What makes a professional copyeditor or proofreader?

‘Professionalism’ is one of those rare things: a buzzword with longevity and real value for both the professional and the client who benefits from that professionalism. But what exactly does it mean to be a professional copyeditor or proofreader?

As a project manager, I have worked with the very best to the very worst on the scale of professionalism. I have been rendered eternally grateful by editors’ quietly assured meticulousness and I have been repelled by blatant lying and gung-ho slapdashery.

But how to ensure you’re on the right end of this scale? Since I first wrote this post in 2014, the editorial world has become more professional in the sense of business- and marketing-savviness. But that's not necessarily what I mean by 'professional'. Being a professional copyeditor or proofreader, for me, is about attitude.

Following are ten simple, practical steps to help you cut through to the essence of what it means to be a professional copyeditor or proofreader.

1. Read, read, read!

The more variety the better, as long as it's from good-quality sources. Follow editors and editorial organizations on your favourite socials, and seek out blogs on a variety of aspects of the profession, from punctuation to writing a good proposal. Most days you’ll stumble on a perspective, skill or technique you hadn’t considered before. Also don't forget to absorb knowledge and developments from the industries and clients you serve.

2. Be findable

In this post I explained why, where possible, I will only hire copyeditors and proofreaders I can read about online. If I can’t find a copyeditor or proofreader online (whether in a high-quality directory, on the freelancer’s own website or on a social media platform), they immediately seem less professional.

3. Be ethical

Find out whether your organization has a code of standards, read it and adhere to it. Be aware of the debates surrounding editing student essays. Don’t blab about your clients’ work, even if you haven’t been asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. Be careful about what you say on social media. Conform to any other ethical standards relevant to your field.

4. Join up with other professionals

Joining a professional organization (Louise Harnby has a comprehensive list) indicates that you value your image as a professional. Especially when a copyeditor or proofreader has taken the time to work their way up the ranks of an organization that has membership tiers – such as the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) or the Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd) – it's a pretty good indication they're in this for the long haul and so are investing in their ongoing professional development.

In addition, don’t ask me for the statistics or the causality (are copyeditors made professional by belonging to organizations or are more professionally minded copyeditors more likely to join organizations? – probably a bit of both), but my gut instinct from over 15 years of project management is that editors who have benefitted from the culture and learning opportunities offered by professional organizations are more likely to excel and to make my job easier.

5. You'll never know it all

I don’t care how long you’ve been in the industry – your skills can always be updated and expanded, and you can always benefit from talking to other professionals, whether copyeditors, proofreaders, designers, typesetters, indexers, freelancers, in-house, whatever. Don't let too long go by without attending a workshop, course, conference or networking event. Reading blogs can form part of your CPD too. And, if your budget is restricted, think outside the box and consider co-mentoring.

6. Be rewarded

Wherever possible, charge a rate that matches your level of experience. Continually assess your range of rates, taking into account your (growing) expertise, your field and the economic climate. Charging an appropriate rate lets you invest in your ongoing development and in the tools you need to do a professional job.

7. Borrow your client's hat

Thinking from the client’s point of view might seem difficult but it’s actually quite straightforward. It has two main facets: first, structuring your communications (everything from emails to style sheets) in ways that enable the reader to quickly and intuitively access the information they need and, second, always keeping the broader production schedule (and your potential to maintain it or screw it up) in mind.

8. Ask, ask, ask...

No sensible client would prefer you to muddle through rather than request clarification on a genuinely ambiguous point. It is the client’s job to provide you with an adequate brief and to be on hand to answer queries about issues they didn’t spot in their review of the manuscript. It is not your job to be psychic (and attempting to be so can lead to big messes that benefit nobody). Professional copyeditors and proofreaders should make judgement calls, not assumptions.

9. ... but be kind to your client

Phrase your questions, and all your communications, as succinctly and as clearly as you can. Use numbered lists and bullet points; provide examples from the manuscript; and give your client X vs. Y options wherever possible. Professional copyeditors don't just hurl a problem at a client in the form of several long paragraphs of waffle; they use their expertise and in-depth understanding to pinpoint the essence of the problem and offer intelligent alternatives as solutions.

10. You are not infallible

If you make a mistake, admit it. You don’t need to indulge in self-flagellation-by-email; if your client wasn’t put off by the mistake, they will be by any overly emotional remorse. Do, however, sincerely say that you’re sorry for the mistake and offer ways to help fix it. If you can’t see a way you can help, tell the client you’re on hand if they need you. If your mistake was serious, you might still lose the client. But you’ll have done your best to salvage your reputation.

Then, once things have blown over, take a good, hard look at your working practices to make sure you never make the same mistake again. Add a new item to your job sheet or checklist, or investigate what software and technological tricks are out there to help you achieve a higher level of accuracy.

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That last point encapsulates a lot of what professionalism is about. On the one hand, it’s about overt things like how we communicate with our clients and the quality of the work we do. But, on the other, much of our professionalism goes on silently in the background: it’s a holistic, outward-looking attitude that can nevertheless be broken down into concrete actions, as I have attempted here.

Having a professional outlook benefits copyeditors and proofreaders because it makes us more likely to gain the high opinion of clients and therefore repeat work. And the benefits for the client of hiring an editor with a professional outlook are obvious: reliability, accuracy and a thorough understanding of the industry.

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Do you agree with my list of what makes a professional copyeditor or proofreader? What would you add or take away?

Image credit: © Marekuliasz | Dreamstime.com - Attitude Is Everything Photo