Services for publishers

Copyediting and development editing of educational resources and nonfiction books, from a safe and experienced pair of hands

I’ll use my considerable in-house and freelance experience to carry out thoughtful editing that follows your brief carefully, while taking ownership of the work and engaging with any problems that might arise.

I've got 12 years' experience editing secondary-level educational resources, particularly of KS3 and GCSE humanities subjects. (For more on the subjects I specialise in, see below.)

I also edit prescriptive nonfiction books, such as professional development and business books, self-help books and how-to guides.

"Harriet provides a professional, first-class service with an expert eye for detail and builds an excellent working relationship with authors. We know our books are in very safe hands with Harriet."

Jonathan Barnes,

Editorial Director, John Catt

Developing manuscripts was an integral part of my in-house career, particularly while working as an Editor for Rhinegold Education and more recently as a Development Editor for OUP.

I'm skilled at critically assessing a manuscript to make sure it fits the reader's needs (and the brief) as best as it can.

I'm experienced at working closely and sensitively with authors to undertake major restructures and rewrites if this is necessary.

Development editing

Over the past ten years I’ve copyedited a wide range of educational resources and nonfiction books for traditional publishers such as OUP, Pearson, Bloomsbury and John Catt.

I've completed the CIEP's Introduction to Copyediting and Copyediting Progress courses.

Copyediting

I can also project manage educational resources. For more details please email me at harriet.power@hotmail.com.

In 2020 I completed the EFA's Developmental Editing of Nonfiction course (an 8-week, tutor-led course focused on developing prescriptive nonfiction).

Why work with me?

I’ve got over 12 years’ experience editing and shaping manuscripts, with 8 years of that working in-house for educational publishers such as Pearson and Oxford University Press before going freelance in 2017.

I take professional development seriously. I’ve built on my experience by taking courses such as CIEP’s Copyediting Progress and EFA’s Developmental Editing of Nonfiction.

I’m a Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and adhere to their code of practice.

I’m able to follow a brief and style guide carefully; take ownership of a project; work sensitively with authors; and intervene in a text as much or as little as you want. I know how difficult it is to find reliable freelance editors that you want to hire again and again; my aim is to be one of them.

Subjects

For educational resources, I specialise in humanities subjects. I’ve edited History, Geography, Religious Studies, Music, Economics, Business Studies and Psychology resources for GCSE or A level. Subjects that I'm most familiar with include:

Music (BMus in Music; five years’ experience managing and editing Music textbooks for Rhinegold Education)

Ethnomusicology/Anthropology (MMus in Ethnomusicology)

Religious Studies, particularly Christianity, Buddhism and Islam (three years’ experience managing, editing and writing Religious Studies textbooks for OUP).

I've got experience of working on digital-based products and editing in Google Docs. I'm quick at picking up new software and ways of working.

I’ve edited professional development books for teachers such as Ross Morrison McGill's Just Great Teaching, Catherine Lee's Courage in the Classroom and Tom Garry's Mastery in Primary Mathematics.

I’m also happy to edit prescriptive nonfiction such as self-help books and how-to guides in a range of subjects.

Subjects