If you are itching to start a new career in editing, is it worth taking the time and spending the money on training? If the answer is ‘yes’, which of the many courses out there are you going to choose?
My experience
I had in my mind for years that I wanted to become an editor, but having been at home looking after my two children, I really wanted to get straight on with the job, without spending too much money on something for me, as opposed to spending it on music lessons or school trips abroad for the children.
So, I opted for one of the hundreds of cheaper courses out there that taught me something of proofreading (using the correct industry symbols, giving me a lot of practice exercises to do and going over some grammar points). All of this was really useful, but it didn’t give me the confidence I needed to apply to publishers for work.
Many years later, having considered a number of other careers, I came back to editing, which is what I really wanted to do. This time I was determined to do it properly by investing both time and money into ‘proper’ training.
I went to my ‘go to’ place for all of my editing advice: The Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) at www.ciep.uk. I noticed that their members tended to train either through CIEP courses or with The Publishing Training Centre (PTC) www.publishingtrainingcentre.co.uk. I chose the latter, after a lot of deliberation, as they both have a fantastic reputation and I felt that either of the courses would give me both the confidence and skills that I needed to finally begin my dream job. The reason I chose the PTC was that you are given slightly longer to complete the course. I was very thankful that I did when I was suddenly plunged into full-time home schooling of my daughter during the Covid lockdown.
Essential Proofreading
I was very happy with my decision during my training. I realised very quickly that I had not been prepared for work as an editor previously. The Essential Proofreading course was really comprehensive covering amongst other things:
The sorts of mistakes that you would typically come across and by the way, once you are trained to spot them, you see them everywhere!
How to annotate the spotted errors on Microsoft Word, PDFs, and paper.
What needs to be corrected, as not everything that you might think of as not perfect needs to be changed. It is acceptable to leave some things alone. You aren’t there to alter the style of a writer.
The course consisted of units, with a practice piece for each new thing that you learn, so that you can assess for yourself whether you have spotted everything that needs correcting and ensure that you have annotated the corrections properly.
There is an assessment at the end of each unit, which is marked by your tutor. You are entitled to a phone call with the tutor to discuss any corrections. My tutor was so efficient in her marking of my work, that I understood all of her comments very easily.
Signing up to the Essential Proofreading course meant that I was entitled to do the Essential Grammar course, with 50% off, plus I could choose another two courses for free. I chose Adobe Tools for Editors and An Introduction to Publishing. These both proved extremely useful to go into greater depth about how to use the tools to annotate PDFs and as I haven’t worked in-house, I learnt a lot about the various strands of the publishing industry.
After training
Since completing my course, I have felt confident working in what has been a new industry for me. When I have undertaken work for organisations and publishing houses, I have been able to easily understand what they require of me and have confidently done the work.
As a member of the CIEP, there are levels of professionalism to work towards. They have a requirement of professional development in order to progress through the levels. The training must be undertaken at an institution that they recognise as having a high standard and the PTC course hits this target.
It is also a course that is widely recognised by the publishing industry, so it can proudly sit on your CV.
From my own experience, I would personally say that training is essential and to undertake it through a recognised organisation is a huge advantage.
My only decision to make now is where I should go for my copy-editing course?