I spent Wednesday in London on the one-day course Efficient Copy-editing by Rosemary Roberts, organised by the Society for Editors and Proofreaders.

CPD means time out of the office, juggling the workload, travelling and being on the ball the next day. But however much we may dread making the commitment, my CPD day this week has proved how very important it is to make the effort.

What was I looking for? A cross-check on what I thought efficiency in copy-editing entailed, gleaned from other courses and experience, with someone with over 30 years' experience in house.

What did I get? My objective achieved plus Rosemary's key message: expect to share in managing and controlling the project.

Sharing isn't just about giving a good handover back to the publisher once the job is finished (which is important); it's about taking one's own overview of the brief and the manuscript together at the very beginning and finding the best course of action.

To expand: a good eighth of the time should go into planning. The brief will say what a manuscript needs and state the budget and time available and, sometimes, these do not seem compatible. It is all too easy, and wrong, for a copy-editor to either ask for more time/money or "take the hit" themselves. This is not sustainable in the long run, not for the client and not for the copy-editor. It is a copy-editor's job to work out how the best job can be done within the time/money constraints: some things are essential, others desirable and others could be, quite simply, luxurious. A publisher appreciates their copy-editor analysing the manuscript, setting priorities and suggesting the best solutions/compromises. They expect this negotiation: a desk editor cannot get down to the nitty gritty of everything and rely on their copy-editor.

I have long been aware of the myth that copy-editors are seen and treated Cinderellas, having to do everything just as they are told. It is quite a pervasive myth and one that I think should no longer be perpetuated. Indeed, as soon as a copy-editor behaves like a Cinderella, they are on the slippery slope to total inefficiency! So to have Rosemary, with so much experience of working "on the other side", debunk this myth in the most constructive way was very welcome.

So why was this course "efficient CPD"? It let me tick all the boxes on something I knew much about. It gave a top-level view. It confirmed that "taking ownership" is essential for efficiency. It gave the truth of the publisher--editor relationship in one fell swoop.

All in all, committing to my CPD was most efficient thing I did this week, even in comparison to managing five days' work in four plus overtime! Thank you Rosemary!