A six-month affair

When I started this new blog, I thought it would be interesting and relevant to include reviews of books I had been reading for fun. I haven’t written one until now because I have essentially been reading the same book since last September. In July last year, I started writing a memoir. By December I had almost finished a first … Read More

Blog appreciation: February

Here are some posts by other editors and writers that I’ve enjoyed reading recently. Why you need and how to work with a book indexer: a guide for authors by Paula Clarke BainAs Paula explains in this fascinating article, many authors are now routinely asked by publishers to organise their own indexing. While some will opt to index their books … Read More

Proofreading or copyediting? That which we call a rose …

Every time I write a blog post, just before I hit ‘Publish’, I let myself be tormented briefly by a column of three orange and red faces in the Yoast SEO submenu, which my web designer must have installed when he set up the WordPress site. For example: No focus keyword was entered: red sad face, no comment. Readability analysis: … Read More

When subject matter matters

Last weekend I needed to work for a few hours on both Saturday and Sunday. Usually, I try not to work at weekends, but when my children aren’t in school, as is currently the case, it’s often necessary to make up for working time lost in the week. One thing I’ve found over the years is that I prefer not … Read More

Seven things freelancers know about time

I used to experience time like any other person. Then I went freelance. Seriously though, working for myself has made me see time differently. I’ve spent my whole editorial career – whether as an employee or self-employed – focused on deadlines, but since running my own business, somehow they matter more. The responsibility for sticking to schedules lies with me … Read More

Blog appreciation: January

Here are some posts by other editors that I’ve enjoyed reading recently.* A Quick Guide to Discovery Calls by Erin Brenner This post particularly resonated with me this month, although I wasn’t familiar with the term ‘discovery call’. Quite often I will have a chat with a prospective client prior to agreeing a work contract. However, there are limits. I’m … Read More

What learning additional languages can teach me about editing my own

Last spring I decided to start learning another language again. I say ‘again’, because I do have some prior experience of learning languages. I studied French at school between the ages of 11 and 18, as well as a year of German from 13–14. When I was about 26 I spent two terms learning Spanish at an evening class, and … Read More

The aesthetics of editing

Editing text is a strange undertaking. The job is composed of many quite technical aspects – but without art, without attention to beauty, it is compromised. The technical aspects can be time-consuming to accomplish, and they’re essential. When I’m copyediting a piece of text, for example, I will do all of the following as a minimum: Check the overall structure … Read More

The story of a new name

I decided to change the name of my business for three reasons. The first was that I felt the business name I had no longer properly reflected who I was as an editor. When I first came up with ‘Liz Jones Editorial Solutions’, around ten years ago, I was happy with it. I had recently changed my own name (I … Read More