RESOURCES
Editorial freelancing societies and directories (selected)
Most of the editorial societies listed have searchable membership directories.
Australia: Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd); regional chapter links include searchable membership directories
Canada: Editors’ Association of Canada (EAC)
Germany: Verband der Freien Lektorinnen und Lektoren (VFLL)
Ireland: Association of Freelance Editors, Proofreaders and Indexers (AFEPI)
Japan: Society of Writers, Editors and Translators (SWET)
Netherlands: Society of English Native-Speaking Editors (SENSE)
South Africa: Professional Editors’ Group
Spain: Asociación Española de Redactores de Textos Médicos (AERTeM)
Transnational: BELS: Board of Editors in the Life Sciences
Transnational: Council of Science Editors (CSE)
Transnational: Eastern Mediterranean Association of Medical Editors (EMAME)
Transnational: European Association of Science Editors (EASE)
Transnational: Find a Proofreader (specialist directory)
Transnational: International Society of Managing and Technical Editors (ISMTE)
Transnational: Mediterranean Editors & Translators (MET)
Transnational: PeoplePerHour
Transnational: Professional Copywriters Association (PCA)
UK: Publishing Training Centre (specialist training organization with freelance directory)
UK: Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP)
USA: American Copy Editors Society (ACES)
USA: American Society for Indexing
USA: Bay Area Editors' Forum (BAEF)
USA: Copyediting-L: online discussion group and directory
USA: Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA)
USA: Northwest Independent Editors Guild
USA: San Diego Professional Editors Network (SD/PEN)
UK editing/proofreading training providers (selected)
The information provided does not serve as an endorsement (unless otherwise stated) of the services listed. I feel that it’s only fair to recommend those providers whom I’ve used. It is essential you select any training provider, listed here or otherwise, based on your specific business needs. If you live outside the UK, consult your national professional editorial association to find out what training options they recommend. And remember the advice I offered earlier in the guide:
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.
RECOMMENDED: Publishing Training Centre (note, in particular, their Successful Editorial Freelancing distance learning course, which is an excellent complement to this guide.)
RECOMMENDED: Society for Editors and Proofreaders
Harris, N. (1991) Basic Editing: A Practical Course (book) (Note: only available on the second-hand book market)
Harris, N. (1991) Basic Editing: The Exercises (book) (Note: only available on the second-hand book market)
Margaret Aherne Editorial Training
The No-Nonsense Proofreading Course (ebook)
Tools (selected)
About.me: a sharp little platform that enables you to create a one-page website in minutes (free)
Adobe InDesign: desktop publishing software much favoured by publishers, designers, typesetters and businesses preparing ready-for-print material (prices vary; subscription model available)
BrokenLinkCheck: online broken link checker (free)
Carbonite: cloud-based automatic online backup tool (prices start at $59 per year)
Chicago Manual of Style Online
Dropbox: file-transfer and backup tool (2GB free)
Editorial job-tracking/accounts template (free)
EditTools: Rich Adin’s suite of Word macros created to improve editors’ speed and accuracy ($69; free trial download available)
FileZilla: File Transfer Protocol (FTP) software – quick to download and easy to use (free)
Hewlett-Packard Learning Center (free)
Invoice templates: basic invoice templates are available from Microsoft and can be adapted to suit your needs (free)
Late Payment Interest Calculator (free)
Macros for Writers and Editors: Paul Beverley’s extensive downloadable book featuring over 400 macros (free)
Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Publisher (prices vary)
MS Office Training Tutorials (free)
OfficeSuite Pro: MobiSystems’ app allows users to view, edit, print and share Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on Android devices while on the move (£9.19)
Oxford Dictionaries Pro: including online access to OUP's dictionaries and thesauri, New Hart’s Rules and Pocket Fowler’s Modern English Usage (free to UK library members)
Parallels Desktop: allows users to run Windows and Mac applications side by side
PDF proofreading stamps: Louise Harnby’s BS-5261 PDF markup symbols (free)
PDF-XChange Viewer: PDF editing software from Tracker Software; alternative to Acrobat (free; pro version $37.50)
PerfectIt ($59; free trial available)
Pilot Frixion erasable rollerball pens, available in assorted colours (£1.92)
ReferenceChecker (£49.95; free 10-day trial)
Resources for Word users: Liz Broomfield’s online, easy-to-understand instructions on how to get the best out of Word (free)
ShortcutWorld.com: keyboard shortcuts for software including InDesign, Excel and Word (free)
StatCounter: website traffic analysis program (free)
TextStat: text analysis and concordance software, but I use it to generate word-frequency lists and eliminate spelling inconsistencies (free)
The Editorium: Jack Lyon’s macros and add-ins (some resources are free)
VMware Fusion: conversion software for running Windows programs on a Mac
Weebly: web-hosting service with drag-and-drop interface and customizable templates (free and pro versions available)
WeTransfer: large file-transfer tool with no sign-up necessary (2GB free)
WordPress: blogging tool and web-hosting service with plug-in architecture and customizable templates (free)
WordTips: Allen Wyatt’s tricks, tips and ideas on how to make the most of Microsoft Word (free)
Blogs and knowledge centres (selected)
An American Editor: editing and business advice from Rich Adin
Armed with Pens: advice for editors and writers
Beyond Paper Editing: tips for writers and editors alike
Commas, Characters and Crime Scenes: advice from the front line of fiction editing
Copyediting.com: editing and language blog
Copyeditors’ Knowledge Base: editorial resource centre curated by Katharine O’Moore-Klopf
DCBLOG: David Crystal – writer, editor, lecturer, broadcaster
Editing Mechanics: Hazel Harris’s blog ‘about how people work together to create great text’
Editorial Inspirations: editing and proofreading blog from April Michelle Davis
EditorMom: editing, medical editing and business aspects of freelancing
Freelance Feast: Meg E. Cox shares ideas about working independently in healthy ways
Freelance Folder: freelance tools, resources, tips and advice
Freelance Switch: sound practical advice on freelancing
Grammar Girl: Mignon Fogarty’s Quick and Dirty Tips
Kateproof blog: covers all things proofreading and editing
LibroEditing blog: editorial freelancing business and grammar tips from Liz Broomfield
Lingua Franca: language and writing blog from The Chronicle of Higher Education
PublishEd Adelaide: a blog for editors, publishers, authors and anyone who works with words
Publishing Training Centre blog: freelancing, publishing knowledge base and grammar tips
Sentence First: Stan Carey’s English-language blog
Sharmanedit: Anna Sharman’s journal publishing blog with a focus on biomedical science
Subversive Copy Editor: advice from Chicago
The Editor’s POV: forum for freelance editors of fiction
The Proofreader’s Parlour: Louise Harnby’s resources, tips and knowledge sharing related to the business of editorial freelancing
Without Exception: Beth Cox blogs about inclusion and editing
Writers and Editors: Pat McNees on writing, editing and publishing
Books and online reference materials (selected)
Aherne, M., (2011) Proofreading Practice: A Book of Exercises with Model Answers and Commentary (Improving Books) (available only from Aherne’s website)
Baxter, P., Theses and Dissertations: Checking the Language (SfEP Guides)
Burchfield, R. W. (2004) Fowler’s Modern English Usage, re-revised 3rd ed. (Cambridge University Press)
Butcher, J., Drake, C. and Leach, M. (2006) Butcher’s Copy-editing: The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Copy-editors and Proofreaders (Cambridge University Press)
Carr, S., Editing into Plain Language: Working for Non-publishers (SfEP Guides)
Harris, N. (1991) Basic Editing: A Practical Course (Publishing Training Centre) (Note: only available on the second-hand book market)
Harris, N. (1991) Basic Editing: The Exercises (Publishing Training Centre) (Note: only available on the second-hand book market)
Horwood, T. (1995) Freelance Proofreading and Copy-editing: A Guide (ActionPrint Press)
MacMillan Dictionary (online)
Olsen, I., Editing Fiction: A Short Introduction (SfEP Guides)
O’Moore-Klopf, K., Getting Started as a Freelance Copyeditor (available on O’Moore-Klopf’s website)
Oxford Dictionaries Pro (online)
Oxford University Press (2005) New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors: The Essential A–Z Guide to the Written Word (Oxford University Press)
Rice, V., Starting Out: Setting Up a Small Business (SfEP Guides)
Ritter, R. M., (2005) New Hart’s Rules: The Handbook of Style for Writers and Editors (Oxford University Press)
The Chicago Manual of Style Online
Trask, R. L. (1997) The Penguin Guide to Punctuation (Penguin)
Trask, R. L. (2000) The Penguin Dictionary of English Grammar (Penguin)
Waddingham, A., Editor and Client: Building a Professional Relationship (SfEP Guides)
Waite, M., ed. (2005) New Oxford Spelling Dictionary: The Writers’ and Editors’ Guide to Spelling and Word Division (Oxford University Press)
Ward, L. J. and Woods, G. (2010) English Grammar for Dummies (John Wiley)
Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2013 (2012) (A & C Black Publishers)
Language editing agencies (selected)
Biomedical Editing International
Cambridge Language Consultants
The Charlesworth Group Author Services
Miscellaneous
CurrencyFair: a peer-to-peer marketplace that allows you to exchange and send funds in a wide variety of currencies
FreeIndex: UK free ads directory
HMRC’s Specific deductions: use of home: examples is a super link for UK editorial freelancers who fill in their own self-assessment forms and want some guidance on what deductions they can include
HMRC: Starting a business: business and tax advice and tutorials for new business owners
HotUKDeals: online community of users sharing deals and discount information
Successful Editorial Freelancing: distance learning course designed to provide students with the practical nuts and bolts of what is required to set up as freelancer in the publishing industry (The Publishing Training Centre)
Starting your own business: advice and video tutorials from GOV.UK
YouTube: one example of a Full Proof video testimonial