Right now, I'm busy with final preparations for a presentation on how freelancers can benefit from their online presence that I'll be making this weekend. Meanwhile, take a look at this piece from Grant Dobbins on income tax deductions that self-employed editorial freelancers should be taking. Check with your accountant for even more ideas on tax deductions.
income taxes deductions self-employed copyeditor copyediting editor editing publishing EditorMom
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Medical Publishing and Full Disclosure of Editing Assistance
In medical publishing, one of the hot issues now is transparency, or full disclosure, regarding any possible conflicts of interest. It's my stance that as part of transparency, researchers should always disclose to peer-reviewed medical journals that they have contracted with self-employed medical editors to polish their manuscripts before submissions.
Journals are requiring authors to disclose any potential conflicts of interest, such as whether they received funds, equipment, or other assistance to conduct the research that they are reporting or whether they act as spokespersons for or have a financial stake in the manufacturers of any equipment or medication used in their research. This is because the results of a study on the effects of a particular drug, for example, could be viewed as biased (or, worst-case scenario, perhaps even manipulated) if the drug's manufacturer funded the study or assisted the authors in writing the study report. But if such assistance isn't disclosed, readers won't know that the study results might have been manipulated by researchers who are grateful to the manufacturer for the assistance.
Accordingly, many organizations related to science publishing recommend and many medical journals now require full disclosure regarding assistance of any kind that authors receive, include writing and editing assistance. For example, see this part of the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals, from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, especially this statement:
I and many other medical editors interpret "other assistance" to mean editing assistance. Therefore, when I edit journal manuscripts for authors—and I work with a lot of authors all over the world who need my assistance because they're non-native speakers of English—I let them know that I require that they include this statement in the acknowledgments section of their manuscript:
Then the author's target journal can decide whether, according to its disclosure policies, that statement will appear in the published version of the article. And the journal can then also ask the authors how they paid for my services—out of their own pockets, from funds provided by their medical institution, from federal grants, etc. I won't work with any authors who won't agree to my requirement.
As one former editor of a prominent British medical journal wrote a few months ago on an e-mail list for journal editors, not acknowledging editorial assistance "misleads readers into thinking that the authors are skilled writers."
conflict of interest full disclosure transparency copyeditor copyediting editor editing medical editing medical journals publishing EditorMom
Journals are requiring authors to disclose any potential conflicts of interest, such as whether they received funds, equipment, or other assistance to conduct the research that they are reporting or whether they act as spokespersons for or have a financial stake in the manufacturers of any equipment or medication used in their research. This is because the results of a study on the effects of a particular drug, for example, could be viewed as biased (or, worst-case scenario, perhaps even manipulated) if the drug's manufacturer funded the study or assisted the authors in writing the study report. But if such assistance isn't disclosed, readers won't know that the study results might have been manipulated by researchers who are grateful to the manufacturer for the assistance.
Accordingly, many organizations related to science publishing recommend and many medical journals now require full disclosure regarding assistance of any kind that authors receive, include writing and editing assistance. For example, see this part of the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals, from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, especially this statement:
Authors should identify individuals who provide writing or other assistance and disclose the funding source for this assistance.
I and many other medical editors interpret "other assistance" to mean editing assistance. Therefore, when I edit journal manuscripts for authors—and I work with a lot of authors all over the world who need my assistance because they're non-native speakers of English—I let them know that I require that they include this statement in the acknowledgments section of their manuscript:
Katharine O'Moore-Klopf, ELS, of East Setauket, New York, provided professional English-language editing of this article.
Then the author's target journal can decide whether, according to its disclosure policies, that statement will appear in the published version of the article. And the journal can then also ask the authors how they paid for my services—out of their own pockets, from funds provided by their medical institution, from federal grants, etc. I won't work with any authors who won't agree to my requirement.
As one former editor of a prominent British medical journal wrote a few months ago on an e-mail list for journal editors, not acknowledging editorial assistance "misleads readers into thinking that the authors are skilled writers."
conflict of interest full disclosure transparency copyeditor copyediting editor editing medical editing medical journals publishing EditorMom
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Conference Presentation: Profiting from Your Online Presence
If you're a self-employed editorial professional, you've found that résumés and business cards aren't enough anymore to keep your work schedule full. Want to know what tools work today and how to use them? Come talk with me, on Saturday, October 2, 2010, on day 2 of the fifth annual Communication Central Build Your Business conference, where I'll lead the session "Profiting from Your Online Presence." I'll teach you how to build your reputation and find clients by using social media, web sites, e-mail discussion lists, and more.You can get more details here and register here.
My main topics will be
- How to use Twitter to build relationships
- How to use Facebook to establish community
- How to use LinkedIn to showcase your talents
- How to use e-mail discussion lists to build relationships and get referrals
- How to make sure that your web site showcases your skills and professional personality
I've been in publishing for 26 years, the first 11 as a production editor for various publishers, and since then as a full-time freelance copyeditor. I am a medical editor with a specialty in editing manuscripts written by non-native speakers of English. My editing has helped researchers in 20-plus nations get their articles published in more than two dozen peer-reviewed journals. I am also the creator and curator of the Copyeditors' Knowledge Base. On Twitter, I am @KOKEdit.
Please join me and my colleagues at Communication Central's Build Your Business conference this year. The theme is Finding Your Niche/Expanding Your Horizons, and you'll find plenty to help your business grow.
conference learning marketing skills social media freelancing copyeditor copyediting editor editing publishing EditorMom
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