Michele Perry – Editor

Currently, I am working as a freelance editor, proofreader and manuscript assessor working on numerous fiction and non-fiction titles for private clients, as well as for the University of Queensland Press, Hardie Grant, and Murdoch Books.

I assess, edit, proofread and project manage the development of adult and children’s non-fiction and fiction manuscripts. I also assist authors with self-publishing and work on various marketing plans and promotional campaigns for authors and publishing companies.

This role included managing the children's department and publishing 24 titles - so overseeing the development from manuscript to printed book.

I also structurally edited, copyedited and proofread 15 titles.

The genres included picture books, middle-readers, young adult and new adult fiction and non-fiction titles. Several titles won prestigious Australian publishing awards.

My favourite book, which I copyedited, was Pip Harry's 'Head of the River'. It was Longlisted in the State Library of Victoria’s Gold Inky award, and Shortlisted in the Adelaide Festival Literary awards.

I organised and co-ordinated all of the Primary Department titles to fruition.

This role focused on booking and briefing freelance copyeditors and proofreaders, as well as briefing illustrators and designers and organising their contracts and invoice payments.

I copyedited, proofread, checked page proofs and production copies for numerous primary fiction and non-fiction titles as well as sales and marketing material.

I also trained and supported the trainee editor in all aspects of editing and publishing. The year I worked here, Macmillan won Primary Educational Publisher of the Year!

I received such wonderful training in this role and learnt to project manage various publishing projects from concept to printed product, brief freelance copyeditors and proofreaders as well as designers, copyedit and proofread non-fiction adult and children's manuscripts.

This was where it all began ... and I spent many years managing the editorial department, completing copyedits, proofreads, final edits and making changes to InDesign files or Word documents using track changes, creating and checking complex indexes, writing and editing marketing material, such as book blurbs and catalogues, writing captions and text as required for product, managing the SPP Style Manual, checking digital proofs and marking up corrections, briefing freelance editors for a copyedit or proofread job, making freelance mark ups to the InDesign file, and training and managing in-house editors, interns, freelancers in all aspects of SPP editing/publishing. And this was where I worked on my first award-winning titles, and I felt so very proud!

This was the role that proved to me that I had found my calling in being an editor!