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Cecile Berbesi

Freelance Content and Publishing Services

Production editor
Journals coordinator
Proofreader
Publishing industry
Content services
Home Experience Education IT skills Portfolio
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Cecile Berbesi
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Professional Status
Freelancer
Available
About Me
Meticulous editor and proofreader, with almost two decades of freelance and in-house experience in the UK trade and academic publishing industry.
Portfolio

List of clients, followed by examples of recent projects

April 2024 (Biteback Publishing): proofreading

Website

February 2024 (Yale University Press): proofreading

Website

September 2023 (Yale University Press): proofreading

Website

August 2022 (Verso): proofreading

Proofreading the English translation of Olivier Guez's award-winning 'The disappearance of Joseph Mengele' (224 pages), making sure no literal translation of the French was left after the copyediting stage.
Website

June 2022 (Yale University Press): proofreading

Proofreading Victor Stater's 'Hoax: The Popish Plot that Never Was' for Yale University Press (336 pages)
Website

March 2022 (Icon Books): typesetting

As a typesetter, my duties included:
  • typesetting the galley proofs and colour plate section in InDesign following a template I created from scratch;
  • inserting the author's and publisher's corrections to the proofs throughout the different editions;
  • optimising and retouching the colour illustrations to printing standards using Adobe Photoshop;
  • delivering the print-ready pdfs within the timeframe.
Website

2021–present (UCL Press): journal production coordination

An open-access, peer-reviewed journal released as a yearly issue for the the UCL Institute of Archaeology, my role involves:

  • keeping track of the production stages and drafting production schedules;
  • liaising with the Production Manager, Journal Manager, Editor-in-Chief and contributors;
  • briefing the copyeditors, proofreaders, and typesetters;
  • preparing two sets of final deliverables (online pdfs and xmls, and print pdfs);
  • proofreading and controlling content quality at the different stages of the production, including checking the xml codes
Website

2021–present (UCL Press): peer-review management

The role involves:
  • assessing initial submissions to determine suitability for the journal, leading to either rejection without review or assignment of manuscripts to the Editors in chief;
  • overseeing the efficient operation of peer review, from the point of submission to acceptance/rejection (e.g. tracking manuscripts, blinding papers, liaising with editors and contributors, contacting reviewers, chasing reviewers and editors);
  • resolving ethical issues and Author/Reviewer/Editor queries;
  • preparing accepted papers for production (e.g. making sure permission for image reproduction has been granted, papers adhere to the journal style).
Website

2020–present (UCL Press): journal production coordination

The Journal of the Sylvia Townsend Warner Society is published bi-annually by UCL Press for the Sylvia Townsend Warner Society. An open-access, peer-reviewed journal, it is published both online and in print.

As production editor of the journal, tasks include:
  • keeping track of the production stages and drafting a production schedule;
  • liaising with the production director, journal editors, and contributors;
  • briefing the copyeditors, proofreaders, and typesetters;
  • preparing two sets of final deliverables (online with pdfs and xmls, and print with 300 dpi b/w resolution);
  • proofreading and controlling content quality at the different stages of the production, including checking the xml codes.
Website

2020–present (UCL Press): journal production coordination

As production editor, tasks include:
  • keeping track of the production stages by updating the online Journal and Article Management System (JAMS);
  • proofreading and controlling content quality at the different stages of the production;
  • liaising with the production director, journal editors, and contributors;
  • briefing the copyeditors, proofreaders, and typesetters;
  • checking the xml codes are valid and image resolution is good;
  • ensuring the final pdf and xml files are uploaded on ScienceOpen ahead of the publication date.
Website

2020–present (UCL Press): journal production coordination

The open-access, peer-reviewed London Journal of Canadian Studies is issue-based and published annually.

As production editor of the journal, tasks include:
  • keeping track of the production stages and drafting a production schedule;
  • liaising with the production director, journal editors, and contributors;
  • briefing the copyeditors, proofreaders, and typesetters;
  • proofreading and controlling content quality at the different stages of the production, including checking the xml codes;
  • uploading the final deliverables on ScienceOpen.
Website

2020–present (UCL Press): journal production coordination

UCL Press' Radical Americas is an open-access, peer-reviewed academic journal, which publishes about 2 papers per month.

As production editor, tasks include:
  • keeping track of the production stages by updating the online Journal and Article Management System (JAMS);
  • proofreading and controlling content quality at the different stages of the production;
  • liaising with the production director, journal editors, and contributors;
  • briefing the copyeditors, proofreaders, and typesetters;
  • checking the xml codes are valid and image resolution is good;
  • ensuring the final pdf and xml files are uploaded on ScienceOpen ahead of the publication date.
Website

2020–present (UCL Press): journal production coordination

International Journal of Social Pedagogy is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal by UCL Press that publishes about 2 papers monthly.

As production editor, tasks include:
  • keeping track of the production stages by updating the online Journal and Article Management System (JAMS);
  • proofreading and controlling content quality at the different stages of the production;
  • liaising with the production director, journal editors, and contributors;
  • briefing the copyeditors, proofreaders, and typesetters;
  • checking the xml codes are valid and image resolution is good;
  • ensuring the final pdf and xml files are uploaded on ScienceOpen ahead of the publication date.
Website

2020–present (UCL Press): journal production coordination

Europe and the World: A Law Review is an open-source, peer-reviewed journal by UCL Press that publishes 1 to 2 papers monthly.

As the editor managing the production of the journal, tasks include:
  • keeping track of the production stages by updating the online Journal and Article Management System (JAMS);
  • proofreading and controlling content quality at the different stages of the production;
  • liaising with the production director, journal editors, and contributors;
  • briefing the copyeditors, proofreaders, and typesetters;
  • checking the xml codes are valid and image resolution is good;
  • ensuring the final pdf and xml files are uploaded on ScienceOpen ahead of the publication date.
Website

2019–present (UCL Press): journal production coordination

An open-access, peer-reviewed, issue-based journal, my role involves:

  • keeping track of the production stages and drafting a production schedule;
  • liaising with the production director, journal editors, and contributors;
  • briefing the copyeditors, proofreaders, and typesetters;
  • proofreading and controlling content quality at the different stages of the production, including checking the xml codes;
  • uploading the final deliverables on ScienceOpen.
Website

2017–present (UCL Press): journal production coordination and peer-review management

London Review of Education is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal by UCL Press that publishes 3 to 4 papers monthly.

As the production editor of the journal, tasks include:

  • keeping track of the production stages by updating the online Journal and Article Management System (JAMS);
  • proofreading and controlling content quality at the different stages of the production;
  • liaising with the production director, journal editors, and contributors;
  • briefing the copyeditors, proofreaders and typesetters;
  • checking the xml codes are valid and image resolution is good;
  • ensuring the final pdf and xml files are uploaded on ScienceOpen ahead of the publication date.

Since 2021, I have also been charged with the peer-review process of the journal. Tasks include:

  • assessing initial submissions to determine suitability for the journal, leading to either rejection without review or assignment of manuscripts to the Editors in chief;
  • overseeing the efficient operation of peer review, from the point of submission to acceptance/rejection (e.g. tracking manuscripts, blinding papers, liaising with editors and contributors, contacting reviewers, chasing reviewers and editors);
  • resolving ethical issues and Author/Reviewer/Editor queries;
  • preparing accepted papers for production (e.g. making sure permission for image reproduction has been granted, papers adhere to the journal style).
Website

September 2021 (Yale University Press): proofreading

Proofreading Edmond Smith's 'Merchants: The Community That Shaped England’s Trade and Empire, 1550-1650' for Yale University Press (376 pages)
Website

August 2021 (Icon Books): typesetting

As a typesetter, my duties included:
  • typesetting the galley proofs and two colour plate sections in InDesign following a template I created from scratch;
  • inserting authors' and publisher's corrections to the proofs;
  • optimising and retouching the colour illustrations to printing standards using Adobe Photoshop;
  • delivering the print-ready pdfs within the timeframe.
Website

May 2021 (Icon Books): typesetting

Typesetting this monograph for Icon Books involved:
  • typesetting samples and galley proofs;
  • inserting authors' and publisher's corrections to the proofs;
  • optimising and retouching the b/w illustrations to printing standards using Adobe Photoshop;
  • delivering the print-ready pdfs within the timeframe.
Website

May 2021 (Boydell/Tamesis Books): copyediting

Copyediting André Rui Graça's 'Portuguese Cinema (1960-2010): Consumption, Circulation and Commerce' for Boydell (285 pages). Mixture of English and Portuguese.
Website

May 2021 (Icon Books): typesetting

Typesetting this monograph for Icon Books involved:
  • typesetting samples and galley proofs;
  • inserting authors' and publisher's corrections to the proofs;
  • optimising and retouching the b/w illustrations to printing standards using Adobe Photoshop;
  • delivering the print-ready pdfs within the timeframe.
Website

May 2021 (Boydell/Tamesis Books): copyediting

Copyediting Thea Pitman's 'Decolonising the Museum: The Curation of Indigenous Contemporary Art in Brazil' for Boydell, checking, among other things, original material for typos in Portuguese (145 pages)
Website

January 2021 (UCL Press): project management

As the editor managing the production stages of the book, my role involved:
  • assessing the files following editorial handover;
  • commissioning and briefing a copyeditor, proofreader and typesetter;
  • checking the quality of the work carried out by these suppliers at every stage of the production;
  • making sure the text follows the house guidelines and APA style;
  • liaising with the UCL Press team and the book editor to solve editorial and production queries raised during the process;
  • delivering the final files (pdf and xml) on time.
Website

August 2020 (Verso): proofreading

Proofreading Vigdis Hjorth's translation from the Norwegian of 'Long Live the Post Horn!' for Verso Books (208 pages)
Website

July 2020 (Relogio D'agua Editores): proofreading

Started as a facebook project, with 46 Portuguese-speaking writers and illustrators publishing every day of the confinement (between March and May 2020), a different chapter, it took off, got translated into 6 languages and was finally published in a book by Relogio D'agua Editores in July 2020.

My role was to proofread some of the English translations to be published on Facebook and then to check the final galley proofs.

July 2020 (Verso): proofreading & indexing

The proofreading of this particular work required extra attention to facts and dates, as well as the occasional diacritics and foreign language.
Website

June 2020 (Icon Books): typesetting

Typesetting Enid Elliott Linder's memoir for Icon Books (288 pages, released June 2020).

As a typesetter, my duties included:
  • producing the galley proofs in InDesign following a template I created within 48h;
  • optimising the b/w illustrations to printing standards using Adobe Photoshop.
Website

April 2020 (D.S.Brewer): typesetting

Typesetting a 322-page monograph and optimising the illustrations for printing in colour and b/w
Website

April 2020 (D.S.Brewer): typesetting

My job consisted in coming up with a new book design based on the 'Publications of the John Gower Society' series. Other tasks included optimising images for colour and b/w printing, setting and checking the index.
Website

March 2020 (Brilliant Publications): copyediting

Copyediting, paying extra attention to the French spelling and grammar.
Website

January 2020 (Boydell & Brewer): project management, copyediting, typesetting

A full project for Boydell & Brewer to produce a 327-page book, including a colour plate section (released January 2020).

My duties included:
  • liaising with the author and the publishing house
  • editing in both English and Portuguese
  • typesetting the galley proofs in InDesign following the series template;
  • inserting authors' and publisher's corrections to the proofs;
  • restoring and optimising the b/w and CMYK illustrations to printing standards using Adobe Photoshop;
  • producing a colour plate section;
  • checking and amending the index;
  • delivering the print-ready pdf within the timeframe.
Website