Humbly, your copyeditor

A road journey at dusk

Recently I started work on a copyediting project that intimidated me. I’ve copyedited hundreds of books, so this is unusual. A lot of the work I do is for returning clients, meaning that even if every book is different, there is enough that is similar about projects to make each beginning slightly less unknown. Even with new clients, I have … Read More

Learning to say yes

Last week I took part in a panel session on blogging at the annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading, #CIEP2021. This being 2021, it happened via Zoom. I attended the 2020 conference too, but as a delegate only, so this was my first presentation online. (Of course I’ve been taking part in Zoom meetings for the … Read More

The ages of freelancing

Recently, I’ve been pondering age a lot. Last September I turned 45, and I’m at that point where I’m starting to feel it. Not in a terribly dramatic way, because I am fortunate enough to be in good health, but more a notion that I need to take a little more care of myself, that I am not as physically … 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