In this regular feature for The Edit, former training director Jane Moody shines a light on an area of the CIEP’s Curriculum for professional development.
Keeping in touch with fellow professionals is vital for all editors and proofreaders. This month’s focus of The Edit seems to fit neatly within Domain 1: ‘Working as a professional’, which covers the professional life of an editor/proofreader. These subdomains cover various aspects of personal communication. The table gives details about the competencies, skills and attitudes that you should be able to evidence under each of the criteria. I’ve listed some suggested supporting resources below the table.
| Knowledge criteria | Editorial competencies, professional skills and attitudes |
|---|---|
| 1.1.1 Role and responsibilities of an editor/proofreader within a publishing team | • Is aware of own role within the team and able to work as part of a team |
| 1.1.4 Professional communication and negotiation | • Communicates politely and diplomatically • Responds promptly • Understands negotiating techniques and is capable of handling delicate negotiations appropriately |
| 1.1.5 Continuing professional development | • Recognises the need for continual learning throughout career • Can demonstrate frequent continuing professional development and improvement of skills and knowledge |
| 1.2.6 Marketing of services | • Is aware of the importance of networking |
| 1.2.7 Professional use of social media and internet | • Understands importance and uses of professional directories and business website for marketing of services • Understands and follows good practice in the use of social media |
Resources to support your learning and CPD
Courses and meetings
- CIEP training courses (any training course counts as CPD)
- CIEP conference
- CIEP local group meetings
- Publishing Training Centre: Online Presentation Skills for Sales, Marketing & Rights (virtual classroom course)
- Denise Cowle: Marketing Your Freelance Editorial Business (develop your marketing skills to promote your business)
- Louise Harnby: Social Media for Business Growth (use social media platforms to increase your online visibility, expand your audience, reinforce your brand and generate leads)
Books, guides and general resources
- CIEP guide Marketing Yourself: Strategies to promote your editorial business by Sarah Hulse
- CIEP fact sheet Good editorial relationships
- PTC guide Getting Ahead in Publishing by Alastair Horne and Maria Vassilopoulos
Blogs
- Fleischman, H. How to network effectively: 15 tips you can start using today. Hubspot, 9 November 2022
- Gino, F, Kouchaki, M and Casciaro, T. Learn to love networking. Harvard Business Review, May 2016
- Van Edwards, V. How to network: 18 easy networking tips you can use today. Science of People
Networking
Have you come across Business Buzz? You might not meet another editor or proofreader but you will have interesting conversations and make local links that you might not otherwise have discovered. My local group meets monthly in face-to-face drop-in sessions. Why not see if there’s a group near you?
About Jane Moody
Jane has worked with books for all her working life (which is rather more years than she cares to admit), having started life as a librarian. She started a freelance editing business while at home with her two children, which she maintained for 15 years before going back into full-time employment as head of publishing for a medical Royal College.
Now retired, she has resurrected her editorial business, but has less time for work these days as she spends much time with her four grandchildren and in her garden.
About the CIEP
The Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) is a non-profit body promoting excellence in English language editing. We set and demonstrate editorial standards, and we are a community, training hub and support network for editorial professionals – the people who work to make text accurate, clear and fit for purpose.
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Photo credits: counters by Pixabay on Pexels.
Posted by Harriet Power, CIEP information commissioning editor.
The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the CIEP.