About Ellison Editorial

My background and qualifications – and reading habits!

Hello, I'm a freelance copyeditor and proofreader, based in Northumberland. I specialise in editing fiction and literary non-fiction, although I'm happy to turn my hand to any type of text that requires human endeavour!

I now spend my days wrestling with words, but in a past life I worked as an English teacher and freelance writer, so my feet have always been planted firmly in the world of literature. These days, I use that experience to help individuals and small publishers showcase their writing at its finest.

Wide reading makes a great editor, or so I've been told ... so you'll be pleased to know that my shelves are stuffed with books by great authors: Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie, Josephine Tey, Daphne du Maurier, Iris Murdoch, William Boyd, Robert Harris, John le Carré, Philip Sington, Vasily Grossman, Ragnar Jónasson ... I also gravitate towards Russian literature and Nordic noir, sustained by strong Ringtons tea (well, I am a northerner) and the occasional Guinness. And never far away are fond memories of Murphy, my much-missed Labradoodle.

Amanda Ellison

Qualifications and training

  • BA (Hons) English with History
  • Postgraduate Certificate in Education (English)
  • Diploma in Proofreading and Editing (Level 4, Distinction)
  • CIEP Copyediting 2: Headway (Merit)
  • Diploma in Freelance Journalism
  • Intermediate Member of Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP)

Being a certified proofreader and copyeditor goes beyond core training: I keep my skills sharp, and learn new ones, by undergoing further training with respected providers, such as the Publishing Training Centre (PTC) (now the Institute of Publishing).

Here are just some of the courses I've recently completed:

  • Copyright for Publishers (PTC)
  • Editing Illustrations (PTC)
  • Editing References (PTC)
  • Working with Typesetters (PTC)
  • Author Queries (PTC)
  • Editing Fiction (PTC)
  • Introduction to Publishing (PTC)
  • Essential Editorial Project Management (PTC)
  • Editing Children's Books (CIEP webinar)
  • Academic Essays (University of Queensland)
  • Building a Screenplay (University of Cambridge)
  • Agatha Christie and the Golden Age of Detective Fiction (Open University)

 

I'm currently reading ...

I write too ...

As well as working with writers, I’m a bit of a scribbler myself, so I understand how much investment goes into every sentence. Most of my writing is inspired by history and the local environment. Having formatted and published three books of my own through Kindle Direct Publishing, I know the practical challenges and decisions indie authors face.

You can explore some of my written content in my curated portfolio — including my contributions to North East Bylines — and browse my blog for authors, designed to support and encourage you at every stage of the process.