… 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

1. You don’t have to stick to one genre One of the most common reasons authors decide to self-publish is because they’ve been told (or they assume) the concept for the book crosses over multiple genres[AS1] . If you’re known for a certain niche (due to your business or personal history), you don’t have to worry about fitting your niche into pre-determined genres or book types set out by a publisher. With self-publishing, you can bend the rules of what’s expected from certain

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

Spellcheck, Grammarly, and other editing programs can be incredibly useful. Professional copyeditors and proofreaders use at least one proofreading program when working with written content (often two or more). Certainly, it’s best to run your written content through one or more of these programs before you press ‘publish’, as they will catch errors that would otherwise have been missed. However, editors and proofreaders don’t rely on JUST those programs. We allow for the won

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

I have had a natural talent for proofreading for as long as I can remember. My first paid job was when I was a teenager and my mum asked me to proofread the end-of-year school reports. The original plan It was around this time that I decided I would go to the University of St Andrews to ‘read English’ (whatever that meant) and after completing my degree I'd either proceed to stage school or ‘get a job in publishing’. Teenage Siân dreams of working in publishing I did, indeed