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CIEP 2022 Conference

I travelled to Kents Hill Park in Milton Keynes for the 2022 annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP).

As a hybrid event (also available to online delegates on Zoom), not only could delegates meet in person, but those with access issues as well as our international membership (over 20%) could ‘conference’ too. This brought extra meaning to our theme this year Editing in a diverse world which focused on the diversity aspect of editorial work.

The CIEP conference is held in September every year. The conference provides a range of interesting, relevant and stimulating workshops and seminars, as well as plenty of opportunities for networking with other delegates.

My sixth conference was certainly this. It provided great company with fellow editorial colleagues, learning in the form of continuous professional development (CPD), and laughing … so much laughing!

Pre-conference tour

I arrived on the Saturday afternoon to join the pre-conference tour to The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC) next to Bletchley Park. According to its website, it is home to the world’s largest collection of working historic computers. A mind-blowing selection from the very first to the very modern … and everything in between. To see Colossus in action was truly impressive.

Katherine May – author

The conference began with an impressive first speaker. Katherine May wrote The Electricity of Every Living thing about her experience of finding out she was autistic at the age of 39. She explained how she decides whether to tell people she meets … It depends. It can cause unnecessary angst and stress, which was sad to hear. An inspiring talk about someone adapting their life to cope with being neurodiverse.

My conference session choices

I chose which sessions to attend based on my career needs at this present time.

The sessions I chose

Live Proofreading
Creating accessible PDFs: Discoveries, pain points and practical steps
Websites that win clients: How to create or update your online home
Using referencing tools
What to expect when working with educational materials.

Live Proofreading

It was interesting to be in the Live Proofreading session to proofread real manuscripts and discuss what should be corrected or queried. We discussed using ‘pre-flight’ tools, or tools we use to clean up text in Microsoft Word (the industry standard) before the real scrutiny of the text begins. Tools such as PerfectIt and macros. One shortcut I’d not come across before – Shift F3 – is a quick fix for capitalising and uncapping letters.

Creating accessible PDFs: Discoveries, pain points and practical steps

We learnt of features to let all have equal access to PDFs. Factors to bear in mind were structure and navigation of PDFs, including alt text on images, recording using voice recognition, colour contrast on images and websites, reading order and correct linking of website hyperlinks. The majority of my work is in PDF format. It helps if styles are formatted correctly before the document is converted to a PDF.

Websites that win clients: How to create or update your online home

My website (proofnow.co.uk) has been searchable since I first built it when my business was born. I rebranded to update my branding image. Clients find me most often through the contact from on my website, so I know it works and is seen. I’ve written a couple of blog posts about 6 Website features you should check.

However, I felt it was time to modernise it as I direct publishers towards Proofnow, my shop window, to show my availability for proofreading projects.

The session reminded me of the impact my website must make and how I can influence that impact. For example, declutter by reducing word count, use quality images, design call to action (CTA) buttons with branding colours instead of using hyperlinks, reduce ‘Click here’ links (label what the links actually do, and … make best use of space. Tweaking my website will be my first business priority after conference.

Using referencing tools

Having carried out proofreading for students in the past, being reminded about referencing tools and software to increase speed in finding errors and inconsistencies was very useful. I was reminded of Word formatting tools and software for reference completeness and correctness.

What to expect when working with educational materials

As a former teacher, I was aware of all the elements that make up the material for educational packages for schools and colleges. From student books to pedagogy CPD, not forgetting the cultural considerations of … PARSNIPS. Two of my specialisms are Education and ELT so my second business priority is to investigate opportunities for freelance proofreading in these areas.

Enjoying the gala dinner and guest speaker

The food at the conference was delicious and in plenty. The gala dinner 3-course meal was exceptional and was rounded off by a speech by Rev Richard Coles of BBC fame. He was entertaining, as you’d expect, and he giggled with glee after telling each anecdote. He preferred not to talk about his first novel Murder Before Evensong with editors in the room.

Watching recorded sessions

Spare time after conference will be spent catching up with recordings of the sessions running concurrently.

That’s the huge benefit of a hybrid conference: all sessions are available after conference has ended! My thanks to all the conference team, the speakers, and especially to Ben Dare and his assistants for handling the visual and audio technology, including relaying the comments and questions from the online delegates to the in-person room. Watching them in action was awesome.

Learning from my main takeaways

My background for context: my proofreading clients are educational publishers, English Language Teaching (ELT) publishers, children’s book publishers, and self-publishing authors of children’s books. I also proofread non-fiction for adults, such as business books.

This conference has added to my learning and awareness that we should be sensitive in our use of language in areas of diversity.

I chose sessions that will benefit me and my clients at this point in my freelance business. Working with me will give my clients publishing confidence. Being a CIEP member means that I am a safe pair of hands.

Attending the annual conference reminds me that I’m proud to be part of a collaborative community who learns and laughs together. Conversations with edibuddies, both established and new (especially recent career-changers), are always valuable.

Next year

Next year we meet in Glasgow – my birth home. Tall Tartan hopes to see you there. And, yes, someone did greet me this year with, “It’s Tall Tartan!” So my branding is working 🙂

For my previous conference blog posts, follow these links: 2021 (online), no 2020 blog post, 2019 (Birmingham), and my first blog post about the second conference I attended in 2018 in Lancaster: Why SfEP conference is cool

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CIEP2021 Conference

The annual online CIEP conference of 2021, organised by the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading, was a great success.

As in 2020 the conference was online again rather than at a venue in real life. This is an advantage for our international members and for those with access issues.

I have been a member of the CIEP for five years. This is the fifth conference I have attended.

There were some delicious highlights which I describe in this blog post.

Headline speakers

The two headline speakers I was most excited about were:

Ian McMillan of The Verb fame on Radio 3. He is an English poet, journalist, playwright, and broadcaster. Known for his strong and distinctive Yorkshire accent, he has a friendly interview style. He spoke about ‘My unedited and unproofread life’, things he has spotted while touring village halls, and, what he thinks about signs on doors …
Benjamin Dreyer, author of Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style. He is copy chief at Random House in New York. A great conversation led by Denise Cowle highlighted his experience and wisdom. And that he can laugh at himself and with others.

Session highlights

I’m a freelance non-fiction proofreader, so conference session highlights for me were:

Crystal Shelley’s ‘Authenticity reading: Helping writers craft accurate and respectful representation’; also ‘Conscious and inclusive editing: understanding conscious language and the editorial role’

I was aware of authenticity reading, and conscious and inclusive editing from what other editors have shared online. But when Crystal gave concrete examples in her webinars of what is not acceptable in writing because of issues of sensitivity, I could understand how both fiction and non-fiction writers should show more conscious and inclusive language.

John Espirian’s ‘How to be a LinkedIn leader’

I have heard John speak about how to use LinkedIn effectively every year for the past 5 years at various conferences. I knew him as the internet director at the CIEP. Because I prefer LinkedIn as a social media channel, I lap up any advice he gives about how to take full advantage of it. I always learn something new. His book Content DNA is on my bookshelf along with other reference and business books.

Jill French’s ‘Using Word styles’

I have recently completed the CIEP course ‘Word for Practical Editing’. Jill presents the screencasts on the course. Her session on Word styles was a good reminder of tips I had retained, and skills that are still new and that I need to practice.

Suzanne Collier’s ‘Don’t get left behind: Career development for freelancers’

Suzanne shared excellent advice and resources about how to stay current in the world of publishers and publishing.

Lightning talks

The Lightning talks were great, as always. These are short presentations (5 minutes), on any subject, by any member, which are a pleasure to watch. Sometimes humorous, and always something new is learnt.

Networking

I attended the Speed networking on Sunday evening. This comprised of 15 minutes in Zoom breakout rooms, changing every 15 minutes, for two hours! My experience of attending the weekly Cloud Club West meant that I could keep my introduction to the required 10 seconds. What a buzz!

This year, the attraction of themed networking in breakout rooms was very tempting. I wondered if I would meet edibuddies who had interests in the same field – educational publishing and marketing your business being two examples.

Quiz

The quiz is always fun and very competitive. The Zoom breakout rooms were invaluable for the quiz teams on Monday evening. I’m not hugely knowledgeable on anything, rather more a ‘jill of all trades’. The most amusing part for me was when members started changing their screen names from their official names to those reflecting quiz questions, or sessions held that day.

Wonder

For the café/bar experience there was the Wonder room. Wonder is an app which replicates real life, where you can meet other delegates and move around freely.

Conversations are activated by bumping your avatar into someone. Video and audio are then opened.

Sessions in Wonder were particularly effective after a webinar had taken place. Then they could be discussed with the speaker. Or a member would tweet on Twitter that they were in Wonder, if anyone was free to join them?

Thank you

The chair of CIEP, Hugh Jackson, opened and closed conference with touching and heartfelt words. He spoke about the effects of Covid, our community and collaboration, and what comes next …

A grateful thank you to the #CIEP2021 conference team for another successful event of learning, networking and fun.

To read my blog posts about previous conferences (when the institute was the Society for Editors and Proofreaders) see these links:

SfEP2019 and Why SfEP Conference is Cool in which I write about SfEP2018.

The future

Hopefully I’ll see my fellow edibuddies at the next conference in Milton Keynes for #CIEP2022.

If real life isn’t possible, I’ll be just as pleased to see you all online.

Why One-day Conferences Appeal

When I heard the North East Editors (@NEEditors) were organising a one-day SfEP mini conference in Newcastle, I was very tempted.

I mentioned to Mr Deakins that, as he had spent 4 years there studying Art and had a great affection for the place, he might want to accompany me and ‘do culture’ (art galleries, museums) while I was learning.

Thankfully, he was REALLY keen so we hatched a plan that was win-win: we would have a mini-break by train from Essex in May, and I would get some Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and upgrade points.

#SfEPNEConf here I come!

On the morning of the conference, we left the Holiday Inn really early and sauntered to the cathedral to admire the architecture. At the appointed hour, I headed to the venue – the rather stunning Royal Station Hotel – adjacent to the railway station. A perfect location.

Victoria Suite was sumptuous with huge windows through which the bright sun shone all day and impressive, glistening candelabras. Very glamorous and extremely spacious for the 68 delegates.

An interesting variety of sessions had been planned. At this point I must credit Eleanor Abraham (@EABediting) who wrote excellent summaries in her live tweeting throughout all the sessions. I have relied on some of her tweets for accuracy.

Sessions

Denise Cowle: Marketing Your Editing Business
Matt Deacon (from Wearset): The Changing World of Academic Publishing (and the ripple effects on editors)
Melissa Middleton: Ministry of (Business) Training MO(B)T
Hester Higton: Efficient Editing – How to Make the Most of Your Fee
Panel Discussion chaired by Luke Finley: Navigating a Course in Publishing. With Sarah Wray, Debbie Taylor, Alex Niven

Session 1 – Denise Cowle

Denise is the SfEP marketing director and she belongs to the Content Marketing Academy. Some of her points included:

It’s important to make the shift from ‘freelance’ to ‘business owner’.
Have a website. Everybody can have a social media profile, but any of the platforms could disappear tomorrow. Your website is yours to do with what you want.
Be brave and network with editor colleagues, including those from your specialism.
Like, comment and share content from colleagues.
Be helpful and demonstrate your knowledge.
Add value. Give away brilliant free stuff on your website (be like Louise Harnby!).
Record outcomes – “What gets measured gets improved”.

Time for coffee and CAKE! Marieke Krijnen even brought Stroopwaffels from Amsterdam.

Session 2 – Wearset

Next, Matt Deacon, Project Manager at Wearset, conference sponsors, talked about the pressures that publishers, in this case academic experts, are against. Pressures from profit-driven markets, the internet, expectations on speed of delivery, globalisation and increased competition. All affecting editors.

He asked if artificial intelligence and natural language processing apps are going to take our jobs? No. Context, style and subtlety of language need the human element. Tools (such as PerfectIt) help with mundane tasks and reduce the time taken to edit, leaving us to focus on language and sense.

Matt gave guidance on how to future-proof editing: spot change, embrace and innovate, and spearhead development. How can we as editors encourage standardisation of templates amongst publishers? He suggested that the SfEP has a role to play in encouraging cleaner formats for editing by sharing discussions with publishing clients. Food for thought.

Session 3 – Melissa Middleton

After a quick change-over, Melissa Middleton’s session was hilarious. She runs Project North East Enterprise promoting Enterprise and CPD. Apparently, there is one local to you – part of the National Enterprise Network. She had us eating out of her hands with her Geordie humour!

In groups, we listed all the ways we do CPD daily – many more than we first thought. Her final workshop activity had us writing our top skill on a post-it to be placed on a poster of collective skills; then writing a skill we want to improve on a separate post-it for a second poster.

By the end of the session we had created a Skill Swap Shop. Very simple, clever and effective.

As a post-script, a couple of the SfEP (now CIEP) directors reminded us that website offer a similar support: members ask a question, and those with relevant knowledge answer. Many of us learn from the way different professionals answer the question with techniques they have used. Melissa finished her session by sharing an Interactive CPD Toolkit – a very useful resource.

Session 4 – Hester Higton

After lunch, Hester’s session was fascinating, if intensive. Her aim was to help us judge what can and can’t be done when clients are cutting costs and driving down schedules.

Given examples of non-fiction texts to discuss and prepare for copy-edit, the task was to analyse the brief and project; calculate how much time could be allocated to each task, bearing in mind the rate of pay for the job and the time scale.

Hester’s tips

Can the essential work be done within budget? And by the deadline? Often, when copy-editing, there was little time to put aside for dealing with the actual text.
Know what your key priorities are and stick to them.
How often, when an editor says the text is ‘clean’, do you believe them …?
Use clean-up automaton routines, keep track of the project, and analyse when finished for timings and cost.

Session 5 – Panel discussion

Luke Finley chaired the last session which was a Panel Discussion: Navigating a Course in Publishing. On the panel were Sarah Wray, Debbie Taylor and Alex Niven. The panel discussed such questions as:

How do editors deal with …?
How have you tackled a ‘muscular’ (favourite word of the conference) or heavy editing job?
When do you get time to work on your own novel when you are an editor/publisher and enjoy writing?

One-day conferences

This is my second one-day conference. The first one I attended was the Educational Publishers Development Day in November 2018 at De Vere West One (DVWO) in London. Both conferences were hugely popular with impressive speakers and plenty of opportunities to network.

In summary, one-day conferences appeal to me for a variety of reasons:

Lasting only a day means they are not expensive in terms of time or money.
Their location may be nearer to you than the main SfEP annual conference.
They present more regular networking opportunities than waiting for the annual conference.
They are eligible for upgrade points.

The FINAL (unofficial) session moved venues and headed to a bar for well-earned drinks. Unfortunately, I had to miss it as my husband and I reconvened at the station for our train home.

Bravo and cheers to the NE Editors: Kia Thomas, Nik Prowse, Caroline Orr, Jenny Warren, et al, for a valuable day!

P.S. BitmoAnnie thought she really should wear tartan to represent #TallTartanTalks. She feels a new branding concept brewing.