17/08/2026
In another behind-the-scenes insight:
What does it take to become a professional editor and independent publisher? ✍️📚
I’m often asked why I insist on doing the editing work on my authors’ books myself, as well as create their book interiors and manage the wider production process. Why not build a larger company, outsource the work to other editors and designers, and focus on being the managing director?
Why not? Because this isn’t just a business model for me. It’s the work I love. And that is why I’d like to shine a little more light on what professional editors actually do, how we get there and why we matter.
My own path into editing is probably not a conventional one.
Before retraining, I worked over decades as a degree-qualified accountant with KPMG, a senior HR manager, clinical nutritionist and teacher of English to speakers of other languages. My love of language, writing, communication and learning was always there. Eventually, it moved firmly into the foreground.
And I didn’t simply decide I was ‘good at English’ and start calling myself an editor.
I formally retrained. I studied. Over the past 15 years, this includes:
📖 Two-year Advanced Diploma of Editing (Publishing)
📖 Postgraduate studies in Editing and Electronic Publishing
📖 University-level English Grammar and Style
📖 University-level Medical Science Writing and Editing
📖 More than 24 specialist professional development studies
📖 More than 400 hours of in-house professional training in AUS, US, UK & Canadian conventions, with 95%+ accuracy required to qualify for an editing role
My specialist training has covered developmental and structural editing for fiction, copyright and permissions, defamation law, ebook publishing, narrative nonfiction, fantasy fiction, print publishing, science journalism, technical writing and more.
Being a professional editor means continuing to develop your skills.
That commitment to professional standards is why I’m a member of IPEd, an APA industry partner, and a member of AMWA and IBPA.
Then there is publishing.
As an independent publisher, I’ve also developed expertise across the production process, including metadata, typesetting, covers (I do work with a fabulous cover designer JudithSDesign&Creativity), ISBNs, ebook and print production, distribution and the technical details behind getting books into readers’ hands.
It is a lot. But I do it because books matter. Language matters. Information matters. Stories matter. Quality matters.
The Erudite Pen will always be a boutique, bespoke editing and publishing business. I work closely with my authors, bringing my skills, experience and attention to detail to their individual books. I want to understand their stories, their intentions and their voices, and be personally involved in helping transform their writing dreams into a published reality.
If you love language, writing, books and ideas, editing can be an extraordinarily rewarding career. But it is a profession, and it deserves to be treated as one.
We may work behind the scenes, but our work is very much part of the story.
Considering becoming an editor? Study. Train. Keep learning. Seek professional guidance. Take your craft seriously. 📚
Your authors and their readers deserve nothing less.
