Since becoming an avid amateur photographer eight years ago, I have read dozens of books and e-books and thousands of articles on photography. As a result, I've been thinking about a possible business, not as a pro photographer (I'm not good enough nor do I have the time to devote to making a living that way), but as a proofreader and editor for photographers working on articles and e-books.
Please be assured that this is not an advertisement. I regularly post images in the PNWNP forum, and I currently teach full-time and could not start such a venture for a few years. However, I have been teaching college-level English since 1987, have a PhD in English, and I have published a number of articles in my field. Becoming an editor for photographers seems like a plausible (and rewarding) form of retirement income.
Here is my thinking:
As many professional photographers move away from publishing houses for the publication and distribution of their books and articles, they are losing the editorial support those companies have offered. Many of these photographers are excellent writers who, either on their own or with the assistance of hired editors, produce flawless writing and impressive work. However, many photographers need help with writing and need a skilled editor who is also proficient in both the technical and artistic aspects of photography.
Here are my questions:
1. How often do you publish essays, articles, books, or e-books either on your own web sites, forums like this, or through self-publishing?
2. How likely are you to search out and hire an editor to help you structure, edit, and proofread your writing?
Let me know what you think of my long range plans. I promise not to harass any of you with offers of my services (at least until I retire 5-10 years from now).
I think this is an excellent idea, especially since publishing is venturing into the virtual world. Honestly, I do see a lot of writing that would benefit from tight editing. I see instances where there are misspellings, wrong words, less than adequate structure, etc.
If I were to consider writing a book or article, I would seek out a pro to proof read and edit my work.
Here is an idea you might consider when you are ready: Contact some of the print-on-demand vendors, such as Blurb, and see if there is a way for you to partner with them as a value added service.
Believe me I need a proof reader more than anyone. I did have my series 1 E book proofread and I am looking for someone to do series 2.... please email me if interested. Thanks
Jack
Preston's suggestion to forge relationships with publishers as well as offering services directly to authors is a very good one. I know two people who do what you propose, but get the best paychecks when working at the behest of publishers. And speaking of paychecks, books are "where it's at." Magazines pay so little anymore, taking out a meaningful paycheck for an editor leaves little or nothing for the author.
Another possible venue is to work with scientists who publish. They often have the project funding and budget for professional editing prior to publishing of scientific papers. It's highly technical editing requiring a knowledge of the science but in my experience when I was doing it, charges ran around $25/page. Good money, but you earned every cent.
Thanks, Hank. In graduate school I did editing for an Econ prof and also for a Biology grad student. I would specialize in photography-related materials because, quite frankly, after teaching for so long, I only want to edit articles and books in subjects I am interested in anyway ;-).
You should have seen me last year in my Research Paper class. All of the examples I used at the beginning (when they were still considering topics) were, um, of personal interest to me. "Let's say you are writing a paper about the effectiveness of glucosamine and condroitin for preventing the progress of osteoarthritis. Your search terms might be......" or "If you were writing a paper on the cost effectiveness of solar panels for residential power, you might organize the ideas this way." Ahh, these are the benefits of teaching English.
Hey Jack,
I'm still unsure whether I can do this while I'm working, but I am on summer break until September 26th, so I'll send you an email and we can talk.
I also think it's a great idea. As I write more and more it becomes obvious that I can't find all the mistakes/problems myself and I can only rely on friends/family so often (especially if I have a tight deadline). If I could pay a little bit of money for assurance that the work was going to be up to professional standards, it would be a worthy investment.
Thanks for the input, Luke. I read a book recently published by FocalPress, and there were a few places where clarity was a serious issue. I could tell what the writer was trying to say because I know the technical language and concepts, but that's not how it was written.
Now...if only I could afford to retire and try it out ;-).
I wish you luck. Maybe I'm cynical, but for every wise photographer like Luke or Jack who realize the importance of a good editor, I think there are 20 more who don't give a hoot about good writing style. The trend towards more e-literature is not helping the quality of writing in general (witness the preponderance of mistakes in major online journals and news sites etc.). I suspect you're going to have to broaden your scope to be successful, and/or work with a third party as Preston suggested. I've edited a lot of papers over the years, and I have found that many folks take editing a bit too personally. It's easier for someone to send something off to a publisher, since then the editing is more 'behind-the-scenes' and is less personal to the writer. But I hope I am wrong, cause I'd like to see you succeed at your idea!
Thanks, Stan. A reality check is always welcome. I would do this as a way of getting a bit of retirement income, not as single source of income or my primary way of making a good living. Of course, that assumes my retirement income from teaching for 30 years would be sufficient to cover the necessities and that remains to be seen--all reports of public employee excess to the contrary.
I figure when I retire, I'll be doing a lot of different things: cutting lawns, editing and proofreading, singing on street corners. Teaching tends to be a fairly sedentary and cerebral career, so it will feel good to move Chi from my head to my legs! I can get burned out doing too much of any one thing, hence my love for photography as a hobby, which is visual and solitary compared to my verbal social day job.
That said, I know what you mean. I can hardly read the MSN website without getting disgusted that a professional news organization doesn't have a decent proofreader or desire to check before posting.
Discussion
9 repliesPlease be assured that this is not an advertisement. I regularly post images in the PNWNP forum, and I currently teach full-time and could not start such a venture for a few years. However, I have been teaching college-level English since 1987, have a PhD in English, and I have published a number of articles in my field. Becoming an editor for photographers seems like a plausible (and rewarding) form of retirement income.
Here is my thinking:
As many professional photographers move away from publishing houses for the publication and distribution of their books and articles, they are losing the editorial support those companies have offered. Many of these photographers are excellent writers who, either on their own or with the assistance of hired editors, produce flawless writing and impressive work. However, many photographers need help with writing and need a skilled editor who is also proficient in both the technical and artistic aspects of photography.
Here are my questions:
1. How often do you publish essays, articles, books, or e-books either on your own web sites, forums like this, or through self-publishing?
2. How likely are you to search out and hire an editor to help you structure, edit, and proofread your writing?
Let me know what you think of my long range plans. I promise not to harass any of you with offers of my services (at least until I retire 5-10 years from now).
I think this is an excellent idea, especially since publishing is venturing into the virtual world. Honestly, I do see a lot of writing that would benefit from tight editing. I see instances where there are misspellings, wrong words, less than adequate structure, etc.
If I were to consider writing a book or article, I would seek out a pro to proof read and edit my work.
Here is an idea you might consider when you are ready: Contact some of the print-on-demand vendors, such as Blurb, and see if there is a way for you to partner with them as a value added service.
--P
Believe me I need a proof reader more than anyone. I did have my series 1 E book proofread and I am looking for someone to do series 2.... please email me if interested. Thanks
Jack
Another possible venue is to work with scientists who publish. They often have the project funding and budget for professional editing prior to publishing of scientific papers. It's highly technical editing requiring a knowledge of the science but in my experience when I was doing it, charges ran around $25/page. Good money, but you earned every cent.
You should have seen me last year in my Research Paper class. All of the examples I used at the beginning (when they were still considering topics) were, um, of personal interest to me. "Let's say you are writing a paper about the effectiveness of glucosamine and condroitin for preventing the progress of osteoarthritis. Your search terms might be......" or "If you were writing a paper on the cost effectiveness of solar panels for residential power, you might organize the ideas this way." Ahh, these are the benefits of teaching English.
I'm still unsure whether I can do this while I'm working, but I am on summer break until September 26th, so I'll send you an email and we can talk.
Now...if only I could afford to retire and try it out ;-).
I figure when I retire, I'll be doing a lot of different things: cutting lawns, editing and proofreading, singing on street corners. Teaching tends to be a fairly sedentary and cerebral career, so it will feel good to move Chi from my head to my legs! I can get burned out doing too much of any one thing, hence my love for photography as a hobby, which is visual and solitary compared to my verbal social day job.
That said, I know what you mean. I can hardly read the MSN website without getting disgusted that a professional news organization doesn't have a decent proofreader or desire to check before posting.