You probably don’t want to know about a bunch of childhood swimming certificates and how much I enjoyed Rookie Lifeguard training. But since editing is an unregulated profession, it can help to see that I didn’t start offering editorial services yesterday on a whim. Here goes!
TL;DR: I’m a professional member of the CIEP (Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading) and have completed copyediting training with them. I love keeping my editorial skills up to date and learning new ones.
Ages ago (but after those swimming certificates)
BSc Psychology from the University of York, UK. 2:1, plus a lot of martial arts training.
Teaching EAL (English as an additional language) in Sri Lanka. Sumana Junior School, Little Smile Children’s Village, Prabhavi Resources Center, Hardy Advanced Technological Institute.
Science PGCE (Postgraduate certificate in education) from the University of Cumbria. I then taught Physics, Biology, and a bit of Chemistry in Birmingham and Cumbria.
Less ages ago
Editorial team member at World History Encyclopedia (WHE). This role includes in-house training and ongoing professional development. Oct 21 – present.
Copyediting 3: Progress, a highly regarded course from the CIEP. Pass. Jun 2022.
CIEP Basic Editorial Test. No one knows why it’s called “basic” because it’s quite scary. 85%. Jun 2023.
Professional member of the CIEP since Sep 2023. (Intermediate member of the CIEP from Oct 2022. Entry-level member of the CIEP from Oct 2021.)
Co-coordinator & co-host for the CIEP Cloud Club East monthly networking meetings with Dr Sara Kitaoji. Feb 2023 – present.
Louise Harnby courses
Switching to Fiction. I mainly proofread biochemistry papers before this! Nov 2021.
How to Punctuate Dialogue in a Novel. During 2021.
How to Write the Perfect Fiction Editorial Report. May 2023.
Style Sheets in Fiction. Jul 2023.
Psst! Scroll down on Louise’s courses page to try her free courses for writers and editors.
FoxPrint Editorial courses
Tiffany Yates Martin gets her own section too. I did these courses via publishing expert Jane Friedman, but they are available on Tiffany’s courses page too. Highly recommended for writers and early-career developmental editors.
Analyze Story Like an Editor. Jul 2022.
Mastering Suspense & Tension. Sep 2022.
Five Steps to an Airtight Plot. Oct 2022.
Powerful Prologues. Nov 2022.
Five Biggest Novel Mistakes and How to Fix Them. Apr 2023.
Master POV. Apr 2023.
The Power of Dialogue in Fiction. May 2023.
Deep Third POV. Jul 2023.
Multiple Storylines. Oct 2023
Flashbacks. (Ongoing!)
Other courses & webinars
Cultural Worldbuilding in Your Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel with Andy Hodges at The Narrative Craft. May 2023.
Beyond Hero’s Journey: Non-Western Story Structures at the Write Hive Conference. Jun 2023.
Antisemitism in Fiction and Fantasy with Molly Rookwood. Jun 2023.
How to create and deliver a speech with Mark Schaefer. To build my confidence stringing sentences together in front of other adults. Oct 2023.
Line editing (is a real thing) with Kath Kirk from Gecko Edit. Dec 2023.
Conferences
CIEP 2022, CIEP 2023 including co-hosting a networking session. Successfully managed Zoom breakout rooms during a power cut. Win.
Write Hive 2022
Judging
Ink & Insights Judge. This included on-the-job training and I made the most of the opportunity to learn from more experienced judges who generously shared their feedback on the same entries with me. Nov 2021 – Mar 2023.
Ink of Ages Fiction Prize, co-organizer, judge, and editor. Jun 2023 – Present.
Presentations
I hosted a session on First Lines in Fiction in our editors group during 2023.
Publications
The Most Amazing Marketing Book Ever – Chapter 17. Catching Cultural Waves on TikTok. Mark Schaefer and Friends. May 2023.
Taylor, Joanne. “Qilin (Chinese Unicorn).” World History Encyclopedia. Last modified May 22, 2024. https://www.worldhistory.org/Qilin/.
Non-annoying marketing
Ask me for recommendations if you’re interested – there are too many to get started on right now 😅
Joanne Taylor • Ajatar Editing 