Fact sheets - paid-for resources
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Fact sheets
Fact sheets are available to buy individually or in curated bundles. We also have an ‘Everything’ bundle, which offers a substantial saving on buying each fact sheet individually. Each bundle comprises a selection of PDFs gathered together in a ZIP file.
CIEP members can access these resources for free once logged in to the members’ area.
Fact sheet bundles
| Resource | Members | Non-members |
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| Everything All 31 fact sheets! |
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| Editing essentials This bundle includes:
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| Running an editorial business This bundle includes:
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| Language This bundle includes:
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| Tools and technology This bundle includes:
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Fact sheets – individual copies
- 12 ways to make your online communication more accessible
- Academic editing in the humanities and social sciences
- Anatomy of a book
- Being aware of gendered language
- Building a business resilience plan
- Common style differences between British and US English
- Copyright
- Dealing with scope creep
- Easily confused words
- Editing and proofreading music
- Editing and proofreading numbers
- Editing dialogue
- Editorial judgement
- Emotional wellbeing for editors
- Fact-checking for editors
- Getting started with macros
- Getting your first clients
- Good practice for author queries
- Increase your editing efficiency in Word
- Keyboard shortcuts for editorial work
- Legal editing
- Making the most of the editorial community
- Medical editing
- Reference books and resources for editors
- References
- Slaying zombie language 'rules'
- Software for editing and proofreading
- Sustaining your freelance editorial business
- What will happen to my editorial business if I die
- Working with multiple-choice questions
- Working with packagers
12 ways to make your online communication more accessible
Good communication removes barriers and helps our audience access our messages. CIEP communications director Louise Harnby outlines 12 things every editor and proofreader can do to improve the accessibility of their online content.
Academic editing in the humanities and social sciences
Academic clients include academic publishers, packaging companies, academic institutions and independent authors. This fact sheet looks at the general considerations when working in this area, and how to get started.
Anatomy of a book
Books usually adhere to a standard basic structure. This fact sheet looks at the terminology for some of the main features of books and the order in which they appear.
Being aware of gendered language
Language can sometimes perpetuate unconscious biases, stereotypes and unfair assumptions. It’s our professional responsibility to advise the authors we work with if their use of gendered language is problematic and to help them to find inclusive alternatives. This fact sheet summarises some of the main points to look out for and how to sensitively raise issues with your author.
Building a business resilience and disaster plan
Unlike a business plan, which tends to focus on financial outcomes and growing a client base, a business resilience plan sets out the potential problems you and your business may face and how you will cope with them. It will help you to organise your daily working practices, but can also be given to a trusted colleague or family member who may need to cope in your absence. We should all have one!
Common style differences between British and US English
Changing a text from one version of English to another or checking that the desired style has been used isn't a straightforward task: there are often subtle differences in spelling, meaning and usage that distinguish the versions of English around the world. This fact sheet is a starter list for some common differences between British and US style.
Copyright
Even experienced editors can be confused and intimidated by the idea of copyright. This fact sheet clearly outlines the basics, to help editors advise publishers and authors on whether they need to seek permission to reuse copyright works and how to go about it.
Dealing with scope creep
Scope creep happens when a project’s workload expands beyond what was originally agreed between the client and the editor or proofreader. This fact sheet will help you learn strategies for identifying and dealing with scope creep to avoid negative consequences for you, your client or the project.
Easily confused words
A list of some easily confused words in British English, including some tips for remembering the differences and choosing which word to use. Plus keyboard slips: a paired list of words that look very similar but mean different things.
Editing and proofreading music
This fact sheet looks at how to edit or proofread music, whether it’s a short excerpt of a few bars or a whole piece of sheet music. It includes a checklist of aspects to consider and a marked-up example with explanation.
Editing and proofreading numbers
Numbers used in text are subject to style choices in the same way as words. When editing or proofreading, it’s important to make sure that consistent styles are used that are suited to the material you’re working on. This fact sheet will help you to decide the style treatment for all sorts of numbers, including dates and times, ages, percentages, cross-references and general numbers.
Editing dialogue
When editing dialogue in fiction, what should you look out for and how far should you go in making or suggesting improvements? This fact sheet answers these questions by looking at three overall aspects of editing dialogue: rules, punctuation and style.
Editorial judgement
This fact sheet looks at what editorial judgement is, the factors that affect it, how far we should go in different situations, the role of querying, and how to improve our editorial judgement over time, with links to plenty of helpful resources.
Emotional wellbeing for editors
This fact sheet is intended to help you think about how doing your job as an editor may impact your emotional wellbeing – and how to cope with that.
Fact-checking for editors
A client may ask an editorial professional to fact-check their text as a separate job from copyediting and proofreading. A less detailed fact-check may also be part of a copy edit. This fact sheet outlines what a fact-check might involve, and provides practical tips for how to go about it. It also covers common concerns about rates and liability.
Getting started with macros
Efficient editors use macros in Word to speed up repetitive tasks or carry out several actions at once. This fact sheet will introduce you to macros, step you through creating and running a macro and get you thinking about how they can make your editorial practice more efficient.
Getting your first clients
This fact sheet gives some useful tips for getting those all-important first clients when you are starting an editorial business.
Good practice for author queries
This fact sheet summarises some good practice tips on writing queries to authors, gleaned from the CIEP's experienced trainers and mentors.
Increase your editing efficiency in Word
Experienced editors use a range of tools and techniques to achieve greater efficiency, making their work more financially viable. Here we look at some timesaving tools for working in Word, which is the program professional editors use most often to edit text.
Keyboard shortcuts for editorial work
In many of the applications you’ll use in your editorial work, you can use keyboard shortcuts for actions to avoid needing to navigate toolbars and dropdown menus. This fact sheet lists some of the most common shortcuts for PC and Mac.
Legal editing
A specialism in legal editing can lead to stimulating work but requires some familiarity with legal terminology and style. This fact sheet sets out what to expect when editing and proofreading content from legal publishers, law firms, expert witnesses and related sources.
Note: This fact sheet was written primarily for editors and proofreaders in the UK, but some advice will also apply in other countries.
Making the most of the editorial community
As an editor, one of the most valuable resources you have access to is the editorial community. Editors are renowned for their willingness to share professional and emotional support, best practice tips, efficiency hacks, favourite macros, and all sorts of other advice and practical suggestions. This fact sheet suggests how you can get more involved.
Medical editing
This fact sheet looks at how to get into medical editing, from the qualifications needed for this specialism, to the type of work you might undertake and where you can find it. It also considers what experience and technical skills you will need, some ethical issues to be aware of, and where to find more information on this rewarding area of editorial work.
Reference books and resources for editors
There are very many books and resources on the English language, but you can't (and shouldn't) buy them all when you're starting out. This sheet highlights some of the essentials and priorities for supporting your editorial practice.
References
References can be found in academic texts, other non-fiction works and, occasionally, in fiction. This fact sheet is a simplified version of some of the content found in the CIEP’s References course, and looks at referencing systems and styles, what to watch for when editing references, and technology to save you time.
Slaying zombie language 'rules'
Zombie rules are ‘laws’ of language that are no longer, or never were, valid. Yet they refuse to die, and so continue to haunt people who work with words. We take a look at some common zombies and why they may be best laid to rest.
Software for editing and proofreading
The majority of editing and proofreading is carried out on screen. This fact sheet looks at the most common software used by editors and proofreaders, and provides resources for those who want to extend their skills further.
Sustaining your freelance editorial business
There are as many different ways of building sustainability into an editorial business as there are editors, but here are some general tips to keep the momentum going through the first few years, and take your business to the next level.
What will happen to my editorial business if I die?
It is good professional practice to plan how your business matters will be dealt with after your death. This fact sheet looks at what to consider when drawing up a succession plan.
Working with multiple-choice questions
Writing an effective multiple-choice question (MCQ) is difficult and requires specialist skills. Subject knowledge or teaching experience alone is often not enough to create a question that adequately tests students’ understanding. This fact sheet outlines some of the common problems that writers and editors of MCQs might encounter.
Working with packagers
In the context of book and journal publishing, a packager is an intermediary company that produces a finished document for the end publisher. They often work with freelance copyeditors and proofreaders, and it can be a way to gain steady work and experience. However, this way of working has its frustrations and issues too. In this fact sheet we look at the pros and cons.