Louise Harnby | Proofreader & Copyeditor
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The Proofreader’s Parlour 

A BLOG FOR EDITORS, PROOFREADERS AND WRITERS

New column: “Undercover editor – views from an insider”

9/12/2014

7 Comments

 
I’m delighted to announce a new column for the Parlour in 2015. “Undercover editor – views from an insider” will feature articles by – and interviews with – my colleague Philip Stirups, an editor working for a well-known UK academic publishing house.

It aims to provide insights into the in-house editorial production process from the viewpoint of a publishing professional, and will pay particular attention to the role of the freelancer.

The column has in mind both the new entrant to the field and the more experienced editorial professional who’s not worked with mainstream publishers.

Some of the issues we’ll be looking at include:
  • In-house editor–freelancer relationships
  • The editor–freelancer–author triad
  • Freelancer discoverability – how in-house editors find new suppliers
  • Using new freelancers vs relying on existing suppliers
  • Giving feedback
  • Challenges facing in-house project managers
  • Publishing margins and balancing budgets
  • Prescriptive proofreading briefs versus a laissez-faire consistency approach
  • Getting publisher work – what does the in-house editor need and want to know?
  • Book production schedules and workflows – an overview
  • The art of querying authors and in-house editors – advice on good practice
  • Editorial tests – what the freelancer needs to know and show
  • Onscreen and beyond – adapting to new workflows and technologies
  • Spotlight on skills – requirements for copy-editors
  • Spotlight on skills – requirements for proofreaders

If there are specific issues that you’d like my undercover editor to shed light on, please email me at louise@louiseharnbyproofreader.com and I’ll add them to the list.

The views expressed in this column aim to provide an understanding of what it’s like to sit on the other side of the desk from the freelancer. Having offered professional proofreading services to publishers for just shy of a decade, though, I recognize that the managing editors for whom I work operate within a variety of procedural and preference frameworks. If you’re an in-house editor who works differently from my undercover editor, or who operates in another country, I’d be delighted to incorporate your views and experiences.

You’re welcome to join in the discussion either by commenting or by contributing your own guest article. Email me at louise@louiseharnbyproofreader.com if you’d like to write for the Proofreader’s Parlour.

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About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a professional proofreader, the curator of The Proofreader's Parlour, and the author of Business Planning for Editorial Freelancers and Marketing Your Editing & Proofreading Business. Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader, follow her on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or find her on LinkedIn.


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7 Comments
Richard Adin link
9/12/2014 05:56:37 am

Great idea for a column. The issues I would like to see addressed are these:

1. How do you determine whether to hire a freelancer to edit for your company?

2. How do you determine the pay for a particular project?

3. How do you determine the schedule for a project?

4. If you determine that editing on a project would best be done by, for example, an American editor rather than a UK editor, how do you go about finding and hiring the American editor?

5. How do you determine whether a project is best left for a packager or done in-house?

I look forward to your discussion of these issues.

Reply
Louise Harnby
9/12/2014 05:59:29 am

Thank you very much for your suggestions, Rich!

Reply
Lynn Nikkanen
9/12/2014 06:17:01 am

Great idea, Louise, and a smart title for the column to boot!

A couple of questions I'd like to add to Rich's list are:
What kind of academic credentials and qualifications might an in-house editor be looking for in a freelance copy-editor?
and
Is distance any object when hiring a freelancer? Or is remote work very much the norm today, no matter how remote one is?
Cheers

Reply
Louise Harnby
9/12/2014 06:21:08 am

Cheers, Lynn! The title wasn't mine, actually - it was the undercover editor's! I'm delighted that, so soon after posting this announcement live, I've had such a positive response and a strong list of subjects to consider. Watch this space. The column might not kick off until February - primarily because of the holidays, and mine and Philip's work commitments, but we're both very excited about it so watch this space!

Reply
Undercover Editor
9/12/2014 07:55:01 am

Wow! This is quite an impressive response so far! I will be more than happy to address the points raised in due course :) I am desperate to leap in immediately, but will wait until we get up and running, which as Louise says is most likely to be February.

Reply
Sheila Swan
19/12/2014 03:02:43 am

Which editing tools do you use? For example FileCleaner, EditTools etc.

I am new here so this topic may have been talked to death, but I really appreciate feedback.

Thanks

Reply
Louise Harnby
19/12/2014 03:06:43 am

Hi Sheila.

Is this something you want the our undercover in-house PM to answer, or are you interested in what freelance copy-editors and proofreaders use once they've been commissioned to work on a project?

Reply

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