Meet our tutors: Antonia Maxwell
Antonia’s story
How my editorial career began
Q: How did your career begin and what led you into the world of editorial work?
A: I studied for a degree in Modern Foreign Languages (French and German) – so I guess I was already heading in a language/wordy direction, and I knew I wanted to work in publishing. After graduating, I got a job as an editorial admin assistant in the MFL department of CollinsEducational (HarperCollins). From there I was promoted to editorial assistant, and then to desk editor and later project editor, moving across different departments at HarperCollins. They also paid for some training with the (then) Book House Training Centre (now Publishing Training Centre – PTC). I then moved to Cassell as managing editor on their non-fiction list, before taking a similar role at Hodder & Stoughton. In my late twenties I decided to go freelance so that I could travel the world! Later, when I started to have babies, the freelance life really suited me, and I have continued to value the flexibility it offers in allowing me to work and pursue other interests (and develop my own writing).
Q: What early experiences or interests set you on this path?
A: I love reading – and writing. I’m fascinated by both language and storytelling. There couldn’t be a better job for me!
What I do now
Q: What does your work look like today, and what do you enjoy most about it?
A: My work today combines both the 30 years’ experience I have working as an editor, as well as my own development as a writer, and ongoing teaching/tutoring. As an editor, I work on both non-fiction and fiction, across educational and trade publishing. For non-fiction, I take on projects for the higher and professional market (eg psychology, business, law, psychology) and for the secondary schools market (eg languages, humanities, arts and literature). In the trade I work on a huge variety of subjects, including popular science, popular history, politics, self-help, psychology, health, film and literature …
In 2024, my writing career started to take shape with the publication of my debut children’s novel, Terra Electrica: The Guardians of the North. This didn’t happen overnight – I had been writing for myself for many years and developing my ‘craft’, but finally decided to see if I could take it anywhere. As a result, I now work on fiction, offering a mix of author mentoring, story development, and basic nuts-and-bolts editing and proofreading. I work for a literary consultancy and also indie authors who contact me. I specialise in children’s MG, YA, and adult speculative, fantasy and literary fiction, as well as memoir and autobiography. I also work on commercial fiction for Amazon publishing.
Q: Which CIEP courses do you tutor on, what drew you to tutoring work, and how has it helped you become a better editorial professional?
A: Editing is a solo activity on the whole, and being a CIEP tutor is such a wonderful opportunity to meet people and share the experience I’ve gathered. I love teaching – whether it be editorial skills or writing. For the CIEP, I tutor on the online core courses in proofreading and copyediting. I also deliver in-house training – bespoke courses which we develop in response to the brief an organisation gives us. This is often very collaborative and involves working out with the organisation how to bring editorial best practice into their publishing output. Being a member of the CIEP – and meeting all my students who come from such varied backgrounds – is a wonderful opportunity to be part of the publishing conversation. The publishing environment has changed massively since I started (think red pen and paper!) and continues to do so (with the growth of AI). I love feeling part of the bigger picture by connecting with other editors, whatever stage they’re at.
Supporting students as editors
Q: What do you think students most value about the support and feedback you offer them?
A: Based on the post-course feedback I get, students value the time I spend looking at the detail of their work. I look carefully at the approach they have taken and work out what is going well and where a different approach might be helpful. I give carefully structured feedback at both a granular and a general level. Sometimes there isn’t a right or wrong – but a ‘best practice’ – and I’m a firm believer that common sense is a foundational stone in all editorial work. I’m always available to chat, ask questions and bounce ideas around.
Q: What changes do you typically see in a student’s work from the start to the end of the course?
A: A big learning curve that I see is in the understanding of the value of exercising editorial judgement. Whether you are copyediting or proofreading, understanding where the task sits in the publishing process and what level of change is appropriate is a really vital lesson if you are going to be useful as an editor. Knowing the reader, and respecting author voice and publisher’s vision all feed in to the work we do – it’s not just ploughing in with a grammar book! If the first thing a student says is ‘I’m a grammar fiend!’ I know we have some work to do!
Further information
Find out more about CIEP training
Explore the full range of courses and professional development opportunities for editors and proofreaders.
Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading training courses.
Proofreading and copyediting courses
Learn more about the core CIEP courses Antonia tutors on: