many of them. I’ve tried and tested different ways of doing things and found what works for me. Next year, I might be doing things differently. Again, nothing’s set in stone. If you’re struggling to organize your message, ask yourself the following questions. If the content you create answers them, you’re on the right track.
7. But will it be lonely?
If you’re still excited about building a freelance editorial business, then there’s an international community of colleagues waiting to welcome you.
Thirty years ago, freelancing could be a lonely business. In 2017, independent proofreaders and copyeditors chat, ask for advice, share knowledge and expertise, and learn … together. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and editorial-society forums provide just some of the online spaces that editorial pros use to connect with each other. We work solo but the digital watercooler has never been busier. See you there! About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
Here's the second part in my series on busting myths about the business of professional proofreading.
Recap from Part 1
In Part 1, I stated: ‘none of the following statements is an absolute truth’, and I investigated the following myths:
1. You can't get work unless you have contacts in the publishing industry 2. The market is shrinking 3. Training courses are a waste of time and money 4. Training, by itself, is enough to get you work 5. All work goes to former editors and former workmates of publishers 6. All proofreading work is poorly paid Here in Part 2, I cover myths 7–12: 7. It's easy to run a proofreading business 8. There'll be times when you have no work, no matter how experienced you are 9. There's no demand for professional proofreaders because of technology 10. All proofreading work is done in-house 11. Proofreading means the same thing to all client types 12. Word of mouth is a good enough promotion strategy Myth 7: It’s easy to run a proofreading business
The key to busting this myth is the word ‘business’.
Running a business isn’t easy – in our case, we have to be so much more than proofreaders. We are the CEOs, accountants, marketing directors, secretaries, training managers, and human resource executives. The work also demands extremely high levels of concentration, which is tiring. It can be stressful too. Proofreaders who don’t meet their deadlines or don’t fulfil their existing clients’ briefs don’t retain those clients. And if you can’t keep your clients, you must either continually source new income streams or become an ex-proofreader. Myth 8: There’ll be times when you have no work, no matter how experienced you are
This myth states that feast or famine is the name of the game and always will be. I’m not convinced that it has to be like that in the medium and long terms.
If you make yourself interesting and discoverable online and off, you can market yourself into a position where you have as much work as you want. And if your work is of excellent quality, you'll be offered repeat projects from satisfied clients, meaning you need to do less of the ‘being-found’ work. In other words, it's about acquisition and retention. Myth 9: There’s no demand for professional proofreaders because of grammar- and spell-checking technology
This is a bizarre myth. It’s like saying that trains, bicycles, planes and legs are redundant because someone invented the car.
First, proofreading isn't about only grammar and spelling. There's no software on the market that can run through a piece of text such that, by the time it’s finished, that text is publishable. Why? Because software can't spot a widow or an orphan, or a heading at the wrong level, or non-aligned decimal points, missing page numbers, and repeated text in chapters. Software won’t spot the fact that the thriller you're reading has three characters called Stan; that Stan 1 went to Portsmouth University in Chapter 3 but Plymouth by Chapter 10; or that a family with two daughters and two sons in Chapter 5 has three daughters and one son by Chapter 48. These are problems that I and other professional proofreaders frequently encounter – and I’m not just making up examples for effect! Furthermore, technology doesn't always get the spelling and grammar right. What software can do is flag up potential issues so that a human can make logical editorial decisions based on skill, knowledge, style preferences and industry-recognized best practice. There are some great tools out there, and many professional proofreaders and editors use them, but using them is about complementing the work done by the brain and eyes, not replacing it. Myth 10: All proofreading work is done in-house
The problem with this myth is that it shows a misunderstanding of the market. Here’s the reality:
If you’re not convinced, join the member-discussion forums hosted by the likes of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (UK), AFEPI (Ireland), EFA (USA) and Editors Canada or your own national editorial society. We can't all be making it up! Myth 11: Proofreading means the same thing to all client types
This myth fails to recognize that proofreading isn’t just about spotting typos – see (9) above. It's about sense and artistry too. It's about knowing when to intervene as well as when to leave well enough alone.
A publisher’s proofreading remit rarely looks the same as an indie author’s; and what I do with a PhD thesis, an annual business report, a journal article and a crime thriller will be four very, very different things. In reality, the definition of proofreading is actually rather tangled (see, for example, Not all proofreading is the same: Part I – Working with page proofs, Not all proofreading is the same: Part II – Working directly in Word, and Untangling proofreading). Myth 12: Word of mouth is a good enough promotion strategy
The problem with this argument is that it presupposes that word of mouth is a marketing strategy – it’s not. It’s certainly one way that clients may come to you, and I’m not knocking it (referral networks can be brilliant for professional proofreaders, and can even earn income for the referrer in certain cases).
However, relying on word of mouth when you’re a grown-up business owner is akin to waiting for your mum to say, ‘Open your mouth, darling. Here comes the choo-choo train,’ as she artfully sneaks a spoonful of baby rice into your mouth. Josh Hoffman’s Freelancers: Word-of-Mouth Is Not a Marketing Strategy is a must-read. If you’re offered work via word of mouth, congratulations – it proves you’ve instilled competence-based trust in your referring client or colleague. Just bear in mind that an effective marketing strategy should be active, not passive. If you want to have choice with regard to whom you work for, when you work, and what you earn, such that your proofreading business is economically viable (for you, not for anyone else), I’d advise you to have a comprehensive and proactive marketing strategy encompassing a range of tools that are appropriate to your business. In that way, you can be discoverable to multiple clients across multiple channels. Summing up
If you’re considering becoming a freelance proofreader, think carefully about the blend of skill and visibility required.
Being a professional proofreader means being a professional business owner. Professional business owners start with a business plan:
Your business plan, not business myths, will show you whether proofreading is the right career for you. About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
Thinking about becoming a proofreader? Here are 12 myths you should be aware of.
Some myths you might have heard ...
None of the following statements is an absolute truth.
In this article, I look at Myths 1–6; in Part 2, I’ll cover Myths 7–12. Myth 1: You can't get work unless you have contacts in the publishing industry
If you want to proofread for the publishing-industry, it can help if you have a contact. A contact will give you a foot in the door. That’s all it will do, though. Publishers won’t just hand you a book; you’ll most likely have to do a test to prove your competence.
Of course, if you don’t have a contact, you’ll have to make one – you can pick up the phone, write a letter and enclose a CV, or send an email. If you have the skills that publishers are looking for, and you contact them and tell them this, there’s no reason why you can’t acquire work from this sector even if you have no existing in-house friends or colleagues. Twenty years ago, I had one contact in the publishing industry. The rest I acquired through targeted direct marketing – letters, emails and phone calls. A more significant problem with this myth is its presumption that all self-employed business proofreaders and editors work for publishers, and only for publishers. Publishers are only one type of client. In 2006, 90% of my clients were publishers; these days, 100% of my clients aren’t publishers. Myth 2: The market is shrinking
The market is not shrinking; it’s changing. It's even expanding in some sectors. Increasing numbers of people are recognizing the benefits of ensuring that their text is professionally presented.
Our world is more public than ever. Anyone with an online presence (e.g. a website, a blog, an online report, an ebook) has a public presence. And if that public presence is represented by words, those words need to be polished. That’s where the editorial professional comes in. The independent-publishing market is booming, with self-publishers uploading fiction and commercial non-fiction to public spaces on a daily basis. Many of those writers are commissioning proofreaders. So are NGOs, businesses, marketing and communications agencies, packagers, schools, public-sector organizations, students, charities, poets, musicians and traditional publishers. The challenge lies not in the myth that the market is shrinking, but in the myth that it's easy to be visible in that market. Myth 3: Training courses are a waste of time and money
This myth argues that editorial training isn’t worth investing in because the work isn't well paid enough to give you a return on that investment. Some proponents of this myth also state that no one pays attention to editorial qualifications.
Myth 4: Training, by itself, is enough to get you work
Having espoused the benefits of training, it’s equally important to debunk the myth that training alone will get you work.
It doesn’t matter whether you have distinctions and accreditations coming out of your ears, and lots of real-world experience – if no one knows you exist, they won't be able to be impressed by all your training! To get work, you must put yourself in front of your clients – that means being visible, which means marketing. Myth 5: All publisher-based proofreading work goes to former editors and former workmates of publishers
This myth is similar to (1). Yes, it can be an advantage initially, but plenty of people without a publishing background who’ve made the effort to market themselves using a chunky box of promotion tools have been able to secure work.
The governor of the Bank of England knows that you need more than one instrument to stabilize an economy; the business of proofreading is not so different. Proofreaders, too, need more than one instrument to generate a stable client base and income stream.
Myth 6: All proofreading work is poorly paid
This myth has several problems:
Don't get me wrong – success won't happen overnight. As is the case for any new business owner, it will take time and hard work to build a decent income stream and client base. Work won't just fall into your lap. But if you behave like a professional business owner in terms of quality and visibility, the concept of low pay (however you’re defining it) doesn’t have to define your editorial business. In Part 2, I’ll bust Myths 7–12. About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
Having traditional proofreading skills isn’t just a business asset when it comes to working for the mainstream publishing industry. It’s a valuable service that we can offer independent authors, too.
What’s in this article?
This article discusses the differences between proofreading (or proof-editing) directly in Word and proofreading post-design page proofs.
When I set up my business back in 2006, I was strictly a proofreader and most of my clients were publishers. For the most part, they expected me to annotate paper page proofs. As time went on, many of the presses for whom I worked shifted to digital workflows. Proofreaders are still required to annotate page proofs, but they're using a PDF editor’s onboard commenting and markup tools or digital proofreading stamps. See, for example, the free set of downloadable stamps that I’ve created for use in the likes of Acrobat and PDF-XChange. These comply with the British Standards Institution’s BS5261C:2005 proof-correction marks. What are traditional proofreading skills?
Here, we’re checking the page proofs to ensure not only that the spelling, grammar and punctuation are correct, consistent and in line with the client’s brief, but also that the layout conforms to industry-recognized standards.
In order to carry out these checks, proofreaders need to know not only what to look for, but also when, and when not, to intervene so that they do no harm. Checks include, but are not limited to, ensuring that running heads match chapter titles; chapter titles match entries in contents list; design of the various text elements is consistent; chapter title drops are consistent; text on facing rectos and versos is balanced; odd page numbers always appear on recto pages; bad word breaks are flagged; part titles appear on new rectos. Proofreading page proofs
In case you’re unfamiliar with the terminology, page proofs, traditionally defined, are so called because they are laid out exactly as they will appear in the final printed book. If all has gone well, what the proofreader is looking at will be almost what the reader sees if they were to walk into a bookshop, pull this title off the shelf and browse through the pages.
The layout process has been taken care of by a professional typesetter who designs the text in a way that is pleasing to the eye and in accordance with a publisher’s brief. Proofreading raw text
Proofreaders don’t just work on page proofs, though. We're also asked to work on the raw-text files (usually in Microsoft Word).
A core market for the twenty-first century proofreader is the self-publishing client. For most of us, that means that an author will ask for their book to be ‘proofread’, even though what they want is a light edit of their Word document. Here, the proofreader is directly amending the text, usually with Track Changes switched on so that all the amendments can be reviewed. The line between copy-editing and proofreading is blurred, and the level of intervention will vary from client to client. The term ‘proof-editing’ is sometimes used within the professional editorial community to describe this tangling of what, traditionally, were two quite distinct services within the publishing industry. Are the old skills redundant?
My indie self-publishing clients ask me to work directly in Word. Given that all my work now comes from this sector, are my traditional page-proofreading skills redundant or am I still glad I took the time to learn them?
I think the twenty-first century proofreader who doesn’t have this knowledge is missing an opportunity. Print isn’t dead
Self-publishers don’t just publish electronically. Many make their books available in print via platforms such as CreateSpace, Lulu, BookBaby and Ingram Spark. That means they produce designed page proofs – just like mainstream publishing houses.
And just like publishing houses, these independent authors need proofreaders with traditional skills that go well beyond checking spelling, punctuation, grammar and syntax. Rather, we’re talking about also carrying out the same layout checks that our proofreading colleagues from 40 years ago undertook. If you’re offering traditional proofreading services to independent authors, and you aren’t familiar with the mainstream publishing industry’s conventions in regard to page layout, you won’t be able to carry out the aforementioned checks with confidence. That means you won’t be fit for purpose to offer this service to your clients, which means you’re missing out on a potential work stream. Understanding traditional production standards
Certainly, there’s no law when it comes to layout, and none of us wants to interfere with books that have been deliberately designed in a creative way. However, many self-publishers are looking to mirror the production standards that a traditional publishing contract would have provided them with.
Part of that process involves ensuring that their printed book looks like it belongs on the shelf on the high-street bookshop. Some readers will have in-house publishing experience through which they’ve learned about layout conventions; others will have acquired this knowledge via formal editorial training. If you’re a proofreader who isn’t familiar with layout standards, check guidance provided by an industry-recognized style manual (e.g. New Hart’s Rules or The Chicago Manual of Style). Ultimately, though, I’d strongly recommend sourcing appropriate training from your national editorial society so that you learn how to manage page proofs effectively while doing no harm. Doing no harm
The proofreader will need a little artistry and a lot of common sense when it comes to managing the potential problems in page proofs. Consider the following examples of harm:
1. A self-published organization studies monograph
The text on two facing pages of Chapter 1 (pp. 4 and 5) is unbalanced. Page 4 is much shorter than page 5. Page 4 contains text that refers to Figure 1.2, which currently appears on page 5. You solve the problem by annotating the page proofs with an instruction to move the figure to page 4. The figure is now close to its referring text, and the issue of the imbalanced facing-page depths is solved. Four chapters later, Figure 1.2 is mentioned again and cross-referenced with a page number. Your seemingly elegant change means the cross-reference is now wrong.
2. A self-published novel
You annotate the page proofs with an instruction to move two lines over to the next page in order to improve the balance of the text on two facing pages. This has a knock-on effect throughout the rest of the book, and causes an extra page to be added. So what? It’s only a page. The problem here is that printers don’t think only in terms of the number of pages. They also consider, for example, the format of a book, the binding, the grain of the paper and the size of a page. If they can fit eight pages on one sheet for the purposes of printing, it could be that your instruction to add one page actually results in the printer having to create eight pages. That’s an added expense your author may not have the budget for.
3. A self-published engineering manual
You're asked to proofread. The client has hired an indexer, too, but you don’t know this because the index isn’t included in the page proofs. You annotate the page proofs with an instruction to change the spelling of a cited author’s name. This proper noun is the last word on the page and the word spacing is so tight that the sentence is difficult to read. You solve this by annotating the proofs with an instruction to move the name onto the next line, which appears on a fresh page. This cited author is a big name in the engineering field and will be included in the index. You don’t alert the author to the possible consequences of your instruction. When the book is printed, there’s still a spelling error in the index and an incorrectly numbered page reference. *** The three examples above illustrate why formal proofreading training is advisable. Learning what to look out for on page proofs is a lot easier than learning how to properly manage any problems you find. When you understand not only what to mark but also the consequences of those marks, you’re fit for purpose. Proofread like it’s 1976, and offer multiple passes
Yes, it’s 2018 at the time of writing, but being able to proofread like it’s 1976 allows you to offer multiple passes to those clients who want to publish digitally and in print.
Knowing how to proofread (or proof-edit) in Word enables you to correct language problems. But if you also know how a book page works, and how to mark up page proofs so that they conform to publishing industry-recognized standards – in a way that does no harm – you can provide your author with the same high-quality proofreading service that those with mainstream publishing contracts have access to. That’s good news for your client and your business. About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
When starting an editing or proofreading business, it’s important to ask questions and seek advice about the big picture. The key is to not get stuck in a position where we’re incapable of moving forward without seeking validation about the detail.
What’s in this article?
The thought of taking on all the responsibilities that come with owning and running a proofreading or editing business can be daunting to the new entrant to the field, and to someone who’s technically experienced but who lacks confidence. One of two problems can arise:
This article focuses on the second problem. If you’re a new editorial business owner and need advice on editorial business planning, a list of valuable starting-out resources is provided at the end of the article. Why working for yourself is different
Many people come to editorial freelancing after years of successfully working for other businesses.
When we are employees, someone else takes care of actually owning and running the business in which we work. I was like that – I was one cog in a large engine. My cog was an important part of the business’s machinery but I only had to worry about me and the bits of my cog that touched the cogs nearby. Someone else owned the engine and worried about how it worked as a whole. Then I set up my own business and I was in charge. I had to make the whole engine run smoothly. Taking charge of the whole thing meant acknowledging 4 truths about owing my own business. 4 truths about editorial business ownership
Business owners take ownership of their businesses …
It’s important to ask questions and seek advice about the big picture. The key is to not get stuck in a position where we’re incapable of moving forward without seeking validation about the detail.
If I ask 50 colleagues how many pages a website should have I will end up with 50 personal answers. Some of the information I glean from 50 people will overlap but some of it won’t. There won’t be consensus. An inability to make your own decisions, based on your business model and your client's needs, can paralyse you. Paralysis means you’re not in a state of mind where you’re making the final decisions about your business, but hoping instead that someone else will do it for you. That’s potentially disastrous because other people’s decisions are based on their business models, their brand identities, and their clients’ needs. You’re the best person to make the detailed decisions about your business precisely because it’s your business, and your business serves your clients. A business owner, by definition, needs to take ownership, and that means finding the courage to act. Effective advice-seeking vs inertia-inducing thinking …
Here are 2 short case studies that demonstrate the difference between effective advice-seeking and inertia-inducing thinking. These are fictional but are based on conversations that I’ve had with real new starters.
Effective advice-seeking
Ali has decided to set up a proofreading business. Let’s assume he’s completed high-quality training, and followed through with a mentoring program. In the course of his business planning he's recognized the value of having a website that can operate as his shop front. In the process of building the website he reaches out to editorial colleagues whom he’s met via his national editorial society and online editorial forums. He asks them about their experiences of website building and the choices they’ve made:
Ali’s colleagues provide a range of responses.
Overall, the answers to Ali’s questions supply him with insights into his colleagues’ experiences. And although the decisions he makes are influenced by these experiences, his final choices need to be based on his business requirements. These might be the same, similar or different to any one of the colleagues who contributed to the discussion. Inertia-inducing thinking Josh, too, has set up a proofreading business. Like Ali, he’s completed the requisite training and believes he has the technical know-how to provide a high-quality service. Josh is seeking similar guidance to Ali, but he frames his questions differently and in a way that could lead to inertia.
The answers to Josh’s questions are just more questions because:
Because Josh’s questions focus on the detail of his business requirements, which are known only to him, he doesn’t receive any definitive answers. As a result, he is paralysed by indecision. While Ali’s website is now live, and operating as a shop front that he can link to via a number of other online platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Yell, and several specialist editorial directories), Josh is still digitally undiscoverable because he’s waiting for other people to make the decisions for him, decisions that are based on a business that isn’t theirs. Too many cooks …
Even a well-asked question that generates lots of responses can be problematic for the new entrant to the field because they don't have enough experience to evaluate the usefulness of the responses.
In Ali’s case, 15 colleagues could advise having a separate blog, and 15 could advise attaching a blog to his business website. But how does he work out which is the best approach for his editorial business? Professional networks are fabulous resources, often rich in content, but we need to recognize that the responses we receive to well-asked questions are still dependent on who’s online that day, who bothers to join in the discussion, and what their particular experiences are. Sometimes there are too many cooks in the kitchen; sometimes the best cooks aren’t even in the kitchen. This can lead to confusion rather than clarity. If you’re a new entrant to the field who’s asking lots of good questions but feels overwhelmed by the diverse opinions on offer, consider consulting a business coach or mentor who can spend time focusing specifically on your business requirements and help you sift through the all the advice you’ve received. There’s no one true way to furnish a house …
As the two examples above demonstrate, there’s no single way of building and designing an effective website.
When we look at various successful editorial professionals’ websites, we see that there are a hundred different ways to do it. None of these is right or wrong; they’re just different ways that people choose to express the information they want to communicate to a client base. We each have to work out what we want to say and decide whether the information looks appealing, is easily navigable for our readers, and communicates a clear message that says we can provide solutions to our clients’ problems. In Josh’s case, it’s not about what I think or like – it’s about what what Josh believes his clients will think and like. This applies to all aspects of editorial business ownership. The editorial business is like a house. More established editorial pros can give us sensible advice on how to locate a plot, dig the foundations, construct the walls, and lay on a roof to prevent us getting wet during rainy days, but only we can furnish our individual houses in a way that suits our financial requirements, our particular skills, our backgrounds, and our clients. Seek advice by all means, but don’t wait for others to make decisions about the detail of your business. Research, ask, learn; consult a business coach/mentor if you’re struggling to clarify your thinking. Then place information within the framework of your own editorial business needs, and act. About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
Considering setting up a proofreading business? Or perhaps you're already on the journey. Here are 10 things you need to know and 10 more you need to do.
10 things you need to know ...
10 things you need to do ...
Getting more help
If you'd like more comprehensive guidance about starting an editorial business, my books and courses might be just the ticket. Written for those with no prior publishing or editorial experience, these practical guides take the new starter, step by step, through the basics of planning an editorial career and marketing their services.
About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
If you’re building your editorial business, you can’t afford to sit back and hope the work will come to you – too many colleagues will be taking a more proactive approach.
An alternative editorial persona
For this article, I thought it would be fun to pretend to be someone else – someone with a different educational background and career history.
I’m going to pretend that I’m new to the field but that I have completed some sort of recognized training in proofreading/editing and have joined my national editorial society. My technical skills are there but I’ve got to work out how to get myself noticed, and how to make myself stand out. So who am I today? My name’s Basil Rhoueny [it’s the best anagram I could come up with – alternatives on a postcard].
So how am I going to create awareness of my new business? I know it’s not going to happen overnight, but I have a plan! That plan starts with providing clarity for myself about who I am and what I have to offer. At first glance, this is me:
My name is Basil Rhoueny, and I’m a fully trained copyeditor and a Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP).
Market
I write, I blog, I run, I (used to) manage staff, and I scamper around the garden with my kid (and the guinea pig when it escapes). I’ve retrained as a copyeditor, but which element of my experience will help me develop the best editorial business brand? All of them?
Perhaps later on down the line I can expand my portfolio but right now I need a focus, something that I can really get my teeth into so that I can target my services. As I said, I have 20 years’ experience of working for a large financial services organization. I understand the language of business: money, insurance, capital, funds, investments, portfolios, stocks, shares, corporate culture, management, organizational behaviour. Those terms trip off my tongue without a second thought. I can edit this stuff with my metaphorical eyes shut. So that’s how I’m going to sell myself. I want a tight message that I can sell to people and I don’t want to confuse potential clients as to what my niche is. I’m not going to talk about running, or writing, or blogging. Not yet, anyway. So, now, this is who I am: My name is Basil Rhoueny, and I’m a fully trained copyeditor specializing in business, finance and related disciplines. I have 20 years’ experience in the finance industry, and I am a Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP). Clients
Now that I’ve sorted out who I am, I need to think about who my potential clients are.
Now, things are looking like this: My name is Basil Rhoueny, and I’m a fully trained copy-editor specializing in business, finance and related disciplines. I have 20 years’ experience in the finance industry, and I am a Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP). I offer copyediting and proofreading services for publishers, professional societies, companies, independent business professionals, academic researchers and students. Subject areas
I now need to think about widening my net to make my niche as comprehensive as possible.
A quick browse through the management sections on only two large publisher websites tells me a great deal about the sub-disciplines that are being written about. The world of business and finance has a lot of options that I can focus on – key words that will demonstrate my wide-ranging specialist knowledge. Now, this is who I am: My name is Basil Rhoueny, and I’m a fully trained copy-editor specializing in business, finance and related disciplines. I have 20 years’ experience in the finance industry, and I am a Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP). I offer copyediting and proofreading services for publishers, professional societies, companies, independent business professionals, academic researchers and students.
Specialist subject areas:
Getting the information out there
Next, I need to decide where I’m going to put this information.
Networking
I need to think about networking, too. Fellow freelancers who have established businesses may be able to refer work to me once they get to know me.
I’ve decided to join the local chapter of my editorial society so that I can meet some of my colleagues face to face. I also aim to build up a network of freelance colleagues on Twitter and Facebook. I might pick up some good business-building tips as well as make some online friends who’ve taken the journey that I’m now on. But I’m going to take it further than this … Being interesting
I’m going to take a look at what’s being tweeted about in the business world, both from an academic and a trade angle.
One of my goals is to build a Twitter network that stretches beyond the freelance world and into the world of my clients. If I want to get followers who are potential clients, I need to give as much as I take. I need to tweet about news, tools and resources that will make me interesting to these business people. Since I’m branding myself as an editorial specialist in the fields of business and finance, I’m putting JogMeBlogMe to one side and attaching a new blog to my editing website. I might call it BazBizBlog (then again, maybe not!). Regardless of the name I choose, it will be solution-based and feature links, news, articles, resources, tips and tools related to business – about business people, and for business people.
The point is to make the content interesting to the kinds of people who might also use my services. And it will drive up my Google rankings because the freshness of the content will generate juice for my site as well as answering questions that people search for answers to in the search engines. I have a lot of work to do, but I’m focused and I know what I need to do. The results of my labour may take months to bear fruit, but I’m investing in the future success of my business so I believe the hard work is worth it. Now I’m off for a run. Did I mention that I’m good at running? Try this strategy ...
You don’t have to be Basil to try out the strategy above. You can take the same principles and apply them to your own background with a little bit of tweaking.
Maybe you’re an ex lawyer, teacher, accountant, sales manager, soldier, nurse, or social worker. Perhaps you have a degree in politics, biomedical science, or psychology. The point is to focus on your specialist area and then mine the field to see what the associated areas and sub-disciplines are. Your profile, and the content you create that's associated with it, will provide relevant key words that will help you get found when potential clients are searching for editorial freelancers with specific skills. It’s not the only strategy by any means – it’s simply one for you to consider if you’re starting out. I’ll not claim the ideas above are mine alone – they’re more a culmination of time spent watching, listening and talking to my successful colleagues about how they network and market themselves to fellow editorial freelancers and potential clients by making the most of their specialist skills. They are editorial professionals now, but they came from a variety of career backgrounds: science, law, academia, education, management, publishing, journalism, and much more besides. I’d name each and every one of them if I had the space, but there are far too many. I thank them, anyway, for their wisdom and their knowledge sharing. More resources
About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
An open letter to new proofreaders (in fact, editors of all descriptions) ...
Dear newbie proofreader,
I’ve told you a lie – I don’t hate the term “freelance proofreader”. “I’m freelance”, “I went freelance in …”, and “since I’ve been freelancing” are phrases I trot out all the time to explain the way I organize my work life. I'll be frank with you, though – I do sometimes worry that the term “freelance” doesn’t quite cut the mustard. If I’d spent 15 years working as an electrician for an electrical installations company and then decided to go it alone, I’d never have described myself as a "freelance electrician". I’d have told people that I was now running my own electrical business. Does “freelancer” really reflect the level of business acumen required to do my job? And it’s not just my ability to make sound judgements and take the right decisions. It’s bigger than that – it’s that whole sense of business-cultural embeddedness that’s at stake. If I don’t think of myself as a business owner, then am I in danger of not acting like one? And if I don’t act like one, why would anyone else think to treat me as one? Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs does not consider me a “freelancer”. Rather, I’m a sole trader. I’m the owner of a business that employs exactly one person. I carry out tax self-assessments just as if I was that business-owning electrician I mentioned above. Just like the electrician, I’m hired by a number of different clients to carry out professional services. Just like the electrician, I set my own rates (though perhaps unlike our electrician I may agree to – or decline – an offered fee). Just like the electrician, it’s up to me to decide whether I want to accept a client’s offer of work or decline it. Just like the electrician, I work the hours I choose to work and take holiday leave when I decide to. And just like the electrician, the only person who can fire me is, well, me. Does a freelancer work in a different way to that of a business owner? This one doesn’t. So what’s the problem with referring to myself as “freelance”? I don’t think there is one as long as I’m clear in my mind about what needs to be done – and being a business owner is more than just a being an editor or proofreader (or an electrician).
I could say more but I have a work deadline to meet and a child who's complaining of a sore throat, so there isn’t time right now. I hope this gets you thinking, anyway. So, dear newbie, if in your own head the term “freelance” doesn’t conjure up an image of these many hats, then I’d advise you instead to start thinking of yourself as a business owner first and foremost. To do otherwise may leave you ill-prepared for the myriad functions that you’ll need to perform (and that you may have little experience of) when you start out. You'll be the luckiest editorial freelancer in the world if the work just lands in your lap. It's far more likely that you'll have to work very hard to get yourself established. Become “freelance” by all means, but do your business planning and development just like any other new business owner. With best wishes, 
Louise Harnby | Crime Fiction & Thriller Editor Contact information: To enable me to deal with your query as quickly and efficiently as possible, please contact the relevant department. Owner: Louise Harnby President: Louise Harnby Chief Executive Officer: Louise Harnby Marketing and Communications Director: Louise Harnby Web Developer: Louise Harnby Sales Manager: Louise Harnby Professional Development Director: Louise Harnby Publishing Services Director: Louise Harnby Training Coordinator: Louise Harnby Financial Controller: Louise Harnby Distribution Manager: Louise Harnby Human Resources Officer: Louise Harnby Digital Services Executive: Louise Harnby Office Manager: Louise Harnby Proofreader: Louise Harnby Copyeditor: Louise Harnby Line editor: Louise Harnby About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
A short question on this blog about which training course I would recommend for someone considering a career in proofreading prompted a rather long reply from me. It made me realize that the issue deserved a post of its own.
Professional proofreading training
Please note that this article isn’t designed to recommend one particular course over another. What you choose will depend on a number of factors, e.g. location, career stage.
Readers of this blog who’ve searched my training archive will know the course I chose – the Publishing Training Centre's Essential Proofreading. While I found this course to be outstanding, this accolade is based on my business plan, my place of residence, my knowledge of the market I chose to focus on, what else was available in 2006, and my training budget. It won’t necessarily be the right choice for, say, a Belgian with a different niche market in mind, or a Canadian whose pockets are feeling a little shallow at the moment. Instead, the aim here is to give voice to some of the basic issues that are worth considering when choosing what, where and how to train for a career as a freelance proofreader, wherever you live and whatever your budget. What’s on offer?
The options are numerous. Distance learning and on-site; online and book-based; and DIY and professionally assessed.
Some cost hundreds of pounds while other options cost less than the price of a family cinema outing. Googling for proofreading training courses throws up lots of information but little guidance on how to make a choice. Here are some ideas to get you on the right track. Is there a national or regional professional society you can contact?
This is probably the best place to start. Get in touch with your national editing/proofreading society and see what they recommend.
Their membership is full of people who were once in your position, so they will have some great advice to share, and at no cost. Visit my Editing & Proofreading Societies page to locate your national association or regional chapter. At what stage are you in the process?
Consider what point you’re at in the process of your career change.
Are you definitely looking to become a professional proofreader or are you at the earlier stage of considering it as one of several options? If the latter, you might opt for a cheaper, preliminary short course to see if the work suits you before you invest a larger amount of money in a more time-consuming distance learning course. If you've recently completed some training you might want to consider a mentoring programme. The Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) runs peer-to-peer mentoring events in the UK. Contact your national editing and proofreading society for more details on mentoring opportunities in your own country. What kind of client are you hoping to target?
Case study 1
You’re an ex-solicitor/attorney who’s decided that the law’s not your bag after all. You decide you want to focus on publisher clients, possibly those with lists in criminology, law and policing. Do some research to find out which houses publish in these fields and give them a call. Ask to speak to the production manager, or the person in charge of hiring freelance editorial staff. Ask that person what their criteria are for freelancers. They'll be able to tell you the training providers they recognize. They’ll also be able to give you some ideas about any experience or expertise they are looking for. You may be surprised to find that they accept a qualification that you hadn’t considered. And it may not be the most expensive one on the market. Even if you do find out that you would be better off going for one of the more expensive training courses, at least you know that it will be money well spent and that you’ll get the return on your investment once you start applying for paid work. Getting a feel for what publishers want is a good start because they are one type of client that is in a position to offer you repeat work. Case study 2 You’ve worked as an English-language teacher for years in a school or college, helping young adults improve their literacy skills. You decide to focus on independent fiction and creative non-fiction authors who are looking for the final polish before they submit their manuscript to an agent, in-house commissioning editor, or custom-publishing organization. You need to do the same research. Start networking with writers’ groups and online networks and ask the people themselves what training and experience they expect a proofreader to have. They may have a set of very different preferred externals based on their experiences of commissioning freelance editorial services. Join social networking forums such as LinkedIn where existing freelancers congregate and ask what training routes other freelance proofreaders in your country, who work with the type of client you’re interested in, took to get their careers off the ground. The point is to research your market and find out what people want and expect. Every training provider on the market will tell you that their course is the best, and they wouldn’t be doing a good job of marketing themselves if they claimed otherwise. Asking the end-users, however, is the key to ensuring you make the decision that best suits your business strategy. Assessed or not?
Assuming you’ve decided proofreading is the job for you, and you need a training course that is going to give you the confidence and readiness to do the job to a professional standard, find out whether your training provider offers an assessment element.
It’s best to iron out the creases while you are training, rather than alienating unhappy clients further down the line. Or to quote an old proverb: What the fool does in the end, the wise man does in the beginning. About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
Find out what publishers think about professional editorial training courses, to help you decide how best to invest.
A note on when this post was originally written
I wrote this post about editorial training in 2011. However, I'm confident that the advice should still stand. While these days I line edit for indie fiction authors who find me via organic search, publishers are still and incredibly valuable source of work for many editors and proofreaders, so it's useful to understand how they assess the freelancers who work for them.
How far will training get you in the editorial freelancing market?
Publishers and editorial freelancers understand each other. We have the same expectations regarding the level of editing being undertaken (e.g. developmental, line/copy, proofreading), which saves both parties time.
Publishers are in a position to offer repeat work, thus taking some of the stress out of marketing. Plus the portfolio- and testimonial-building opportunities are excellent. And so while the rates are sometimes an issue (though not always by any means), publishers are a brilliant client group to target. It's therefore important to bear in mind where they see the value when hiring editorial freelancers. Here's what I found out ... Is training useless?
Somewhere out in the ether is a blog where the author calls proofreading courses a "scam" and "unnecessary", and the qualifications "useless". The rant continues, the author arguing that they’ve never been asked to produce evidence of any qualification or completion of a course by an "official" body.
And luckily for anyone looking to enter this extraordinarily crowded and competitive field, said author offers a far cheaper alternative to all those "rip-off" courses: their very own proofreading course in the form of an ebook. Back in 2005, I spent seven months doing just the type of course this author was decrying. I opted for Essential Proofreading, a distance learning course run by the Publishing Training Centre (PTC), an industry-recognized body. I also joined the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), formerly the SfEP, and did the necessaries to qualify for membership. So did I waste my money? Was I ripped off? Did the training I took on help me get to where I am now or was I kidding myself? Should I have instead invested in an ebook course that would have given me change from a twenty-pound note? I discussed this issue with some of my clients, all of whom are established and respected publishing houses or packagers in the UK. What came out of the conversation led me to conclude that the training I undertook was definitely worthwhile, and membership of the CIEP/SfEP has provided me with wonderful information-sharing opportunities as well as the right to advertise in their Directory of Editorial Services. Nevertheless, there was much food for thought in the responses I received. Thumbs up for training courses …
Out of House Publishing (now Newgen) consider only the CIEP/SfEP and PTC courses to be "useful and relevant" and then Managing Director Jo Bottrill stated that he "certainly consider[s] freelancers who have completed such training much more seriously".
Constable & Robinson’s website states, "Please note our minimum requirements include training from recognized establishments such as SfEP or the Publishing Training Centre." Aimée Feenan from Ashgate concurs, saying that most Ashgate staff have undertaken some sort of training at the PTC, and knowing that freelance staff are able to work to the same editorial standards means they are more likely to be hired. They also recognize the CIEP/SfEP as a trusted source. And at SAGE Publishing, training is considered important, with the CIEP/SfEP and PTC again being the two most trusted external suppliers. Elizabeth Clack at Edward Elgar felt "that the Publishing Training Centre and CIEP/SfEP courses are good quality and are well-regarded, so it would be a plus point if someone had taken courses with them, although that's not to say that we would only consider freelances who had taken courses with these bodies". She added, "it indicates to us that the freelance has reached a certain level of proficiency and has some understanding of editing/proofreading procedures and 'best practice'. Training is especially relevant if the freelance does not yet have much work experience." Also of note here the fact that she felt that proofreading courses took away some of the risk of the unknown when taking on a new or inexperienced freelancer. Why training in itself is not enough …
Training in itself is not always enough, and some publishers feel they have had their fingers burned by relying too much on freelancers’ training credits. Increasingly publishers are using their own tests in order to evaluate competence.
Jo Bottrill was cautious of advanced membership and accreditation status within the CIEP/SfEP, feeling that these did not always ensure that a freelancer met his exacting standards. Instead, he's "put[ting] more emphasis on the assessment of our own tests and analysis of live jobs. Our quality control and reporting procedures have developed over the last couple of years to ensure we have an appropriate safety net." For Edward Elgar, "another factor when considering whether to work with a freelance is whether they have experience in a particular subject area, because many of our books are quite specialized. For instance, freelances working on our law books may have law qualifications or a background in legal work." Ian Antcliff, one of SAGE Publications’ senior production editors, stated that training, though important, is seen as an add-on. For him, in-house experience makes for an attractive prospect, not because the editors/proofreaders are better, but rather because "it usually ensures that they are sympathetic to and understand the pressure that in-house staff are under (especially with regard to budgets and deadlines)". Ashgate acknowledge that not every freelancer on their books has received formal editorial training – they do have people who were just exceptionally good at learning on the job and being an expert in a particular subject area is also a real plus. Polity’s production manager, Neil de Cort, takes a stronger line. For him, a speculative letter with a list of training courses is of no relevance. Like most publishers, Polity receive a large number of speculative letters every year from freelancers looking for work. Experience counts every time – Neil wants to see that a freelancer has experience of working in the social sciences, and references from other publishers are key. Completion of a training course alone simply won’t get you on their books. Confidence to take on the task
The training I’ve completed to date did indeed get me looked at by several clients when I was starting out. Polity, though, gave me work because of my knowledge of their field of publishing and a good reference from Salt Publishing. Constable & Robinson noticed me, despite the fact that I already met their minimum requirements, because of a recommendation from the Edward Elgar production team.
However, proofreading books published by the likes of Cambridge University Press, Polity and SAGE, who, like all of my clients, have precise and exacting publishing standards, can be daunting to the newbie. And expanding into new publishing genres, in my case from the social sciences to trade, is a different type of challenge. Externally assessed training under the wing of a skilled industry-recognized body gave me the confidence to take on these challenges and feel assured that I was ready for the task in hand. On-the-job CPD and upgrading skills
I’ve no doubt that further courses will provide me with new knowledge and provide excellent networking opportunities. But will I get more work? It depends on what that training is – if it involves ensuring that I can hone my stylistic line craft, then yes.
Ian Antcliff at SAGE emphasizes how essential it is for freelancers to have up-to-date skill sets "with regard to both onscreen editing and Word, and also with ancillary software generally – Adobe, etc. – increasingly so as we move towards onscreen mark-up of proof PDFs". Talking to clients (or reading their blogs and tweets) about what their needs are, how the market is changing, and new ways of delivering our service may be just as informative as any course, and is probably the first thing we should do before deciding where to spend our hard-earned training cash. Summing up
So all in all, the message from my clients was that initial basic editorial training is more likely to get us noticed by publishers, but that it’s not the sole factor in determining whether they place us on their books.
Experience counts for a lot, but so does flexibility over the formats in which we work. Continuing to update our skills in whatever way best suits the needs of our clients will give us the best chance of remaining their freelancers of choice. As for that £19.99 ebook course? It simply wouldn’t have cut the mustard. (With thanks to Edward Elgar, SAGE Publications, Ashgate, Polity, and Out of House Publishing for their generous contributions.) About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
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