Professionalism
Gaining full membership of the SfEP is taking longer than I had anticipated because I’ve been so busy with work. I could become an Ordinary member tomorrow if I used the references option. The big “but” is that it’s looking like I’ll have enough work hours to qualify for Advanced status within another year and I’m loathe to annoy my clients with repeated requests for references. So I’m sitting on the fence and doing nothing for a while.

Business cards
I do indeed possess a very nice set of business cards courtesy of MOO. They’re very me. I never use them though on account of my being a moody loner who never attends networking events. This will change though (the not attending networking events part) as there is a new SfEP group that meets very near to my house.

Blog furiously
What is blogging furiously? Personally, I reckon I’ll be doing well if I can keep continually blogging on a weekly basis. Ramping up the frequency right now before it’s become habitual is asking for trouble.

Tweet
I’m on twitter. I don’t know what I’m doing most of the time. Personally, I’ve found twitter most valuable for following what’s new in the industry.

Well that’s my report card for the year. Are there any suggestions on implementing the parts I “could do better”?

Problems cited by the interviewees were:

• It is extremely difficult to get into
• Career progression is hard
• Snobbery about getting (or not) degrees from the right universities
• You need to have connections
• Publishing staff are overworked and underpaid
• Editorial meetings are dominated by women with little input from men

I have to say that this is not my experience at all, and that’s not just because I’m a Brit commenting on an American article (although in fact this is a fairly accurate representation of the experience of a lot of London-based fiction publishing applicants). I have heard it said that anyone who really wants to work in the publishing industry will do so eventually and I agree, because if I can do it then anyone can. Unless of course, I am actually God’s gift to the publishing industry.

It is not extremely difficult to get into all areas of publishing It is extremely difficult to get into mainstream fiction publishing. I used to interview potential editors at my old firm. I never once saw a candidate that said to me, “I am a human sponge. Editing science/technical books is my idea of heaven.” The usual response when asked why they had applied for the vacancy was that they thought getting a trainee technical editor position would be a good way to break into the world of computer programming.

It gets worse. IT is famously meritocratic. Think of the biggest names in the tech industry and they are mostly college drop-outs (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg just for starters). No one cares whether you graduated with a first or a third or even if you despised college so much you quit mid-way through. Are you smart and can you do the job are far more important questions. In my experience, IT publishing works in exactly the same way, because it hires from the same talent pool.

Career progression is hard if you work for a large firm with thousands of employees and you don’t play to your strengths This is not necessarily the case with small, but expanding, firms where there may be many opportunities for rapid career progression.

Do you need connections? It helps for sure, but very few of us grew up in families where Aunt Mabel was an editor at Simon and Schuster. Besides, that’s what the Society for Young Publishers is for.

Not all publishers are overworked and underpaid I know of a freelance editor that earns far in excess of £30,000 a year from just one of her clients. My husband (an in-house editor) works 9-5 with 23 days annual leave (not including bank holidays, closure of the building days off and time-off for community work). The situation may be bleak if you are an editorial assistant in London or New York, but that is not the case across the whole industry. Besides, there are other jobs out there if your primary concern is earning lots of money, accountancy for one. I have a sneaking suspicion that the reason accountancy pays so well is because it is such an inanely dull career. You pays (or rather “takes” in this case) your money and you takes your choice.

There are plenty of men in publishing They’re just a little thin on the ground in fiction publishing.

Really?

Taking these claims in reverse order, a very quick glance through my iBooks, Kindle and Logos apps would show that there is still plenty of life in book covers as a visual aide-memoire to the contents of my virtual library.

(Cue gratuitous shots of some of my ebooks.)

What about all that blurb? All the text describing the book on the back cover? That information, referred to as the metadata in the article in The Atlantic, will be displayed on the Amazon/iBooks store/any other distribution channel page for the ebook by any half-decent publisher. In fact in an age when we rarely physically handle books before purchasing (and no, Amazon’s see inside feature hardly compares), this metadata has become vital to the readers’ purchasing decision.

As to ebooks, well books have been around a lot longer than the codex and they will surely survive if the whole world does indeed give up on paper. Quick history lesson. Books were originally written on scrolls usually made of papyrus or parchment (animal skins). Scrolls were light, could be rolled up and carried easily. They were a whole lot more portable than a block of stone. The Romans were credited with the development of the codex, in which sheets of paper or vellum (calf skin) were bound together and covered. Thanks to the rise of Christianity (which made good use of this even more convenient book-form) codices quickly became the normal format for textual information. Just as codices replaced scrolls, there seems little point in being fussy about the medium of a book when what really matters is the content itself.

Will Amazon kill off publishers, will all books be self-published one day? Maybe, but probably not. Publishers have immense value to the reader in being gatekeepers. As readers we can reasonably sure that a book that has been produced from a publishing house is written in comprehensible English and has some standards of quality.

As to apps being any kind of replacement for books. Writing a quality app is expensive. You need animators, artists and programmers. Bolting an app to a book can easily turn out to be a fantastic way of sucking all the potential profit out of a good idea. Don’t get me wrong, I love apps as much as the next person. I very excitedly downloaded the new Hello, Cupcake! app last week. The Hello, Cupcake! franchise is hugely successful with a proven fan-base who subscribe to the monthly newsletter and buy the New York Times bestselling cookbooks. Making an app for Hello, Cupcake! is a no-brainer. That’s not necessarily going to be the case for debut authors or even experienced authors whose titles sell less well.

Did you see that bit at the end where it mentions it’s an Arduino project too? Seriously, I’m in geek heaven here.

Her story is six sentences long and, to be honest, would benefit from her parents’ expertise. The characters are “they”, a pirate, dolphins and “her”. Still, she showed good use of speech marks, an exclamation mark and full stops. Perhaps it has already been edited…

For the privilege of seeing my darling daughter’s first authorial effort I can pay £15.99 plus p&p (3-for-2 offer available before the publication date). I offered to knock out a book on Lulu and even include some original work by her brother, but was quickly rebuffed. Still, she’s rather proud of her certificate that is now blu-tacked up next to her “I read four whole books over the summer holidays” certificates from the library. Which just about sums it up.

The deadline for completion is 31 October 2012 (31 January 2013 if you submit online). I understand that most people like to put this sort of thing off for months and months until the deadline starts to loom. Not me, no, I am that insufferable person who believes you should never put off until tomorrow what can be done today (I don’t combine it with leaping out of bed joyfully at 6am as well, so I’m only partially insufferable).

What does a freelancer need to know about tax:

• Speak to HMRC No seriously, they don’t actually bite. They have a handy website with links and forms and phone numbers and they actually seem to want to be helpful. Go to www.hmrc.gov.uk. I first became self-employed many, many years ago (while doing something completely different and really quite boring that I won’t go into) and the tax office people sent me a wallet chock-a-block full of information about everything you need to know about running your own small business, everything from bookkeeping software to HMRC-run classes for the newly self-employed that are just fantastic for networking with other local businesses.
• Does it matter if you’re already employed in a job? Sometimes I’ve come across people who are just starting out and believe that they don’t need to tell the tax office that they’re only earning a little on the side. Goodness knows where people get this idea from. Do you think perhaps it applies to me too, after all I’m only earning a little on the side as I’m only working part-time and I’m not earning as much as I used to in my previous publishing job? No, of course it doesn’t. It’s breaking the law and you could get into serious trouble with hefty fines to pay. Speak to the tax office.
• Tell the tax office of your newly self-employed status immediately You have some grace in this, I think it’s three months. But once you begin working, if you don’t tell HMRC within that window and then you subsequently announce you’ve been working for 9 months you may face those hefty fines I mentioned.
• Most business expenses can be offset against your tax bill Keep good records and receipts for all your business expenses as many can be offset against tax. Business-related postage, Internet, membership costs count. Your accountant will be happy (only too happy) to advise you on what is allowable, fortunately the fee incurred discussing all this with him is also a valid business expense on that tax return.

I’ve been in need of a decent desk for a long time. Until a couple of months ago I was working at the dinner table and clearing everything away for each meal. This desk is ideal: the desk area slides out to accommodate four piles of A4 side-by-side (vital for proofing on hard copy). My laptop, which sits on a shelf behind me, fits just fine of course, and my beloved iPad stands in the letter rack above my Filofax. Perfection!

I can’t begin to tell you how cross I am about this. At no point has any directory ever approached me or asked me if I am happy with the information presented apparently on my behalf. To imply that I might provide highly unethical essay writing services is to my mind bordering on libel (defamation through written words). To make matters worse, I can only remove or amend my entry by emailing them (thereby providing them with contact details I don’t wish them to have) and opting out (of something I never agreed to in the first place).

To reiterate what should be apparent from a cursory glance through my website, I primarily edit science and computing books on behalf of major publishing houses. I have a reputation to maintain that has been gained from years of professional experience in the industry. I have no wish to see my good name tarnished by association with essay mills.

As a freelancer I advertise my editorial services to all and any that may require them but any student wishing to contract my services needs to be aware that I will expect clients to follow the Institute of Professional Editors Limited (IPEd) guidelines, including the full agreement of the appropriate tutors.

Proofreading is marketed as “an easy career for those who love to read and can spot typos, where the earning potential can be more than £20 an hour.” Is that really the case? Yes and no.

Sad to say, the vast majority of people who sign up for the sort of proofreading courses advertised in the back of Sunday supplements are rarely being told just how much hard work and persistence goes into making a successful career in proofreading. These people, with absolutely no industry experience, are not being told that they are competing against people with no qualifications at all in publishing, but with the benefit of years of working in-house and a full contacts book. And experience nearly always trumps qualifications.

Assuming that you’re still interested in learning how to become a proofreader, here are my brutally honest suggestions:

• Do an industry recognised proofreading course In the UK at least, you should choose one of the courses run by either the Publishing Training Centre or the Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP). If you have already paid for and begun another proofreading course I do not recommend you stop it, but if you’re starting from scratch those are the two with the most bang for your buck (and you’ll get the most points towards upgrading your membership of the SfEP – I’ll get to that in a minute).
• Realise that your chances of being hired to proof a book that you’ll find on a book shop shelf are extremely slight If you don’t have contacts and industry experience, you will not get a gig proofing Penguin books. In fact, I struggle to get work with publishers where I don’t know anyone there personally. I’ve responded to advertisements for freelance proofreaders/copy-editors, passed tests, been put on databases and finally got my first project nearly three years later – and that is not unusual. In-house editors will always prefer to hire someone that is known to them. To keep the wolf from the door you may need to focus your attention more on selling your services to local, small businesses and university students.
• Find an industry contact These days social media is your friend. If you’re trying to break into proofreading you need to find someone who knows someone who can help you. Get yourself on LinkedIn and connect with everyone you know. Now, LinkedIn is not Facebook so you won’t be swapping baby pictures and crass jokes. I have 43 connections (an extremely modest number) yet due to the Kevin Bacon-esque three degrees of separation I am connected to at least 643,600 professionals – goodness, even the Right Honourable David Cameron is in my network. Who’s in yours? Once you’ve got a network, use LinkedIn’s search functionality to find out where you have connections that might be able to help you. LinkedIn has got loads of information about getting the most from the site in the Learning Center so be sure you make the most of it.
• Join the SfEP Within the UK publishing industry the SfEP is hugely respected. If you’re an Ordinary/Advanced member it really carries weight with the editors you’re trying to convince to take a risk in hiring you.
• Pick a speciality You’re competing against thousands of other hopeful (and successful) proofreaders. Think about your strengths and make sure you highlight them. Can you read music? Have a background in law? Publishers love my physics degree as it means I’m a safe pair of hands for an equation-heavy text.
• Cultivate a dogged persistence A good dose of self-belief will take you a long way in this business. Hurdles are there to be jumped, not wept over. Knock-backs mean nothing and are not personal.

There is of course one final, and vital, requirement. The aspirant proofreader needs to be good at the job itself. You need to be highly observant, have excellent grammar and spelling, and have neat handwriting (copy-editing is normally accomplished on a computer, but proofreading is still largely – though not exclusively – done on paper).

Good luck!

The proponents of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) would have you think so, with suggested career paths (including editor) for each personality type. I know of a publishing house that briefly considered including an MBTI test as part of its interview process. All the editors were assessed, with the aim of working out if one personality type was more common than any others within the current workforce. The results were all over the map and MBTI testing was rejected as inconclusive and largely irrelevant.

To my mind there are two problems with MBTI as it was marketed/presented in this instance: one is incorrectly understanding the nature of editing and the second over-simplifies personality.

“You like to read, you should be an editor,” says the well-meaning friend who has absolutely no insight into the world of publishing. The truth is to succeed in this industry you need far, far more than a love of reading, and what skills you do need are highly dependent on what type of editing you are undertaking. A proofreader needs focus, attention to detail, and impeccable grammar and spelling. A commissioning or development editor needs to take a look at the bigger picture and act decisively. A fiction editor can engage his emotions more; a technical editor needs to think rationally.

As to personality, well it stands to reason that if I’ve just spent a morning weighing up in my head whether or not to commission an author who’s just sent in his proposal for a programming book and then you ask me how I make decisions I’m going to come out as an INTJ (yes, that’s me, the ruthless, driven, emotion-less cold fish). Ask me again later that evening with a sick 4-year-old sat on my lap and I’m not going to claim that I approach all interactions with my children as if they were mathematical problems. People just aren’t that simple, as if we all come out of 16 cookie cutters. If I’m being brutally honest, the MBTI (especially when the profiles start straying into obscure subjects like what clothes a particular type wears) reminds me of another well-known personality typing system with a dozen or so types called astrology.

Rant over, what sort of person does make a good editor then?

Amy Einsohn, in a Council of Science Editors article, suggested the following skills and aptitudes:

• Strong command of English – grammar, spelling etc.
• Focused eagle-eyes, the ability to read at varying speeds and a good visual memory.
• A good ear for the flow of language and sentence structure.
• Logic.
• And what she describes as “editorial clairvoyance” – the ability to know what the author is trying to say, how the reader is likely to (mis)understand what the author has written, and reconcile the two.

She then listed aspects of an editor’s temperament (are you listening MBTI consultants?):

• Pragmatic perfectionism.
• A willingness to stay out of the limelight and rarely receive praise for one’s hard work.
• Concentration and focus.
• Courage – the self-confidence to alter (in some cases, heavily) an author’s text.
• Thick skin.

There’s one other trait that I would add to the list – entrepreneurial flair. This applies equally to the proofreader (who by definition is always a freelancer in modern publishing and therefore has to be an entrepreneur) as to the in-house acquisitions/commissioning editor who is looking at market gaps and potential avenues for increased revenue. You need to be prepared to take calculated risks, and then have the drive and ambition to follow through.

I didn’t answer my initial question. Honestly, I don’t know any better than anyone else. I suspect it has a lot to do with nature and nurture, with personality and acquired skills. What I do know from my own personal experience is that if it all fits together the editor has the most fantastic sense of vocation.