Editing/proof'reading courses, are they worthwhile?

[tunise]

Any advice on paying to do a editing/proof reading course? Have seen chapterhouse advertised in newspapers, is it expensive, is it easy to get freelance work etc.
I have to return to work in Feb after lovely mat leave but as i'm a lone night worker who sometimes has very quiet nights i'm thinking about other work i could do at night, effectively getting paid for two jobs at once! Any ideas please?

[roisin]

Hmmm.. Chapterhouse are not the best courses available. The Book House do some excellent courses, which are well regarded. But they are quite demanding and expensive too, and it is still not at all easy to get work if you have not previously worked in publishing or do not have any contacts. In addition these sort of courses give you a good start, but the only real way to become (or even discover whether it's possible for you to become) a good editor or proofreader is to actually do it.

If you have any specialist knowledge - I'm wondering from your post whether you are a nurse? - a good route to take is to contact specialist publishers, and see if one might be willing to take you on and pay for your training. This way they have some commitment to you, to continue to give you manuscripts whilst you're on the steep learning curve towards proficiency.

I had previously worked in publishing, but when I decided to go freelance found another company (through contacts) who paid for me to do an editing course and also invited me to their in-house editorial conferences. I enjoyed the course immensely, learned a great deal, but subsequently decided that working from home on this sort of thing did not suit me and meet my needs.

[muminlondon]

I'd be cautious too - publishers don't commission freelancers unless they can provide some sort of reference or examples of work either from previous employers or from established clients (speaking from experience). And would also agree that Book House (Publishing Training Centre) is better recognised than Chapterhouse in the industry. The SFEP is the professional society for proofreaders and editors and they also run courses.

[Carla]

Agree 100% with what Roisin's said. Good luck.

[Carla]

ie Book House are fab, but don't reply to those 'cn yoo edddit thiss four uss' type thing. Do Book House do postal courses? Otherwise, you'd find yourself in some awful part of London ... wondering why you'd bothered! Not really ... but they are hard to get to!

[ProofPerfect]

Avoid Chapterhouse - they are good at marketing but not up to scratch in their business methods. I recommend the SfEP or PCT. Good luck :)

[JasonMoreno]

I wish to point out that I lost the sum of £146 recently sent to a
company called Chapterhouse Publishing which failed to send me a package for a
course as promised on the 24th of November 2020. I cannot get
anywhere with this company to chase up my consumer rights as they do
not listen to me. They simply ignore or dis-regard my many emails
saying that I have to take things further legally to even get a response from them by email.
I have lost quite a lot of money for which I have received nothing back from the company concerned.