About

Hello!

My name is Hannah McCall, that’s an image of my face, and I am the person behind Black Cat Editorial Services. I’m a freelance proofreader and copy-editor based in the UK.

In a previous life I was an administrator (IT and vehicle services) and service desk analyst (IT). I’ve also worked for one of the UK’s largest supermarkets as a stock controller. I hold a BA (Hons) in Politics, which I gained from Royal Holloway, University of London.

Today, I have the immense pleasure of working on and with words.

Experience

I’ve been a professional proofreader, and later a copy-editor, since 2015. In that time I’ve worked on more than 220 projects, most of which were books. To put that in perspective, as of January 2023, the texts I have edited come in at a combined length of more than fifteen million words.

Training and qualifications

I take training and continuing professional development very seriously. Here are some of the courses I have completed:

An Editor’s Guide to Editing Fiction (Publishing Training Centre), 2021
Copyright for Editorial Professionals (Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading), 2020
Introduction to Fiction Editing (Society for Editors and Proofreaders), 2019
Basic Editing by Distance Learning (PTC), 2018
Basic Proofreading: Digital Skills (PTC), 2017
Mentoring scheme (SfEP), 2016
P2: Proofreading Progress (SfEP), 2015
Grammar at Work (PTC), 2015
Basic Proofreading by Distance Learning (PTC), 2015

In addition to the above, I have passed the SfEP’s Basic Editorial Test, and I am an Advanced Professional Member of the organisation (now the CIEP), meaning I have demonstrated a high level of professional competence and substantial experience to an expert panel. I now serve as a tutor on the CIEP’s Proofreading Headway and Progress training courses. You can read more about the CIEP here.

Specialisms and interests

My fiction editing work with publishers is predominantly on general commercial fiction, particularly British contemporary fiction. However, I do work across many other genres, including historical, fantasy and crime fiction.

My personal interest is in speculative and fantasy fiction and I read widely within and around these genres. The works of authors such as Becky Chambers, Natasha Pulley, and Martha Wells are among my favourites.

I am not your go-to editor for romance or erotica; I don’t tend to read novels in those categories and I would not be well placed on advise on genre expectations or quirks.

When I’m not working

If I’m not editing, I’m likely to be catering to my cat’s latest demand, making my way through my to-be-read pile, walking the dogs, or thinking about what to have for dinner. Some of my time is also spent writing book reviews for the CIEP. You can read my latest reviews here: