Mrs Maria Carter | Medical editing (basic science to global issues) | Medcomms | Healthcare publishing
Scotland
- Phone
- 07501010328
- Website
- www.swanandhorn.com
- Organisation
- Swan & Horn
- Job title
- Medical Editor | Medical Publisher | Publishing Consultant (fiction and nonfiction)
- Membership Grade
- Advanced Professional Member
About Maria
I’m a highly experienced editor and publishing professional as I also run my own healthcare publishing company – which means I also have extensive design, production, project management and promotional skills. I work on absolutely any medical subject (not that I like all of them!), from basic sciences and clinical specialisations to public health and health economics. Right at the top of my list are health issues that have a big impact on social issues, and vice versa.
With decades spent in the industry, around 25 as a freelance, I operate now as Swan & Horn. Unsurprisingly I have worked on thousands of documents, for hundreds of clients and authors, and I can handle projects through every stage of the publishing process, from first draft to publication and beyond.
My output is high, and always of the highest quality: my editorial standards were set firmly while working for Taylor & Frances in the 80s and Elsevier in the 90s; were extended by working for countless other major international publishers; were topped up by a great deal of tailored training; and are completely up to date because of my own desire to know everything required to keep producing work I can be proud of.
You should also know that I am a friendly, reliable and versatile collaborator who forms strong and effective working relationships. You can find out more about me on my main website at https://www.swanandhorn.com/about-us. Do drop me a line if you'd like to talk and find out whether we're a good fit!
1. SERVICE RANGE
- Prepress services
Editing (copy, line, development, sensitivity, language editing and cutting to fit)
Proofreading
Writing and re-purposing
Indexing - Production and design services
Book design, layout, typesetting and data display
Print preparation, e-book conversion, POD book conversion - Extra offerings
Style-guide creation
Content and image research
Metadata creation - Top level
Publishing consultancy
Full project management
2. DOCUMENT TYPES
Length – From single sheets (even enormous ones) to whole books and series.
Audience – From general readership to academic, professional and corporate.
Formats – All media including print, digital, web and three-dimensional objects.
Complexity – I can handle anything!
File types – The mainstays of my trade are Microsoft Word and PDFs. I get really creative with Publisher and Adobe InDesign, and have tools to make me extra efficient, like Sky Professional Indexing and reference management software. I also have a raft of handy apps to hand, especially for handling illustration files. And I keep on top of everything using Excel spreadsheets.
3. QUALIFICATIONS AND CAREER
- Education
BSc (Hons) Physiology/Medical Sciences from Westminster University (1983–86)
MSc (towards PhD) Neuropharmacology from London University, St Thomas' Medical School (1986-87) - Inhouse experience in STM and Medcomms (1987–2000)
Medical writer/editor (Medicine/Adelphi)
Journal editor (Taylor & Francis)
Project manager (Adis International)
Editorial manager (Crossaig/Elsevier) - Freelance experience (2000 to current day)
2000–2015 – I used to be Shoreline BioMedical, specialising in medical content only.
2012 onwards – now I own Swan & Horn, and work as a publishing service provider and an independent healthcare publisher.
4. ACTIVITIES OVER THE LAST 3 YEARS
- Extensive long-term client projects (multiple services)
• Economist Health Intelligence Unit –editorial management of the Vaccination Ecosystem (Immunisation) database; and editing of numerous other documents such as executive reports, case studies, promotional infographics and public health outcomes reports.
• UniHouse Turkey – project management and of a new medical publishing wing, and editing and production of their first publications on medical communication skills in doctors and nurses.
• Royal College of Surgeons of England – setting up and development of e-learning management system for on PGCert modules on, for example, urology, plastic surgery, burns management, cancer, dermatology and pathology. - Health-related books for self-publishing authors (multiple services)
• Dr Mair Crouch – Genetics & The Law (taken up by Springer)
• Prof Frederick Schiffer – Dual Brain Psychology
• Dr Benjamin Black – Belly Woman (winner of the human rights Moore Prize)
• Dr Shungu M’gadzah – Understanding and Dealing with Everyday Racism: The Six Stages Framework - Fiction and biography books (one or more services)
• Maia Egerton – A Cup of Kindness
• Iain Houston – Vacancies - Biomedical research content
• Journal submissions – Roxana Khatib Shahidi, Mehrdad Rakaee and Simin Jamaly
• Dissertations –Arghavan Jahandideh and Roxana Khatib Shahidi
• Article editing – British Journal of Dermatology - Recent Swan & Horn titles
(all work done by yours truly -- apart from the original writing)
Hostile Environment Surgery: Notes for Humanitarian Surgeons Dealing with Penetrating Weapons of War by Senior Surgeons David Nott OBE & Pete Mathew
The Wasted Years: Infant Feeding Policy Practice & Politics by Prof Stewart Forsyth OBE
Stories of Cancer & Hope by Kevin Donaghy - Forthcoming Swan & Horn titles (in production)
Perinatal Alcohol Use by Alena Lochmannova & Prof Colin Martin
Kiki’s Identity by Nadine Williams
Why Are You Scared of That? Maria Carter - Creating another website for my title on humanitarian surgery (www.hesbook.com)
5. INCREASINGLY SPECIALIST TRAINING OVER THE YEARS
• Publishing Training Centre 1980s: Original BookHouse Foundations of Copyediting course.
• Society of Indexers 1990s: Foundations of book indexing.
• CIEP 1990s onwards: includes Advanced on-screen editing; Editing for the web; Medical editing; Training for trainers; Working for non-publishers.
• NUJ 2000: Typesetting in InDesign.
• Publishing Scotland 2018 onwards: Editorial project management; Print and production; Copywriting; Cover design; Author contracts; Royalties and rights; Copyright and libel; Publishing finances; Book marketing, promotion and selling; Connecting with journalists; Integrated social media; Search-engine optimization.
• ACES 2022 onwards: Psycholinguistics; Sensitivity reading; Conscious language and representation.
• Book Machine 2023 onwards: Adobe InDesign for publishers; Agile project management; Book publicity and media coverage; Writing cover briefs; Marketing campaigns; Publishing rights; Metadata creation; Photo research; Pitching and presenting; Publishing strategy; Supporting neurodivergency; Contracts; Issues of race; Productive publisher.
6. TESTIMONIALS
You will find a wide selection of feedback from clients large and small at https://www.swanandhorn.com/testimonials.
Service(s)
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Client types
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.