Categories
Copyediting Proofreading

Who needs a proofreader or copy-editor?

When I’m talking to people about what I do, they tend to assume that I work with authors and that the bulk of my work is on novels. I love copy-editing fiction, and I particularly enjoy working directly with self-publishing authors, but there are many other groups of people who need the services of a proofreader or copy-editor. It’s not just about books – any piece of writing, no matter how short, might need some attention!

misspelled public schools sign
Proofreader’s law: the bigger the font, the harder it is to spot a mistake.*

 

You expect well-known brands to get ‘simple’ things like spelling and grammar right. If they don’t, it undermines the customer’s trust in the brand. This also applies to small companies, but you’re more likely to cut them some slack – you might trust Greg down the road to repair ‘all kinds of car’s’, but you want Mercedes to pay the same detailed attention to their grammar as you hope they do to your car!

Very large companies probably employ a team of proofreaders and copy-editors to make sure anything that goes out to the public with their name on it is correct. As a freelancer, I’m more likely to work with small- to medium-sized businesses. If you need a way to stand out from your competitors and give yourself the edge, making sure your spelling and grammar is perfect is one way of winning over customers who are sitting on the fence.

Proofreading and copy-editing that I do for businesses includes:

  • Adverts for print and online. It’s particularly embarrassing if something is spelled wrong in an advert, and they often cost a lot of money.
  • Leaflets and other hard copy promotional material – often given out at trade shows or with purchases. No one wants to be left with 500 misspelled t-shirts …
  • Brochures. Something glossy and well-designed is often intended for clients who want to part with their spondoolies.
  • Recruitment materials. High-calibre applicants want to feel as though they’ll fit right in.
  • Legal documents. I can’t advise on legalities, but I can make sure spellings are correct!
  • Social media updates. They can be seen by tens of thousands of people. Even if a company doesn’t have a big following, something embarrassing can go viral in the blink of an eye.
  • Letters. Yes, they are still sent occasionally! An eloquent letter on thick paper, embossed with a crest, thanking Greg for his tip-top repair to the Prime Minister’s Mercedes would fall a bit flat if it was addressed to ‘Grge’. ‘Impossible!’ I hear you say. Hmm, just ask any Louise how often they’ve been a ‘Lousie’ …
  • Blog posts. They are really important when it comes to driving traffic to websites, so most businesses will have a regularly-updated blog or news section. Perhaps one person writes all the content; perhaps they use several members of staff or guest bloggers with different areas of expertise; whatever the approach, everyone wants their blog to look professional.
  • Web pages. A shop window to the world. An error-free website can give one company the edge over the competition just by virtue of making them look slicker and more detail-oriented.
  • Reports. They could be annual reports or reports about a specific project. They might be aimed at shareholders, sponsors or the general public.

These points don’t just apply to businesses that sell products or services. Not-for-profit companies and charities produce all of the things listed above, and they want to project a professional image to sponsors, donors and the public as well as the people they help.

As well as work for businesses, I also proofread and copy-edit for:

  • Publishing houses. Many of them employ freelancers – sometimes through an agency – rather than in-house editors and proofreaders.
  • Students and academics. If someone’s academic work is being published by a traditional publishing company, it will usually come to me via the publisher or an agency, but some academics want to self-publish, and students are often allowed to use a proofreader on their theses provided the content is original.
  • Self-publishing authors. My favourite group of people to work with. They might have written fiction or non-fiction; thanks to my contact with authors I’ve read some amazing books on a wide variety of topics and across a range of genres.

I hope this has given you a bit more insight into the life of a proofreader and copy-editor. As you can see, it’s about a lot more than just reading books. If you know someone you think might benefit from any of these services, please send them my way and I will make their copy ship-shape!

*Image courtesy of Mascola.

Categories
Personal Reading

Children’s books: my favourites & recommendations

During the last few weeks I’ve probably handled more hard copy books than I usually pick up in a year. As I try to get my baby interested in books I remember all the books I read and loved as a child. Here are some of my favourites.

Reading to a baby from an ABC book
Trying to get my baby interested in reading.

The Ladybird ABC book – the first book I had as a child, and the book that (alongside my parents, of course!) taught me to read. I’m told I was a ridiculously early reader (I don’t remember learning), and my mother credits this book, where you can clearly see not only the letter, but the letter within the word and the picture all on the same spread. It didn’t take me long to make the connection between the big ‘a’ and the smaller ‘a’ within the word ‘apple’.

The Magic Faraway Tree
Just look at those illustrations! I wish I could photograph every page.

Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree. Blyton gets dissed a lot but I loved Dick and Fanny – not to mention Bessie and Joe. My view might be slightly coloured by the gorgeous illustrations in this edition, though. They are lush, and perfectly complement the trippy stories about a tree with its topmost branches touching a rotating carousel of magical lands, all with different, weird and wonderful themes. The tree’s inhabitants include a man with the moon for a head and a man who wears a suit made out of saucepans. What’s not to love?

Noddy and Big-Ears
Noddy and Big-Ears go to the seaside.

At the risk of wallowing in a Blyton nostalgia-fest I was also a big fan of Little Noddy. I didn’t notice the racist golliwogs at the time; I was just captivated by Noddy and his red and yellow car. The image above is from Noddy Goes to the Seaside.

The Flower Fairies
Be careful you don’t misspell ‘Poppy’. We don’t want a ‘Poopy’ fairy. We get enough poop in other aspects of life.

Cicely Mary Barker’s Flower Fairies series is just delightful, and another series which is made by its illustrations. The charming poems also teach facts about each of the flowers; facts which are made more memorable by being cloaked in whimsical verse. Perfect if you don’t want girlie pinkified fairies for your daughter (some of the ‘flower fairies’ are male, and none of them sparkle) but don’t want to completely abandon magic.

Paddington Bear
I can vouch for the fact that marmalade chunks make excellent glue.

He’s very topical at the moment thanks to the recent film (and a forthcoming one in 2017), but I’ve been a fan of Paddington Bear since childhood. The dry, straight-faced humour appeals to children and adults alike, and Michael Bond also pulls off a slapstick line of physical comedy which is very hard to do in writing. And who wouldn’t love to be able to do Paddington’s trademark hard stare?

Jennings, White Fang, the Shadow in the North
Books for slightly older readers.

When she’s older, I hope my daughter will, like me, come to love Anthony Buckeridge’s Jennings books, White Fang by Jack London and The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman. The world of an all-boys boarding school might be dated, but it has a beguiling innocence and some laugh-out-loud moments. Throughout the decades, kids haven’t fundamentally changed and they have always got up to ‘mischief’. Philip Pullman needs no introduction … White Fang is not only a firm favourite but also a gateway to the harder-hitting, more adult Tales of the Klondike, which I read as a teenager and would heartily recommend. It taught me one thing – never light your fire underneath a snow-covered tree. The snow will melt and drop on your fire, smothering it and leaving you to die in the frozen wastes. You’re welcome.

Jinny, The Machine-Gunners and Harry Potter
Spot the wild card.

It might be an obvious, some would say cheesy, choice, but I’ve jumped enthusiastically on the Harry Potter bandwagon and can’t wait to read J. K. Rowling’s famous series to my daughter. Robert Westall’s The Machine-Gunners is also a classic these days, I believe (that makes me feel old!) and I love his down-to-earth style. There are quite a few lesser-known Westall books for my daughter to discover, including The Wind Eye and his collection of short horror stories for adults. My ‘wild card’ is the Jinny series of horse stories by Patricia Leitch, which are as far from middle class pony club romps as it’s possible to get and still involve horses. When I was younger I wanted to be the feisty, red-haired Jinny and to ride as fearlessly as she did. Each book (there are twelve) has a horse-related storyline together with a more meaningful facet to the plot where our heroine discovers more about herself and gradually becomes a less selfish and more respectful person who cares about the world around her.

There you go – my pick of books for young and older children. Some of these are obvious, but I hope some of you benefit from the more obscure recommendations. And if my daughter doesn’t enjoy any of these, I hope I won’t be too disappointed but will continue to nurture a love of reading through books that she does like!

Categories
Personal

Oh baby baby …

I try to avoid posting anything personal on here, but I have to proffer an excuse for my recent silence on the blogging front. I gave birth to my daughter in early August, so I haven’t had much work-related excitement to inspire any posts.

reusable nappies on washing line
My idea of a productive day during the last six weeks

From Monday I’ll be back at the grindstone and ‘open for business’ again (proofreading and copy-editing business, that is!). One client has asked for a critique, so I’m looking forward to getting my teeth into that.

I can’t wait until my daughter is old enough to enjoy a bedtime story, but I did resist the temptation to call her Paige after my line of work.

Categories
Events

Coming up: writing & literature events

I’ve had my nose buried in a tricky copy-editing job and only just surfaced for air. In the name of professionalism I can’t post about work I’m actually doing, and I’ve been living and breathing this particular subject for several weeks. I’ve even dreamed about the references!

As a result I’ve fallen behind on finding out what is going on in the world of writing and literature, so in the process of catching up I thought I would compile a few of the writing/literature events taking place in the UK in August to October.

Steve Bowkett workshop story grids

One event I’m particularly looking forward to is Leicestershire author Steve Bowkett’s workshop on ‘Story Grids: Techniques to Improve Your Writing’, which will take place on 3 October, 14:00-16:30 at The Dock, 75 Exploration Drive, Leicester, LE4 5NU. Steve aims to help you form a narrative organically and ‘take your mind by surprise’. The workshop will look at building the key elements of a story and sustaining reader involvement. It’s not specific to any particular genre, so there should be something for everyone! Book onto this workshop.

Steve’s workshop is taking place as part of the Everybody’s Reading Festival.

Categories
Help For Writers Networking Writing

Networking for introverts & special snowflakes

people talking in conference setting
Me (L) attempting to network at the London Book Fair.

I just wanted to share a couple of really useful articles I’ve read recently which touch on both networking and writing your novel.

‘A Survival Guide for Introverts Networking’, a blog post by Abi Saffrey, is aimed at people going to the Society for Editors & Proofreaders conference in September, but it applies equally to any conference or event you might be going to. I’m not actually an introvert, but this post is full of helpful tips like ‘Pre-break the ice’, ‘Don’t wear new shoes’ and ‘Prepare some opening lines or questions’.

I found Randy Ingermanson’s explanation of the ‘Snowflake Method’ of writing a novel clear and inspiring. It made me want to start planning my own novel! I don’t have a plot or theme or any characters in mind, but reading Randy’s article made me feel as though I could write about anything. Remember, folks: ‘Good fiction doesn’t just happen’!

If you have any especially useful blog posts or articles that you keep going back to again and again, let me know in the comments. Helpful resources for writers are always welcome in these quarters!

 

Categories
Writing

Erotica: Banned words

silhouette of heterosexual couple facing each other eroticaEditing erotica presents its own special challenges. By the time something gets to copy-editing stage I don’t want to suggest a major rewrite, but there are some words that get so much use in erotica that I would like to put them on my ‘banned words list’! There’s nothing wrong with these words per se, but if you’re a writer and you’re thinking about using any of these in a sex scene, please, I implore you, think again:

  • manhood
  • nub
  • mounds
  • glided
  • throbbing
  • moist
  • wantonly
  • channel
  • globes
  • bulge
  • appendage
  • heaving
  • rampant
  • slippery
  • pert

I’d also like to put in a special plea for authors not to describe pubic hair as either coarse and wiry (ouch) or soft and downy (sceptical hmm).

If you’re an editor or proofreader, are there any words you’d like to add to the ‘banned words’ list? I’d love to hear about anything I’ve missed!

This isn’t supposed to be a dig at authors who have used these words in their books, and I’m certain that there are some excellent erotic passages (ahem) that contain them. However, they all seem to get used a lot, so if you want to be rigorous about avoiding clichés, you might want to think of something else or see if you can get away with removing that word altogether.

Bonus points available: outside my office someone has marked up the pavement ready for some forthcoming works. They’ve written ‘SERVICE TRENCH’ in large letters. Every time I see it, I wonder whether this phrase could be worked into an erotic scene. Bonus points for any author who can manage it.

Categories
Copyediting Proofreading

Proofreading & copy-editing: what’s the difference?

person proofreading and marking up textI advertise proofreading and copy-editing services and I try to be clear about exactly what you get for your money with each service. I don’t want to bore potential clients to death before they’ve got half-way down the page, though! If you’re not sure about the difference between proofreading and copy-editing and you’d like to know more, read on …

A key point is that proofreading is the final stage your manuscript will go through after typesetting and before the final print run. The purpose of proofreading is to polish and perfect a hard copy book before it goes to print. A good proofreader should try to keep changes to a minimum because it costs money for the typesetter to make amendments at this stage.

An ebook doesn’t get typeset in the same manner as a printed book. On an e-reader, the reader can choose various aspects of the text’s appearance, such as font, font size, line spacing, margins etc., so there’s no point in laying out these elements with precision. Of course, ebooks still need to be checked for errors, so even if you’re only releasing your book in digital format you might still want the services of a proofreader.

A proofreader looks at spelling, grammar, punctuation, layout and consistency. They’ll also check that your work has been typeset correctly – that page numbers and page headings are all present and correct, that illustrations and captions correspond, that styles are consistent, and that the table of contents is correct. They will check everything, including front and back matter such as the copyright page, dedication, bibliography etc. See the Society for Editors & Proofreaders website for a full explanation of what a proofreader does (and doesn’t do).

Copy-editing happens at an earlier stage, before typesetting. After copy-editing the author will probably want to make a number of changes. This may result in a few errors – usually minor – being introduced, so, no matter how good the copy-editor was, there might still be a few typos or bloopers in the finished product. That’s why it’s also a good idea to get a proofread done after typesetting, but if your budget is limited you might prefer to take a risk – particularly if your work is destined to be ‘ebook only’, without so many formatting elements to consider.

Copy-editing is concerned with getting your work ready for typesetting. A copy-editor will make sure your work is accurate and fit-for-purpose. As well as looking at spelling, punctuation and grammar, they’ll also look at style, consistency, wording, legal issues and technical design elements related to the typesetting process. If your work contains illustrations, graphs and tables these will also be covered. They should flag up doubtful facts for your attention and may query anything that looks ‘wrong’ or which is hard to understand.

A copy-editor does look at some ‘big picture’ issues such as plot holes and structure, but they won’t do the job of a developmental or structural editor. If a piece of work requires extensive rewriting, it’s too early to be using the services of a copy-editor, because much of their work will be undone during the rewriting process or they may have wasted time working on sections which are later removed. The Society for Editors and Proofreaders has an excellent and thorough explanation of copy-editing on its website.

If you would like more information or a quotation for copy-editing or proofreading, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Categories
Events

The 4th Self-Publishing Conference

On Saturday 7 May I attended the 4th Self-Publishing Conference, organised by Matador.

self-publishing conference brochure

As a Leicester City supporter I was feeling particularly proud of my home city, so it was nice to see people converging on Leicester from all parts of the world – even from Spain!

University of Leicester flowers
Leicester boasts many beautiful scenes around the city as well as on the football pitch.

The keynote speech was by Caroline Sanderson, Associate Editor of The Bookseller. She talked about what self-published authors can do to maximise their chances of getting noticed and promoted. There was a strong emphasis on the importance of good cover design, and she highlighted various examples, talking about what made them stand out.

I attended a workshop by Louise Jordan of the Writers’ Advice Centre. She talked about structuring a children’s book. I dived into the exercises, despite not having a children’s book on the go, thinking, ‘I’ll just have to make something up.’ It then occurred to me that that’s exactly what writer’s do! Her advice was so useful that you might be seeing my book on a shelf near you soon! (Well, that last bit might be a slight exaggeration.)

Next, I listened to Rachel Gregory from Troubador and Barbara Scott from Surrey Libraries talking about how to maximise your ebook’s potential. Most people know that you can borrow ebooks from libraries, but they don’t take ebooks directly from authors. Barbara was a great advocate for libraries. It might be free for people to borrow books, but the libraries have to buy the ebooks in order to stock them, so it’s still worth getting your book into libraries if you can! It was heartening to hear that library loans of self-published material are growing.

Professor Alison Baverstock from Kingston University gave an excellent plenary session about her research into self-publishing. I felt like jumping up and shouting, ‘Yay!’ (I didn’t. I just went up to her afterwards to say it in slightly more articulate words.) When I was planning the marketing for Help For Writers I noticed that there’s a lot research into readers – demographics, habits, what they like – but precious little about writers. Alison’s work helps to fill that gap. I can also confirm one of her findings from a personal perspective – editors enjoy working with self-publishing authors!

Prof. Alison Baverstock
Professor Alison Baverstock talks about her research.

Mike Bodnar, author of humorous travel book Against The Current, talked to us about self-promotion for self-publishers. He gave us loads of useful information with a few jokes thrown in. I covered several pages with notes – thanks Mike!

Cressida Downing of The Book Analyst probably thinks I’m stalking her, because this is the second time I’ve been to one of her workshops in a short space of time. She’d asked people to submit synopses in advance, and she read out excerpts and gave some insightful criticism of each one. Don’t get your synopsis confused with your blurb – it’s perfectly OK to give away spoilers in the synopsis; in fact the whole point of a synopsis is to tell the reader what happens in your book!

After the conference came the drinks reception, where we mingled and talked.

Group of people talking
Networking in progress.

One of the authors I spoke to was Julian Jackson, who has written his own account of the day. Apart from Mike Bodnar’s talk, he attended different sessions from me, so it’s well worth a read if you want to find out what was going on elsewhere!

Thanks to Matador for putting on an informative and well-organised day.

 

Categories
Events London Book Fair

The London Book Fair 2016: Beautiful pigs & lots of colour

My first London Book Fair was an amazing* experience. It made me realise how lucky I am to work in the field of books and writing. Being surrounded by so many books – and, more importantly, people who love them – was energising.

The world of books is a colourful one. Lush displays of children’s books, coffee table books (some of which were large enough to actually be coffee tables) and art books reminded me why the industry hasn’t mirrored the music business in its rapid move from physical to digital formats. There’s something especially attractive about an origami book, a book you can scribble in, or a book that includes balsa wood. It’s also useful to own a book that you could use to knock an intruder unconscious.

 

Origami animals at London Book Fair 2016
You can’t make these out of an ebook.

 

I was there to promote Help For Writers – I’ll be writing a more detailed blog for them soon – but I couldn’t stop my enthusiasm for copy-editing from surfacing from time to time. I hope I managed to convince a few writers of the importance of a good copy-edit!

I found the the wonderful unexpected around every corner – including beautiful pigs.

 

beautiful pigs London Book Fair 2016
You never knew you wanted this book, but now you do.

 

I was honoured to take part in an Author HQ panel on ‘How to prepare for self-publishing’. I hope people found it useful. Thanks to Fiona Marsh (Midas PR) for chairing the session and to my colleague Nikki Halliwell (Marketing Executive at Help For Writers) and self-published author Will Green (Default Setting) for being on the panel with me. You can’t beat advice from someone who has ‘been there and done that’. Luckily there was only one mic between us so I couldn’t interrupt them too much.

Now it’s time to get some caffeine into my system and start the follow-up…

 

London Book Fair 2016 How to prepare for self-publishing Help For Writers panel Fiona Marsh Will Green Nikki Halliwell Catherine Dunn
Will imparts some words of wisdom on the ‘How to prepare for self-publishing’ panel. L to R: Fiona Marsh, Catherine Dunn, Will Green, Nikki Halliwell

 

(*Dipping into the thesaurus in search of a less clichéd word to replace ‘amazing’, I was confronted with the suggestions ‘shocking’ and ‘prodigious’. That, my dear reader, is why you can’t write well by following a set of rules.)

Categories
Events

Looking forward to the London Book Fair

London Book Fair Help For Writers graphic ebook distribution self-publishing

 

This year I’ll be at the London Book Fair for the first time, and I’m excited about it!

I’ll have my Help For Writers hat on, but I’ll also be looking out for opportunities to get involved with new proofreading and copy-editing projects. If you’re a writer, please do stop by stand 1F50C and have a chat – I’m always happy to talk about proofreading and copy-editing! I promise not to come over all salespersonlike. It’s just good to talk to fellow writing geeks from time to time.

If you’re feeling really brave, you can ask about my ‘words I would ban from erotica if I had my way’ list. Settle down for a long ride … no pun intended.

I’m also on a panel. That’s right! I’ll be talking about ‘How to prepare for self-publishing’. The panel will take place on Wednesday 13 April at 12:45 in the Author HQ. The session will be chaired by Fiona Marsh (Midas PR, ex-HarperCollins) and I’ll be joined by self-published author Will Green (Default Setting) and Marketing Executive Nikki Halliwell. I’m really looking forward to it! Come along if you’re there, and feel free to fire questions at us afterwards.