{"id":4017,"date":"2018-06-11T12:13:01","date_gmt":"2018-06-11T12:13:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ukwriterscollege.com\/?p=4017"},"modified":"2022-02-18T01:18:17","modified_gmt":"2022-02-18T01:18:17","slug":"catching-up-with-copy-editor-lesley-wyldbore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/catching-up-with-copy-editor-lesley-wyldbore\/","title":{"rendered":"Catching Up With Copy-Editor, Lesley Wyldbore"},"content":{"rendered":"

Copy-editing is a vital yet often overlooked part of the writing process. Effective copy-editing adds polish to writing, ensuring clarity and removing errors that a writer might miss. We caught up with Lesley Wyldbore, an SA Writers College graduate who now works as a professional, independent copy-editor.<\/h3>\n

Lesley completed the Copy-Editing and Proofreading Course, as well as Grammar for Writers, which she passed in 2014 with distinction. In this interview she sheds some light on the life of a copy-editor.<\/h3>\n
<\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

We would love to hear about what you\u2019ve been up to since completing your courses with the Writers College. What are your accomplishments thus far?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Staying alive! It\u2019s not easy to make a living out of copy-editing as there is a lot of competition. This, along with the general view by customers that there isn\u2019t really much value added by getting a copy-editor, makes it difficult to get good paying work.<\/p>\n

How did the courses benefit you?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

They gave me the confidence to leave the corporate world and earn a living doing something more worthwhile. Although I have a much lower income, I have a much better quality of life \u2013 it\u2019s not all about the money!<\/p>\n

What has been the greatest challenge you\u2019ve experienced since you began working as a copy-editor? What has been the greatest triumph?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Greatest challenge: Breaking into a saturated market that doesn\u2019t think it needs what I have on offer.<\/p>\n

Greatest triumphs: Every little \u2018thank you\u2019 from an author\u2014be it a seasoned academic professor, a published author or a student going for journal publication for the first time\u2014it absolutely makes my day when my work is noticed and valued.<\/p>\n

What is your favourite part of the copy-editing process, and why?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Reading through the manuscript and polishing the language and grammar. This is because I learn so much by questioning and looking through references; not just about the subject matter at hand, but about the nuances of the English language, which is my great love.<\/p>\n

What would you say to anyone considering going into copy-editing and proofreading professionally, but unsure about whether to take the plunge?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Learn your trade. Do courses, practise and ask questions. Get a mentor and join an association of like-minded people (it will be of great solace in those moments when you are second-guessing yourself).<\/p>\n

Lesley Wyldbore has an extensive portfolio which can be viewed on\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Reedsy.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0She can also be found on\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>LinkedIn<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Copy-editing is a vital yet often overlooked part of the writing process. Effective copy-editing adds polish to writing, ensuring clarity and removing errors that a writer might miss. We caught up with Lesley Wyldbore, an SA Writers College graduate who now works as a professional, independent copy-editor. Lesley completed the Copy-Editing and Proofreading Course, as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-success"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sawriterscollege.co.za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}