About Jane Hammett

I have always loved words. I could read before I started school, and I haven’t stopped since!

But editing and proofreading are about more than simply reading. After university, I started work for a publishing house, where I was trained in all aspects of editorial and production. I have been freelance for 20 years, and in that time I’ve worked on thousands of books for publishers, including Hachette UK, Headline and Schofield & Sims, businesses and self-publishing authors.

I’m an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) – this is the highest membership grade. The CIEP says that ‘Achieving it is deliberately tough, but you’ll be recognised in the profession as having proved your worth.’

I’m also a tutor on the CIEP’s proofreading and copy-editing courses, and a Partner Member of the Alliance of Independent Authors.

In my free time, I enjoy nature, wildlife, birdwatching, photography and reading – I’m never without a book. My recent favourites? Linda Green’s In Little Stars and Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus. Currently reading? Keith Houston’s Shady Characters: Ampersands, Interrobangs and other Typographical Curiosities.

My recent training and CPD…

Training and continuing professional development (CPD) help to keep my editing skills sharp, relevant and up to date.

Hilary Cadman’s Word Styles training (2025)
Publishing Training Centre training on editorial project management, copyright, marketing, and working with typesetters (2025)
Jennifer Lawler’s Developmental Editing for Nonfiction course (March 2023)
Sub-editing masterclass run by Martin Lloyd, former head of writing standards at the BBC (2021)
The Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) annual conference (2016–2025)
The British Library: English Grammar Day (July 2019)
Fiction Editors Mini Conference, London (March 2019)
Editorial Freelancers Association’s course: Development Editing of Fiction (intermediate) (2018)
Workshop on narrative distance run by writer Emma Darwin (2017)
SfEP Editing for Fiction: Professional Development Day (2016)
I set up the CIEP’s Bedfordshire/Buckinghamshire local group in 2012 and ran it until 2023
I belong to several editing groups, both online and in real life