… and why you should write a non-fiction book! Up until early adulthood, I associated non-fiction with fact and textbooks, reserved solely for STEM subjects: reading for pleasure always took the form of fiction. During these teen and early adult years, when I first imagined myself becoming a book editor, I assumed I’d edit adult or children’s fiction. I first enjoyed reading non-fiction in my final year as an undergraduate student and then during my postgraduate master’s degr

I launched my proofreading and book editing business from our local Aldi car park on 19 July 2022. By that I mean I published an Instagram post which told everyone I was officially open for business. Launch day! 19 July 2022, from my local Aldi car park. Photo credit: Siân Smith Here’s a recap of my clients and projects from July 2022 to July 2023: First-time author, Lisa Towers, who felt her original book edits could be improved. (Simply Anxious, 30,000 words). First-time au

The most common concern I hear from authors during our discovery call is the worry that an editor will change their book beyond recognition. I’ve spoken to authors who have received sample edits from other editors and been disheartened by the number of changes to their writing, causing them either not to proceed with that editor or not to publish their book at all. First, it’s really important to understand that there will be numerous amends to your manuscript. Many of these

When I finished my first two proofreading qualifications with the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) I thought I had a pretty good grounding in how to discuss a potential author’s book so that we’d both know what the project would involve. But when I started creating my template of questions and wanted to check if I’d missed anything, the only posts that came back when I searched ‘questions an editor should ask an author’ were ‘questions an author should a

How a book editor is like a personal trainer for books One of my specialist subjects in my book editing business is ‘active women and intuitive movement’ (and especially the benefits exercise has for our mental health, rather than exercising for aesthetic reasons). I identify as an active woman: I go running three times a week, plus a weekly Pilates class, and a weekly circuits class. I’m even a member of a Facebook group called ‘CIEP Run On Group’ which is a group for the Ch

Why I’ve decided to call myself a book editor (when I’m technically a copyeditor) Do you know what copyediting is? My business card says ‘Siân Smith proofreader and copyeditor’ because I wanted to distinguish between developmental editing and copyediting. What I’ve learnt since launching my editorial business last year is that most people who don’t work in publishing don’t know what copyediting is. In fact, when I think about it, I don’t think I completely knew what the term