Information for Editorial Freelancers

• Copyeditors
• Proofreaders

USCCB Publishing is the official publishing arm of the Catholic bishops of the United States, as well as the official U.S. source of papal and Vatican documents. Each year, we publish approximately fifty new books, brochures, videos, and other resources. We also help produce fund-raising materials for the USCCB’s Office of National Collections. If you are unfamiliar with the kinds of documents that we publish, we encourage you to browse the above links for examples.

We are accepting tests and resumes by email from prospective individual freelance copyeditors and proofreaders. Please see the sections below for information on how to apply. (Note: We aim to hire individual freelancers. We do not contract with or through editorial agencies or freelance brokers.)

When you contact us, please also mention if you have any of the following skills:

• Familiarity with AP style
• Ability to do simple page layout in InDesign CS3, using templates and typefaces that we provide
• Familiarity with applying text styles in Microsoft Word
• Familiarity with magisterial documents
• Degree of written fluency in any languages other than English

Copyeditors

We seek experienced copyeditors who have thorough knowledge of the Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed.) and strong familiarity with the Catholic Church. (Experience with AP style is also a plus.) Copyeditors must also be familiar with Microsoft Word (2007 preferred) and know how to use the Track Changes function for tracking edits.

Freelance copyeditors may be hired to perform the following tasks:

• Provide light copyedits to correct errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation
• Suggest minor ways to tighten wording, as necessary, without changing meaning
• Correct manuscripts to conform to the Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed.) and to our in-house USCCB Style Guide
• Correct quotations and citations to conform to preferred editions (see USCCB Style Guide)
• Insert queries as needed (e.g., about missing or confusing text)
• Reformat Word files as necessary to distinguish between heading levels, lists, block quotes, etc.

We ask freelance copyeditors who are interested in working with us to edit a sample Word document electronically. Be sure to turn the Tracking on. When inserting queries, do not use the Comments feature—instead, insert queries in boldface, between brackets, highlighted in turquoise. Further instructions, including some style notes, can be found in the file. (It is not necessary to obtain our USCCB Style Guide for this editing sample.)

Return the test file, renaming it “[LastName] CE Test” (e.g., “Jones CE Test”). Send us an email to introduce yourself, describing your relevant experience and interest in working with us. Be sure to discuss the genres and/or types of publications with which you have experience. Please attach the test file and also a separate file with your resume or CV.

Proofreaders

We seek professionals who have experience reviewing and marking page proofs. Proofreaders must be familiar with standard proofreading marks (as provided in the Chicago Manual of Style) and be able to mark PDFs electronically using the markup tools of Adobe Acrobat Pro.

Freelance proofreaders may be hired to perform the following tasks:

• Correct spelling and other typos
• Mark inconsistencies and errors in layout: margins, indents, type treatments (fonts and colors), headers/footers, pagination and folios, bad breaks and hyphen stacks, widows and orphans, etc.
• Check accuracy of any headers/footers and the table of contents

We ask freelance proofreaders who are interested in working with us to proofread a sample set of page proofs (in PDF format). Use only Acrobat Pro’s Pencil and Text Box tools to mark the sample PDF. (Do not use the Callout, Text Edit, or Sticky Note functions.) Use standard proofreading marks as provided in the Chicago Manual of Style.

Return the sample PDF, renaming it “[LastName] Proofing Test” (e.g., “Jones Proofing Test”). Send us an email to introduce yourself, describing your relevant experience and interest in working with us. Please attach the test file and also a separate file with your resume or CV.