Harriet Power | Nonfiction & education
- [email protected]
- Website
- harrietpowereditor.com
- Job title
- Development editor, copyeditor
- Membership Grade
- Advanced Professional Member
About Harriet
I’m an experienced editor with a background in traditional publishing. I specialise in editing resources that take complex topics and try to explain them in a clear, engaging manner.
FOR EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHERS
- I specialise in development editing and copyediting secondary-level humanities subjects (History, Geography, Religious Studies, Business Studies, Music).
- I've got 8 years' in-house experience editing humanities resources for educational publishers including Pearson and Oxford University Press, and a further 8 years’ experience working on such resources as a freelancer.
- I’m able to follow a brief and style guide carefully; take ownership of a project; work sensitively with authors; and intervene in a text as much or as little as you want.
- I’m experienced at working on complex projects with digital components.
- Recent examples of projects include: writing two GCSE History revision guides; developing an A-level Psychology revision guide; developing, copyediting, proofreading and project managing a suite of digital resources for KS3 Religious Studies (quizzes, worksheets, teacher notes, etc); copyediting an IB Visual Arts student book; and compiling metadata and testing digital resources for A-level Geography.
► Find out more about how I can help you here or contact me by email.
FOR NONFICTON AUTHORS
- I specialise in problem-solving nonfiction, such as business books and self-help guides.
- I've got over 15 years' experience working with authors to help them write the best books they can.
- I can give you a fresh, objective and professional perspective on your book to help improve its structure, content and tone, so readers can more easily extract all the juicy value from it.
► Find out more about how I can help you here or contact me by email.
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EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING
Over 15 years’ experience, with 8 years of that working in-house for leading educational publishers including Pearson and Oxford University Press.
- Freelance since 2017, editing educational resources and nonfiction books
- Development Editor, Oxford University Press, 2015–2017 (editing and project managing secondary-level humanities subjects, particularly Religious Studies)
- Project Editor, Pearson, 2014–2015 (project managing International Baccalaureate resources across a range of subjects)
- Editor, Rhinegold Education, 2008–2013 (editing and project managing secondary-level resources for Music)
I've built on my extensive in-house experience with ongoing CPD. More recent training includes:
- Plain English for Editors (CIEP, 2023)
- Foundations for Inclusion (Beth Cox, 2023)
- Efficient Editing (CIEP, 2021)
- Working with Indie Authors (Tanya Gold, 2021)
- Developmental Editing for Nonfiction (EFA, 2020)
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TESTIMONIALS
“Harriet is an outstanding editor. She is always encouraging, has a fantastic eye for detail, collaborates creatively and diplomatically, and is clearly determined to oversee and produce quality writing.”
– Conor Doherty, co-author of The Teacher’s Guide to World Music
“Such a relief for me to work with such a good editor. You’ve improved the book so much.”
– Lee Elliot Major, author of The Good Parent Educator
“Harriet is a remarkable editor and a rare find in the creative industries. She gently picked my book apart with smart and helpful questions that have elevated every aspect of this project. The value of bringing Harriet into the process has been enormous! I’ve loved working with her, and wholeheartedly recommend Harriet to anybody who wants to have a high-quality book.”
– Natalie Dent, author of Enriched Marketing
“Every single edit and tweak that Harriet suggested improved the flow and readability of the text.”
– Dietmar Sternad, author of Developing Coaching Skills
“Harriet ripped my manuscript apart – in a good way. She showed me where my structure was inconsistent with my message and in the process got me to realize I’d left out a large part of what I was trying to get across. Her comments were the right mix of mentioning what was good but also where I could improve.”
– John Seiffer, author of Output Thinking
“Harriet does everything that you would expect from a top-quality editor. She has an uncanny ability to put herself in the mind of the target reader. There can be no doubt that she has radically transformed many of the things I have written and made them so much better than I could have hoped.”
– David Ashworth, co-author of Teaching Music
“I have worked with several editors over my last few books, but you have by far been the most helpful and exhaustive. I think you really smoothed some rough edges and allowed the text to flow better.”
– Gary Keogh, author of A Pedagogy of Purpose
“We would be delighted to recommend Harriet. She provides a professional, first-class service with an expert eye for detail and builds an excellent working relationship with authors. We know our books are in very safe hands with Harriet.”
– Jonathan Barnes, Editorial Director, John Catt Educational
“I feel very fortunate to have had the support of Harriet on several projects at Rhinegold Education. She has always been supportive of me as a writer, giving constructive advice on how a passage might be improved, providing imaginative ideas when my inspiration has been running low, and staying calm when deadlines have been under threat. I have particularly admired her editorial skill and tact in bringing together disparate ideas from co-authors when I have been working on joint projects.”
– Richard Knight, author of various Rhinegold Education books
“I’ve worked with Harriet in her capacity as an in-house development editor, and as a freelance writer and editor on some complicated projects. I’ve found her to be a very capable project manager, and skilled in shaping manuscripts. I know that my authors have valued her skills too.”
– Minh Ha Duong, Commissioning Editor
Service(s)
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Associated skills
Disclaimer note
The CIEP Directory of Editorial Services should be considered a point of first contact and prospective clients must satisfy themselves that members are capable of the work on offer. The Institute cannot be held responsible for the quality of work provided by any member listed in the directory. The members themselves are responsible for the maintenance and accuracy of their entries in the Directory and the CIEP has not made any attempt to vet them. The institute cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies in the Directory. Inclusion in the Directory as a freelance does not necessarily mean that the member is self-employed as defined by HM Revenue and Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions.