About Jane Hammett

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

After university, my first job was in publishing, where I was trained in all aspects of editorial and production. I went freelance in 1998 and since then 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.

I’m also 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? Delia Owens’ Where the Crawdads Sing and Beth O’Leary’s The Flatshare.

My recent training and CPD…

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

• Sub-editing masterclass run by Martin Lloyd, former head of writing standards at the BBC (6-week course, January-February 2021)
• The Society for Editors and Proofreaders (now CIEP) annual conference (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 (online))
• 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 co-ordinate the Bedfordshire/Buckinghamshire CIEP local group, which I set up in 2012
• I belong to several editing groups, both online and in real life.