What sort of proofreader and copy-editor would I be if I didn't dabble a little in writing too ... Feel free to browse through my latest journal entries below.

I thought I’d write a journal post on EPANI (Editors’ and Proofreaders’ Alliance of Northern Ireland). For those of you who don’t know who we are -- and I’m guessing that’s most of you! -- we’re a group of freelance editorial professionals. Although the group has been going since 2011, it’s only recently that it has taken on a presence on the web. This has allowed each of us to showcase our skills and advertise our freelance businesses in the form of a directory.

The range of experience in the group is wide and varied, but it’s all in some way connected to editing. So most of us have proofreading and editing of some sorts as our skills, and some have other strings to their bows as well – ghostwriting, content management, translation, indexing and writing, to name a few. I’m telling you – we’re a talented bunch of peeps!

When we meet we act as a sounding board for each other. We work in relative isolation, so it’s nice to get together with a group of like-minded people and discuss work without being at risk of boring people to tears. It’s great to catch up with everyone and hear what colleagues are working on and bounce ideas off each other. The group is a hub of information in terms of what, where and when the latest training is, and it provides a means of support and advice, among other things.

We’re also open to having other professionals come and talk to us about ways to help our businesses – marketing professionals and accountants, to name but a few. After all, we’ve got the editorial side of things covered, but it can be a whole other ball game running your own business.

Sometimes we have individuals join us who think they would like to become proofreaders or editors. They come to learn what it’s all about, whether it would suit them and potential training opportunities. It’s always great to see new faces starting their journey in the editing world and they’re very welcome to join us for a few meetings to decide if editing is the right career path for them. EPANI members are very open to sharing the wealth of experience they’ve accumulated, and a lot of time and effort on the newbie’s part can be saved by asking the right people a few questions – I should know, it wasn’t that long ago that I was in that position!

Most of us are linked in other ways, too. Some of us are members of the SfEP (Society for Editors and Proofreaders), some are members of AFEPI (Association of Freelance Editors, Proofreaders and Indexers), and some of us are members of both.

Why don’t you take a look at all the information on EPANI’s website? Not only has it got the directory, but there’s also other relevant information that you may find useful.

www.epani.org