Do you know someone who is revolutionizing digital publishing? As an indie author and someone who’s been involved with ALLi for thirteen years now, I certainly do. If you do, then you can nominate them for the Digital Publishing Awards until August 22.
ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway
This is not a new award. It has been run by Digital Publishing Report previously, and you can view some of the past nominees here. It is, however, a new iteration of the prize with a much more international reach thanks to a partnership with Publishing Perspectives.
Of the categories available, the (I think from what I can see) new category of leadership is one where many of you will know many suitable candidates, I am sure. I look forward to reporting on a shortlist containing some of our indie heroes.
Recognizing the Work of Editors
Which is a suitable segue into the next piece. Because some of the most heroic but undercelebrated figures in our indie world are our editors. And this month the UK’s main body representing editors, the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP, a body I feel I know quite well because they have often had a stall near ALLi at London Book Fair), has launched a new tool, a “Competency Framework.”
The Competency Framework is available for download, which means its usefulness extends far beyond the UK editorial community the CIEP represents.
A Tool for Measuring Skills
In short, the Competency Framework allows editors to assess their skill levels and establish where they sit on the journey from “exploring” to “expert” via the stages of “emerging” and “experienced” (see what they did there?), and to identify gaps in their expertise.
For each competence area, it describes what it would mean to be at each of these four levels. It’s a sixty-nine-page document, and I have to say I lost myself in it happily for the best part of an hour and feel like I learned a lot from it. (Even the glossary provides excellent summaries of what the industry pros understand by terms we hear every day.)
Highly recommended for all indie authors as well as editors to download.
Thoughts or further questions on this post or any self-publishing issue?
If you’re an ALLi member, head over to the SelfPubConnect forum for support from our experienced community of indie authors, advisors, and our own ALLi team. Simply create an account (if you haven’t already) to request to join the forum and get going.
Non-members looking for more information can search our extensive archive of blog posts and podcast episodes packed with tips and advice at ALLi's Self-Publishing Advice Center.
