AFEPI Membership - General
How do I become a member of the AFEPI?
How do I know if this kind of work would suit me?
How much does membership cost?
Is there much work available?
What does the AFEPI offer its members?

Courses and training
What do proofreaders and editors do?
Where can I go for training?
Where else might I seek career advice?

Indexers
What are the criteria to be listed as an AFEPI Indexer?
How will my application to be an indexer be assessed?:
How and where can I train to become an indexer?
Who is an AFEPI indexer?

Rates and payment
Recommended rates for proofreading and editing
Recommended rates for indexing
What can I do about a late payment?

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AFEPI Membership - General

How do I become a member of the AFEPI?

Applicants for membership of the AFEPI must complete an application form (click on www.afepi.ie/app_form.htm or go to Links) and return it by email to either of the two Association Co-chairs (click on www.afepi.ie/contacts.htm or go to Contacts).

Applications are vetted by a five-member Membership Assessment Committee. Full Membership and Associate Membership are available.

Full Membership applies to experienced and qualified proofreaders / copy-editors / indexers only. Verifiable proof of experience and references are required.

Beginners in publishing may apply for Associate Membership of the AFEPI after they have gained a recognised qualification and some limited work experience with a commercial client. Associate Members can apply for Full Membership after a further two years, or after one year if they feel they have gained sufficient experience.

Applicants should be aware that standards of spelling, grammar, punctuation and consistency in the application form are taken into account by the Membership Assessment Committee when making their decision.

How do I know if this kind of work would suit me?

Have you a good standard of English (grammar, spelling, punctuation)? Could you prevent yourself altering a text just because you did not like it, or thought it was ungrammatical? The author's style is important as well. Are you normally alert to spelling errors? You will need a dictionary, of course, but it helps to have a sense of when a word looks wrong.

A freelance worker must pay attention to meeting deadlines. You will be working on your own, and there will be no-one to push you. Have you adequate space and peace in which to work? An hour here or there, or frequent interruptions, will not help you to meet a publisher's deadline.

Another aspect of lone working is that employers will generally not give you feedback on a poor job; they just won't give you work again.

How much does membership cost?

The annual subscription is €50 for Full Members and €35 for Associate Members.

Is there much work available?

Someone who trains only as a proofreader may find it hard to get work at first, especially from publishers, who tend to stick with the people they know. It is possible to pick up experience from other sources—anyone who prints anything needs a proofreader, whether they think they do or not.

It is worth trying graphic design agencies, advertising agencies, auctioneers, anyone who produces printed material. If you are near a third-level college, students producing theses need proofreaders. A qualification in copy-editing will be more useful to a publisher, but you need to train as a proofreader first.

To get and continue to get work needs great determination and an ability to sell yourself, and it may take up to two years to earn a reasonable living.

A complete list of Irish publishers can be found at Publishing Ireland’s (formerly CLÉ) website at www.publishingireland.com/

What does the AFEPI offer its members?

The AFEPI was established to provide information to publishers on freelancers working in the field and to protect and promote the interests of those freelancers.

The Association maintains a website listing contact details for all its Members and Associate Members, along with other relevant information such as level of experience, type of work undertaken, examples of projects completed and special interests.

The data on the website is updated monthly.

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Courses and Training

What do proofreaders and editors do?

Proofreading is the most basic job in publishing. The proofreader reads a typeset text against the original manuscript, which has been worked on by an editor and a copy-editor. The proofreader’s job is to make sure that all the corrections and changes marked have been done by the typesetter.

The proofreader may also do the following: fix incontestable errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar; check numerical and alphabetical order; query inconsistencies; check end-of-line word breaks; check that design specifications have been followed; check running heads; check placement of artwork and tables in relation to text.

The copy-editor reads a text to make sure, for example, that spellings of unusual names are consistent; that the author doesn't promise five examples and give only four; that the language used is clear and unambiguous; that figures in a table add up correctly; that headings and sub-headings are marked correctly for the typesetter; and that references to illustrations are clear enough for the typesetter to place them correctly.

Basically, the copy-editor micro-manages, whereas the editor considers the structure, organisation and content of the manuscript as a whole.

The editor has the heaviest responsibility. It is the editor who reads a text first, and helps to decide whether it is publishable. The editor can be asked to move text around if it seems confused, to alter the running order of chapters, to suggest the removal or addition of material, all in conjunction with the author.

Copy-editing, proofreading and editing are entirely different from writing skills. Anyone contemplating working in this area should take a training course first.

When such a course has been completed, the person can consider applying for Associate Membership until experience has been built up.

A good source for further information is Copy-editing, by Judith Butcher, published by Cambridge University Press.

Where can I go for training?

People looking for good-quality training courses should bear in mind that the AFEPI does not recognise any particular training course, nor do we offer membership automatically to applicants who have completed a given course.

However, Publishing Ireland (formerly CLÉ) at www.publishingireland.com, which represents the Irish publishing industry, recognises the courses offered by The Publishing Training Centre, Book House, 45 East Hill, London SW18 2QZ t. (00 44) 208 874 2718 f. (0044) 208 870 8985 e. web: www.train4publishing.co.uk

Where else might I seek career advice?

For general information on editing/proofreading as a career, contact the Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP) Erico House, 93-99 Upper Richmond Road, Putney, London SW15 2TG t. (00 44) 208 785 5617 f. (00 44) 208 785 5618 w. www.sfep.org.uk

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Indexers

What are the criteria to be listed as an AFEPI Indexer?

An applicant must be a member of AFEPI and must fulfil either of the following qualifications:

or

Applications will be assessed by an indexer on the AFEPI Indexing Sub-Committee or by an experienced indexer co-opted as necessary.

How will my application to be an indexer be assessed?

1. Applications — with accompanying documentation — should be submitted to the AFEPI Executive Committee which will forward them to the Indexing Sub-Committee.


2. Determinations on applications will be made at regular intervals and will be sent to the AFEPI Executive Committee who will notify the applicants directly.


3. If, after due deliberation, the Indexing Sub-Committee considers that an application does not meet the criteria required, the AFEPI Executive Committee will notify the applicant of the decision and will advise as to requirements for any renewed application.


4. The Indexing Sub-Committee will examine all applications and make determinations in accordance with the above criteria and indexing standards.


5. All queries arising out of decisions should be sent to the AFEPI Executive Committee for consideration.


6. The Indexing Sub-Committee is a sub-committee of the AFEPI Executive Committee elected annually at the AGM.