Lauren MacGowan - Editor

I have provided my editorial services to a range of publishers and projects, including Bloomsbury and Pearson.

For three years, I have worked on Bloomsbury's Writers & Artists brand, proofreading three editions of their 'Writers' & Artists Yearbook' and 'Children's Writers' and Artists' Yearbook' which combine how-to articles and industry contact details. I have also worked on three of the brand's other titles: 'Guide to Getting Published'; 'The Right Word' (a guide to grammar, vocabulary and literary terms); and 'Writers on Writing' (a book of quotations). My work on these titles has ranged from conducting research and compiling content, to copy-editing and proofreading. I have also contributed to marketing strategies and activities, and overseen the sale of advertising spaces in the last two editions of the 'Yearbooks', working with a range of publishing providers and societies to do so.

My work with Pearson has focused on GCSE and BTEC learning resources, both print and digital, across a range of subjects including Business, Computer Science, Engineering, English, History, IT, Land-based Studies, Maths, Sport Science, and Travel and Tourism. I copy- and development-edit textbooks, learner study guides, teacher presentations and accompanying notes, activity sheets, and assessments. This work includes tasks specific to markets and demographics, including taking out-dated and UK-centric examples and researching replacements which are both age-appropriate and relevant to an international audience. As well as these tasks, I have taken a leadership role on a digital project. After several months proofreading, quality control testing and adapting quizzes on Pearson's online learning hub, I proposed a new method of working to our team. Rather than outsourcing the building of these quizzes to a third-party, I suggested combining the writing and building stages and asking authors to build their own quizzes directly onto the platform with supervision from myself. Leading this new project direction has involved managing a group of 12 authors, conducting tutorials on how to use the online platform, and fielding their queries; as well as reporting back to different branches of the team on our progress, setting deadlines and updating schedules.

Alongside my work with these two publishers, I have worked on individual projects such as beta-testing digital products, proofreading non-fiction titles for writers intending to self-publish, and editing materials for lectures and courses. I am currently proofreading a non-fiction book which sets out a new approach to economic policy with a focus on environmentalism and sustainability.