JOURNAL
Posted on 18th April 2019
It depends on two things: what you want me to do and what I
think your document needs. Very often work lands in my inbox and the author
hasn’t a clue what needs done. I usually get a request for a proofread because
that’s the term people are most familiar with.
Sometimes a proofread is exactly what needs done – a check
that everything’s in order before the print button is pressed, ...
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Posted on 15th February 2018
I had a client recently who was the most engaged client I’ve
ever had. He had me answer a whole myriad of questions before he took me on to
edit his book, he rang me weekly to see where I was with it, what I was doing
to it and what my thoughts were about it. It was frustrating on the one hand
but on the other it was quite refreshing; I’d never had a client who was so
attached to their work.
One ...
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Posted on 17th January 2018
You may think it’s strange but I couldn’t work on your text
all day every day for a sustained period of time– I think I’d go insane,
particularly if it’s an intense and laborious piece of work. Variety is the
spice of life for me. I’m not saying it’s the same for every editor, in fact
I’m sure it’s not, but for me it is.
I tend to break my working da...
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Posted on 19th October 2015
I thought I’d write a journal post on
EPANI (Editors’ and Proofreaders’ Alliance of Northern Ireland). For those of you who don’t know who we are -- and I’m guessing that’s most of you! -- we’re a group of freelance editorial professionals. Although the group has been going since 2011, it’s only recently that it has taken on a presence on the web. This has allowe...
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Posted on 19th October 2015
York was where it was all happening this year, the University of York to be precise. A good crowd of proofreaders, editors and indexers descended from 5—7 September to hold the SfEP annual conference and the first joint conference with the Society of Indexers. The weekend promised some good sessions as well as a chance to catch up with colleagues who I only get to email and facebook throughout the year...
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Posted on 23rd July 2015
I thought I’d give you an insight into the glamorous (not!) life of a freelance proofreader – or my day-to-day life anyway. My job title might be
proofreader, but in reality I’m a jack of all trades … let’s not continue with that figure of speech! Not only do I proofread, but I also have to hold together the business that is ProofreaderNI. In the words of Louise Harnby: ‘Busin...
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Posted on 21st May 2015
Snowed under would be the term I use here – albeit a bit strange to be talking about snow in May! (Rain would be more appropriate L.) It’s
studentsville at ProofreaderNI HQ, the time of year when theses and dissertations have to be handed in -- and there’s always a mad panic to get work proofread before a uni deadline.
I quite enjoy student work; it’s diverse, with topics ranging fr...
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