Mark D'Souza
Borivali
Summary
Passionate editor with over ten years of experience in the scientific and book publishing industries. Over the course of my editorial career, I have worked as a language editor as well as a content development editor. While my expertise lies in editing content in the Physical Sciences and IT domains, I am quite versatile and adept at editing content across multiple disciplines.
With a keen eye for detail, I excel in supervising writers, helping them craft compelling content for publication.
I aim to further my career and achieve excellence in the editing/publishing industry by utilizing my qualifications and experience by contributing towards the organization's growth.
Overview
15
15
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Editor
Packt Publishing
Mumbai
04.2021 - Current
- Edited and reviewed IT-related content for books that have garnered positive reviews on Amazon.
- Collaborated with authors, providing constructive feedback and coaching to help them refine and develop their content.
- Ensured all published books met high-quality standards, aligned with their value propositions, and catered effectively to their target audiences.
- Mentored new editors, increasing in-house capacity and strengthening the editorial team.
- Coordinated with various stakeholders to ensure timely publication of books, supporting the company in achieving revenue and productivity goals.
- Managed select project management aspects, such as ensuring the timely delivery of chapters and handling invoicing, during my tenure as an Executive Editor.
Managing Editor
Cactus Communications
Mumbai
06.2014 - 01.2018
- Led a team of 10 in-house editors and over 60 remote editors.
- Managed client feedback for the Computer Science and Engineering Centres of Excellence (CoEs), with the aim of enhancing overall editorial quality. Part of this task included assessing complaints and providing detailed resolution updates to clients via email as well as overseeing subsequent actions (such as relaying feedback and applying fee deductions to relevant individuals).
- Worked closely with in-house editors to help them achieve their KPIs, manage daily tasks, and meet client deadlines.
- Addressed freelancer grievances, including resolving invoice discrepancies and handling feedback-related concerns, while implementing initiatives to boost freelancer motivation.
- Engaged with editors to enhance the stability of the editor pool by improving availability, reliability, and quality.
- Coordinated with process managers to ensure seamless work allocation and smooth day-to-day operations, preventing deadline breaches and facilitating on-time delivery.
- Reviewed and approved invoices for Editors-on-Contract (EoCs) to ensure timely payment.
- Trained and mentored new EoCs, freelance editors, and in-house editors, helping build team capacity to meet growing business demands.
- Participated in User Acceptance Testing (UAT) for various in-house projects, including Whiteboard, the organization's job creation and allocation system.
Assistant Managing Editor
Cactus Communications
Mumbai
11.2013 - 01.2014
- Collaborated with the training team to streamline monthly audit processes for reviewers, leading to improved editorial quality.
- Allocated assignments to editors and reviewers, factoring in time zone differences, client deadlines, incoming volumes, and existing workloads to ensure balanced distribution and target achievement.
- Continued to edit manuscripts and review assignments completed by editors, providing constructive feedback to elevate the team’s overall quality standards.
- Served as the primary point of contact (PoC) for 8 editors worldwide, addressing editing-related queries and resolving general grievances.
- Trained and mentored Editors-on-Contract (EoCs) and in-house reviewers, fostering their independence and strengthening the team’s quality capacity.
- Engaged with editors and reviewers to sustain high morale and a positive work environment.
- Participated in the design and grading of tests for applicants, aiding in the recruitment of skilled in-house and freelance talent.
- Contributed to testing and implementing a revised editor model, enabling the team to scale operations effectively to handle increasing volumes.
Associate Editor
Cactus Communications
Mumbai
03.2011 - 10.2013
- Participated in the business unit restructure to improve operational efficiency.
- Selected as the first candidate for R1 training, a fast-track program to become an Associate Editor, which involved simultaneous training in editing and reviewing rather than the traditional phased approach.
- Edited manuscripts in physical sciences and engineering authored by non-native English speakers to help them get their research published in high impact factor journals, addressing language, grammar, punctuation, and formatting issues to meet the target journal guidelines.
- Reviewed edits completed by freelance editors to ensure compliance with job requirements and internal quality standards.
- Screened client-submitted manuscripts to confirm accurate subject area categorization in the submission system, ensuring proper allocation to suitable editors.
- Actively participated in focus groups for review process enhancements aimed at scaling up operations. Responsibilities included (1) shadowing reviewers and ensuring timely and constructive feedback for both editors and reviewers as well as (2) sharing detailed insights with the training team and project managers to inform finalization of the revised review process.
- Assisted the Managing Editor in overseeing day-to-day tasks during their absence to maintain operational continuity.
Service Engineer (Contract)
Vedang Cellular Services
Mumbai
02.2010 - 09.2010
- Conducted field surveys of over 250 sites across Mumbai and Navi Mumbai to assess their feasibility for housing 3G equipment during the initial setup phase of 3G operations.
- Performed on-site equipment audits for various telecom operators to ensure seamless network performance and minimize customer connectivity issues.
Education
MSc - Sports Management
Bournemouth University
Bournemouth05-2019
BE - Electronics and Communication
Manipal Institute of Technology
Manipal05-2009
Skills
- Adaptability
- Multitasking
- Problem solving
- Copyediting
- Content development
- Project management
- Communication
- Analytical thinking
"I am a quick learner, able to work efficiently under pressure, and consistently meet deadlines"
Languages
- English
- Hindi
Personal Information
Title: SENIOR EDITOR
References
References available upon request.
Timeline
Senior Editor
Packt Publishing
04.2021 - Current
Managing Editor
Cactus Communications
06.2014 - 01.2018
Assistant Managing Editor
Cactus Communications
11.2013 - 01.2014
Associate Editor
Cactus Communications
03.2011 - 10.2013
Service Engineer (Contract)
Vedang Cellular Services
02.2010 - 09.2010
MSc - Sports Management
Bournemouth University
BE - Electronics and Communication
Manipal Institute of Technology
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