01 April 2024

In my last post, I wrote about managing a large project in collaboration with other teams. I’d like to speak a little more about that, but from a different perspective - smaller teams. In one of my full-time roles, I encountered something for the first time: the concept of a trial edit (sample edit, as we more commonly call it in the freelance editing occupation). An established journal publisher wanted to partner with my employer for proofreading and copyediting services. The journal opted...

25 March 2024

In my previous post, I wrote about the significant role of author-editor communication in the publishing process, and how the nature of that relationship influences the editorial process. In this post, I’ll write about how that came into play very early on in my career. And along with communicating with the author, I’ll also discuss how communication with other stakeholders becomes ever so important. I got the opportunity to work on my first full-length book project back in 2015-2016....

18 March 2024

I have spoken quite a bit about myself and what I do and why I do it. Enough to make me self-conscious. So, I will be talking about my profession in general in this post. Editors are language professionals, which means they understand how language works. How important is it, then, in my business to convey this understanding to my clients, that is, authors? Sue Littleford once wrote about how authors (clients) should deal with queries raised by editors. I strongly relate to Sue's advice, and the...

11 March 2024

I find it fascinating how language plays around in my mind throughout the day. During one of my full-time jobs, I looked at mechanical issues in language, along with the big-picture issues with the specific piece I was working on. There was very little intervention for language, given that pharmaceutical advertising is heavily regulated. Thankfully, the writers I worked with were very good at managing that aspect. My current job requires a little more editorial intervention from me, and...

04 March 2024

Some time ago, Ayesha Chari wrote about being an editor and a parent simultaneously. I completely agree with Ayesha’s points, and I can very much relate to a lot of what was mentioned in that article. In today’s post-COVID world, managing the household while working from home and being a new parent is exhausting, demanding and frustrating. But it can also be rewarding and give you a sense of achievement. I have a full-time job. Typically I work 7-8 hours a day. The complexity of the job has...

26 February 2024

During my full-time stints as an editor at various editing companies, there were strict processes to follow, and rightly so. As profit-making businesses, those companies were offering something specific to clients. And such a targeted service (to carefully targeted clients) inevitably had restrictions. Editorial restrictions. For example, a proofreading assignment should only be proofread. If we raise other, non-proofreading queries to clients, they could then expect more from a service that is...

19 February 2024

I have already shared my editing journey. Now it's time to go a little further back to another dimension of my editorial service: my subject matter expertise in editing, that is, economics. I studied economics in school. But let's not flatter ourselves; school stuff never really counts, does it? I was introduced properly to economics in Singapore during my Diploma in Business Administration. At the time, I didn't think much of it. I liked it more than the other subjects, but that was all. But...

14 February 2024

Having shared my story so far—at least my story since I became an editor—I feel compelled to take a break from writing. That’s the hallmark of an occasional, reluctant writer. But I want to break out of that. Breaking out of stagnant patterns is one of my personal and professional development goals for this year. So, naturally, since I had a lot (and, simultaneously, nothing) on my mind, I spent some time reflecting, introspecting. So, I have been introspecting…thinking about whatever I...

19 December 2023

After a mixed bag of a 2022, there came an out-of-the-ordinary experience for me towards the tail end of the year. We had planned an extended holiday to Bombay, India, which spanned two whole months. I hadn’t been to India in over four years. When I left it the previous time, I had told myself I would never return. I had told myself I was done with that place. Despite being originally Indian, I never really fit in there. There is a strange lack of compatibility between India and me. Of...

19 November 2023

Given how 2021 transpired, I was torn about what to do with myself in 2022. On the one hand, I was being tentative and leaning towards not changing the status quo; “perhaps I should just stop thinking and continue doing what I was doing, it all has worked out so far.” On the other hand, I was a bit more sure of myself. I knew I handled much more work in 2021 than ever before, and I knew I handled it without adversely affecting my job, my clients or my projects; “perhaps I should take a...