CHAPTER 3: GETTING YOURSELF READY FOR MARKET – TRAINING
Task: make a note in your business plan of what your training needs are, based on your potential client group, and who the key providers are.
Learning goal: to make you fit for purpose.
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3.1 Why should you train?
Training is first and foremost for you. The appropriate training will ensure you have the confidence and skills to do the job – that you understand the method and structure of an editing or proofreading project. If you are completely new to the editorial production world, attempting to go freelance without the relevant skill set is not advisable. You may find yourself in at the deep end with no idea how to swim. Training is about ensuring you are fit for purpose.
Being fit for purpose is essential because in the editorial freelancing world you are only as good as your last job. A new client will not give you repeat work if you fail to demonstrate your competence. Getting repeat work is, for many, key to building a sustainable business.
Secondly, training is a sign to potential clients that you have taken the time to learn the skills of your trade. Editing and proofreading are not just about finding spelling mistakes. Having a good command of language and grammar are only the most basic of requirements. Depending on who you are planning to work for you might also be required to use a particular markup language, understand publishing layout conventions, follow complex style guides, format references correctly, manage convoluted briefs, and understand when and when not to intervene. Additionally, you will probably need to be comfortable using a range of software.
In case you missed it, let me repeat – editing and proofreading are not just about finding spelling and grammar mistakes. The skills you will need to impress a broad range of clients will extend well beyond this. Training is how you begin to prepare yourself for a much wider understanding of the editorial process.
Training alone won’t automatically bring clients to your door – for that you need to promote yourself to an appropriate sector of the market and build your reputation. However, having some sort of relevant certification is an initial indication (though certainly not the only one) to the client that they won’t have to hand-hold you and that you know how to mark up written material to a professional standard. And it will give you the confidence to practise your trade in the knowledge that you are fit for purpose.
3.2 What’s on offer?
Everything, is the short answer. The options are numerous: distance learning and on-site; online and book-based; and DIY and professionally assessed. Some cost hundreds of pounds while other options cost less than the price of a family cinema outing. Googling for proofreading training courses throws up lots of information but little guidance on how to make a choice. Here are some ideas to get you thinking on the right track. The Resources section at the end of the guide lists a selection of UK training providers.
3.3 Is there a national or regional professional society you can contact?
This is probably the best place to start. Get in touch with your national editing/proofreading society and see what they recommend. Their membership base comprises people who were once in your position, so they will have some great advice to share, and at no cost. See the Resources section at the end of the guide for a list of national editorial societies.
3.4 What service(s) will you provide?
There are different levels of editorial intervention. Proofreading is not the same as editing (though the line between the two tends to blur when working for clients outside the publishing industry). Use your business-planning period to research the different functions of editorial production so that you understand the levels of intervention and what will be expected. This information will determine what course(s) you decide to take. Your national editing/proofreading association will provide guidance.
Different subjects/genres will require different skills. Structurally editing a science-fiction novel will involve a different knowledge base to that held by the editor working on an economics textbook. The challenges faced when proofreading a legal handbook are different to those when proofreading a recipe book or a student thesis.
3.5 What stage are you at in the process?
Are you definitely looking to become a professional proofreader/editor or are you at the earlier stage of considering it as one of several options? If the latter, you might opt for a cheaper, preliminary short course to see if the work suits you before you invest a larger amount of money in a more time-consuming distance-learning course.
~ An introductory course should give you the basics – teaching the standard markup symbols you need to be able to use if you work for, say, publishers and project management agencies; explaining the editorial language you’ll come across; and providing you with an understanding of the various editorial functions (for example, proofreading, copy-editing and structural or developmental editing) and the differences between them.
~ A more comprehensive course, say the distance-learning option, should do all of the above and much more besides: it may also include regular professional assessment, access to a personal tutor, discounts on society membership, access to student networking forums, and preparation for different types of project and a range of briefs.
~ If you’ve recently completed some training you might want to consider a mentoring programme. Here an experienced colleague provides one-to-one training and work experience, perhaps on ‘live’ jobs but more usually on work that has already been completed. Contact your national editing and proofreading society for more details on mentoring opportunities in your own region.
3.6 What are your potential clients’ practical requirements?
Different client types have different practical requirements. The student sending you a PhD thesis will probably require you to edit or proofread directly into a program such as Word. The same may apply to a novelist or academic author with whom you are working independently. Publishers may require their proofreaders to deal with typeset page proofs, either paper or PDF versions. Or they may expect their editors to work within programs such as LaTeX.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the digital revolution renders paper dead. Fifty per cent of my publisher proofreading work still requires paper markup (though I’m supplied with PDFs for reference), a red pen and use of the BSI editing/proofreading symbols. Make sure you are clear on what your clients want and expect.
This isn’t the place to delve into digital workflows and file formats; rather, the point is to encourage you to think about the clients you will be targeting and the expectations they will have regarding your abilities. Use your business plan as a way of recording your findings as to what kinds of clients you hope to acquire work from, and what practical knowledge you need to have learned in order to provide a service for them.
Think broadly – I advise choosing a training course that will give you the skills to work for a range of client types. This could necessitate a larger investment at the outset but will cover you further down the line. For example, publishers are a potential source of repeat work, so understanding their training requirements is a wise first move.
3.7 Assessed or not?
Assuming you’ve decided that an editorial freelancing career is the job for you, and you need a training course that is going to give you the confidence and readiness to do the job to a professional standard, find out whether your training provider offers an assessment element. I think it is crucial not only to learn how to ‘do’ proofreading and editing, but also to find out where your weaknesses are.
One of the most valuable things you can learn from an assessed course is not just what you’re doing right, but what you’re doing wrong. Problems that can arise for the novice who’s had no one to critique their work include: over-zealous markup, under-zealous markup, failure to follow a brief even if this means leaving alone what you consider to be grammatical bugbears, untidy markup, and managing very different style guides according to client preference. Feedback from an experienced professional trainer is invaluable in this respect.
Remember that old proverb, ‘What the fool does in the end, the wise man does in the beginning’? It’s best to iron out the creases while you are training, rather than make your clients unhappy further down the line. Recall the first tip given in this chapter – you are only as good as your last job, so alienating potential suppliers of repeat work is to be avoided at all costs.
3.8 Finding training providers
In the UK, we have the Society for Editors and Proofreaders and The Publishing Training Centre, both of which provide excellent training for editors and proofreaders – training that is recognized by the publishing industry as a whole. In 2012 I surveyed my own publisher client base and all but one identified these two providers as their top two preferences. One publisher went as far as saying that they would only consider new entrants with training from either of these organizations. However, there are other good options, too, that may better suit your needs depending on what stage you are at in the process and what client type you’ll be targeting. If you live outside the UK, take a look at the list of international editing and proofreading societies in the Resources section. Locating your nearest association and seeking their guidance is a sensible first step. Fellow freelancers are also a great source of information.
Think carefully about what you are being offered. If the training provider makes ‘guarantees’, such as the ability to secure work or earn ‘fantastic’ rates upon completion of their course, make sure you understand what’s on offer. Gaining experience is always a good thing, as long as you are clear that acquiring one job (that may not be for the target client group that you’re going to think about in Chapter 4) does not equate to an immediate and long-lasting income stream. As for rates, these vary drastically (see Chapter 6). Base your choice of training provider, first and foremost, on the quality of the course – the knowledge you will acquire and the skills you will learn – not on marketing straplines.
3.9 What else do you need to learn?
In addition to learning the conventions, language and markup symbols, you may also need to know how to use ancillary tools such as Track Changes in Word, commenting and/or stamps for PDF markup, or onscreen templates and style sheets.
3.10 What if I can’t afford it?
I appreciate the fact that, for some, money will be an issue. But ask yourself the following: If you were setting up a business as a hairdresser, would you do so without finding the money to learn how to cut hair? If you were setting up a business as a tree surgeon, would you do so if you couldn’t afford a chainsaw? If you’re still not convinced, think about this issue as if you were the client. Would you trust someone to treat your pet if they had no veterinary training? Do you expect your dentist to have the relevant qualifications when they ask you to open wide? New entrants to the field of editorial freelancing who have no publishing or editorial experience will be operating in a competitive market alongside colleagues who have years of experience, the relevant training and lots of contacts. Training can be expensive and this is exactly why doing your business planning at the outset is essential – it will give you the space to identify what your training needs are, the budget required, and the time to save up if money is tight.
Marcus has years of journalistic experience as a sub-editor and writer for national newspapers and magazines. He’s also had a non-fiction book published. When he began the process of writing a second book, this time a crime novel, he realized he needed to learn new skills. Says Marcus, ‘I subsequently took crime fiction writing classes to learn about things like POV, building tension, characterization, scene setting, dialogue mechanics, and so on. The courses I took gave me a knowledge base that is incredibly useful to me when it comes to editing the work of other authors writing crime fiction in particular and genre fiction in general.’
Marcus also studied developmental editing with the Seattle-based Author–Editor Clinic. ‘I also did a course called The Business of Freelance Developmental Editing with them. It covered the nitty-gritty of putting together agreements, invoicing, etc. Everything I learned on that course also helps me conduct my business as a freelance copy-editor.’
3.11 What if I don’t have the time?
Finding time to make yourself fit for purpose is just part of owning and running a business. It’s not about learning for the sake of it, but about ensuring you have the knowledge and skills you need to build your company. Remember, time invested in learning is time invested in the future success of your business.
When Louise embarked on her freelance journey in 2005, she asked herself the following questions: What training is recognized by colleagues and potential clients in my region? What skills are required in my proposed market? What kind of course will I do?
Her answers led her to The Publishing Training Centre’s Proofreading by Distance Learning course. She wanted an intensive, assessment-based course run by a body known to the academic publishing industry – training that would cover her chosen industry’s expectations and conventions regarding the editorial process.
All training courses are not equal, not just because the knowledge base offered by the trainer varies, but also because freelancers’ personalities vary. Some of us need more guidance and hand-holding in the training stages; others who are business savvy and have bags of confidence take a different path. The key is to consider your clients’ requirements first and then do the self-reflection.
Nick asked himself the same questions as Louise. The answers led him to choose book-based proofreading training based around Trevor Horwood’s Freelance Proofreading and Copy-editing: A Guide, which includes some practice exercises. He also wanted to learn in his own time but was more focused on being able to meet the needs of non-publisher clients like students and businesses. Here the process would be more personal and driven by an individual’s needs on a project-by-project basis, and Nick’s choice of training reflected this. He came into freelancing with a strong sales and marketing background, in-house experience as a proofreader and a high level of business acumen. If, despite targeting the same fields as Nick, you are less confident and are an inexperienced marketeer, you may feel the need for more in-depth training.
KEY POINTS
~ Training is about ensuring you are fit for purpose to build a sustainable bank of clients, some of whom will be able to offer you regular work.
~ Research your market and find out what clients want and expect.
~ Every training provider on the market will tell you that their course is the best, and they wouldn’t be doing a good job of marketing themselves if they claimed otherwise. Asking the end users, however, is the key to ensuring you make the decision that best suits your business strategy.
~ A quick phone call or a visit to potential clients’ websites should enable you to establish the training needs for the market you are focusing on. If you can’t find the information there, talk to fellow editorial freelancers.
~ Don’t invest in the cheapest training course; invest in the right training course – the one that’s appropriate to your target market(s).
~ Consider investing in the course that will enable you to work for the widest possible range of client types.
~ Planning ahead will enable you to save up for the relevant training ahead of time.