With a change of location (having moved to the seaside) and a change to my available time, comes a change in direction for my future writing.
Instead of concentrating on writing my novels, I have decided to move into the more "technical" aspects of writing and book publishing. I have decided to retrain as an editor and proofreader.
I can hear the cries now - "But if you've already written 6 books, surely you can already edit text and do proofreading? Surely you are already trained?"
In some respects, that might be true. Yes, I can write. Yes, I can spell. My grammar is not bad either. I know these things, and those who have read my books will know this too. But what about prospective clients? How are they to know what skills I possess? The simple answer is to obtain some form of "official" certification, following some intensive training.
The skills I learn, and those that I refresh, will not only help in my future career venture, but on a personal level, they will also help me to improve and develop my own writing. It seems to be a win-win situation.
However, before all of that, there is a lot of hard work to do. It's not simply a case of spotting spelling mistakes or bad grammar; there is whole lot more to it than that. But, with the best training from the best UK providers (The Publishing Training Centre, The College of Media and Publishing, and eventually joining The Chartered Institute of Editors and Proofreaders), I hope to set the foundations for a future career and to develop my book writing skills.
With that in mind, I'm off to work on my Grammar training course. Apparently, when I was at school, grammar followed strict RULES. Nowadays, with developing language trends, it is less black-and-white and more a sort of murky GREY where rules depend on the intended audience's nationality, business, and preferences. Wish me luck...
Keep an eye out for future posts on my progress and follow me on Facebook and Twitter.
