FAQ

Freelance Publishing Professionals is an online directory that specialises in bringing together publishers and freelancers in the English Language Teaching and Educational publishing sectors. The powerful search facilities and ability to place adverts significantly speeds up the process of finding, contacting and hiring the right freelancer.

There are two membership types:

1) Freelancer

Anyone who works on a freelance basis or runs a company that provides services in the English Language Teaching or Educational publishing sectors is welcome to join as a 'Freelancer'.  You will create a profile that will appear in Publishers' searches. You will also be able to advertise your availability to Publishers. Note that you will not be able to view other Freelancers' profiles or their availability adverts.

2) Publisher

Publishers, packagers and other organisations are invited to join as ‘Publishers’ to gain access to the directory and contact or advertise to Freelancers. Note that you will not able to view adverts posted by other Publishers.

If you are unsure which category you fit into (for example in the case of a group of freelancers working as a collective, or a very small publishing operation), please get in touch with us to discuss how the directory would work best for you.

There is a separate annual subscription system for Freelancers and Publishers, and each group accesses and uses the website in a different way.

• Compile a detailed, personalised profile entry complete with photograph.
• Appear in Publishers' targeted searches for specific skills and experience. 
• See and receive immediate notifications about Publishers' adverts offering work.
• Enable Publishers you already work with to see what other services you offer.
• Post unlimited adverts displaying your own availability.
• Post targeted adverts seeking specific types of work.
• Keep your skills and knowledge up to date with free access to the CPD live events.
• Access useful member discounts.
• Explore a growing range of resource materials.
• Access the members' closed discussion group (closed Facebook group).
• Take part in regular members' events such as quizzes, virtual networking and discussions.
• Use the Freelance Publishing Professionals membership badge in your email signature and on your website.

We have a global freelance membership and the vast majority of Job Spot adverts that appear in the directory offer roles which can be carried out entirely remotely. The Publishers and other organisations who access the directory are also based in a range of geographical locations.

We operate an annual subscription system which allows full access to our services for users. The current subscription rate for an individual Freelancer is £65 per annum (starting from the date of registration). This includes free access to our CPD live webinar programme, discounts on training and a significant discount to our annual in-person Awayday event. The subscription renews automatically on an annual basis unless you cancel your membership. A reminder email will be sent out approximately one month before renewal is due. The payment system is powered by Braintree, a trusted and secure provider. All details are encrypted. It is possible to pay by credit card, debit card or Paypal.

It isn’t obligatory to include a profile photo, but we strongly recommend that you do. It makes the Publisher–Freelancer relationship less anonymous, makes you more memorable, and often allows clients who have worked with you before to 'put a face to the name'. Most of our members have a photo, and only those profiles with photos can be featured in our scrolling ‘Featured members’ bar at the bottom of the home page. It is also possible to upload a company logo instead of a profile photo.

We recommend updating your profile frequently in order to keep the directory content as current and as dynamic as possible. To encourage this, Publishers' search results are ordered according to how recently the content of each profile has been updated.

To view and update your member profile, log in to your account and navigate to the ‘My account’ area. Here you will be able to view your current profile and update any of the details. We recommend reviewing and updating your profile frequently.

When you receive a contact email from a Publisher via the online directory, we recommend that you respond as soon and as fully as you are able to. Remember that the Publisher may have contacted more than one person.

Following the initial email, all correspondence will take place directly between you and the Publisher outside the directory platform. Freelance Publishing Professionals has no further involvement, and as such, takes no further fees nor any responsibility for any work arrangements that may ensue.

In short, no. Adverts that are posted in the Job Spot area of the website must not be shared outside of the directory. The company’s name, the roles they are advertising, and all other details held within the post are confidential. You must not pass any details of the advert to others, and you must not apply on behalf of another freelancer, or refer other freelancers to the person or company posting the advert. 

However, we do post brief Job Spot role descriptions on social media for each advert so that non-members have the opportunity to join the directory and apply if a particular role appeals to them. 

If you get an offer of work from a Publisher that you aren't familiar with, we recommend that you reach out to freelance colleagues who may have have experience of working for them. The ideal place to do this is via our closed Facebook group. You can access this closed discussion group for freelance subscribed members of the directory via the Members' area on this website.

By default, you will automatically be notified by email when a Publisher posts a new Job Spot advert. If you wish to switch off notifications, navigate to the 'My account' area when logged into the website and click on 'My profile'. Click 'Edit my profile' and uncheck the notifications preference box at the very bottom of your profile. You can choose to turn the email notification feature on or off at any time.

As part of your membership subscription you are able to post an unlimited number of personal adverts showing your availability to clients. Simply log into your account and navigate to the ‘Advertise your availability’ tile, where you will be prompted to complete a simple form.

Adverts that you post are visible to Publishers but not to other members of the directory. Note that all Freelancer adverts are programmed to be automatically deleted 30 days after the date of posting, or before if your period of availability ends before that day. This is designed to ensure that only current, relevant adverts are shown to Publishers.

However, if you wish to advertise a work opportunity to other freelancers in the directory, you can do this by using the 'Post your own Job Spot' feature.

Note that all Freelancer Availability adverts are programmed to be automatically deleted 30 days after the date of posting, or sooner if your period of availability ends before that day. This is designed to ensure that only current, relevant adverts are shown to Publishers. However, please feel free to place another advert after the 30-day period if you are still looking for work. Note that this only refers to adverts; your profile will be in the directory for a full year from the point of payment.

Freelancer-to-freelancer Job Spot adverts remain live until the expiry date you specified when creating the advert.

If you want to offer work to other freelancers, you can do this by placing a freelancer-to-freelancer 'Job Spot' advert as part of your Freelancer membership. All responses will be gathered in a dedicated inbox within the website, from where you can view the applications and also the applicants' directory profiles. However, as a freelancer, you are unable to browse the directory and perform searches within the directory. If you need this functionality because you are a freelance project manager or you operate as a very small-scale publisher, please get in contact with us to discuss your needs and how we can most effectively support you.

If you decide to cancel your subscription, by default we will immediately deactivate your membership profile so that it is not visible to Publishers, but we will retain your dormant profile entry in case you wish to subscribe again in future. If you wish us to delete all information that we hold about you, including your dormant membership profile, please state this clearly in your request to cancel your subscription.

If you would like to cancel your subscription, navigate to 'Manage my subscription' under 'My account'. Here you can contact us to let us know that you want to cancel your membership, and also inform us whether you would like to remain on our mailing list. We will then deactivate your account and instruct Braintree, our payment systems provider, to terminate your subscription payments. Please see our Terms and Conditions for further details.

• Access a dynamic, regularly updated online directory of professional freelancers.
• Carry out powerful, targeted searches for specific skills, experience or key words.
• View member profiles with photos, personal statements and details of professional experience – all presented in an easy-to-compare format.
• Advertise directly to all freelancers by posting an unlimited number of Job Spot adverts, which are reposted by us across our social media for greater reach.
• Shortlist candidates quickly and easily using filters in our Job Spot advert 'inbox'.
• Contact multiple freelancers simultaneously with one personalised email.
• Reconnect with trusted freelancers that you may have lost contact with.
• Hire freelancers with immediate availability.
• Give access to your whole team with just one log-in.
• Register for the CPD live events and get training on the key issues of the day affecting all Educational publishing areas (one free place per Publisher). 
• Participate in the popular annual Freelancers' Awayday conference – with presenting, networking, and sponsorship opportunities.

Maintaining an active and regularly updated directory of relevant profiles is important to us.

• The subscription-based model ensures that only committed freelancers with relevant skills and experience are listed.
• Each new profile is carefully checked to ensure that it has been optimised to appear effectively in search results.
• To keep results fresh and encourage freelancers to keep their profiles current, search results are ordered according to how recently the content of each profile has been updated.
• Freelancers’ availability adverts are automatically deleted after 30 days, ensuring that only current information is displayed.

If your organisation's logo appears in the scrolling ticker at the Freelance Publishing Professionals home page, then your organisation has an active subscription to the service.

All Publishers (or packagers or other organisations) that subscribe to Freelance Publishing Professionals are asked to supply the name and contact details of one person who will manage the administration of the account. This person can confirm the log-on details for you. Please contact us if you do not know who the administrator is. 

Once the Publisher membership has been activated, there is no limit to the number of users. As part of the registration process, one person is designated as the account administrator. This person manages the subscription and issues the log-on details to those colleagues with whom they wish to share access.

We operate an annual subscription system which allows full access to the directory. The current subscription rate for publishers, packagers or other organisations is £500 per annum. The subscription automatically renews annually unless the membership is cancelled. Payments are processed via Braintree, a trusted and secure provider. All details are encrypted.

If you represent a small publishing operation, please get in touch with us to discuss how the directory would work best for you and whether we are able to offer you a discount at the current time.

Please contact your designated account administrator. If you are unsure who this person is, please use the contact form on this site to email us, stating the name of your organisation.

When you send an email to one or more Freelancers from inside the web directory, you will be prompted to input your name and email address. The email will be sent from your email address, but via our website. If you have posted a Job Spot advert, you are able to reply to applicants directly from your Job Spot 'inbox'. These messages will be sent from the email address you input when you created the advert.

In both of the above cases, if you have chosen to contact multiple Freelancers with one email, they will not know that the same email has been sent to multiple directory members. However, the message is not automatically personalised to them within the body of the email.

The Freelancer will receive your message via the directory and will be supplied with the email address you entered in the contact form. Following the initial message, all correspondence takes place directly between you and the Freelancer outside of the directory platform via email. Freelance Publishing Professionals has no further involvement, and as such, takes no financial fees nor any responsibility for any work arrangements that may ensue.

Every time you contact a Freelancer through the web directory, a copy of that email will automatically be sent to you via the email address that you specified when sending the email. If you do not appear to have received that email, please check your spam email folder.

If you have placed a Job Spot advert, a copy of any initial messages you have sent to applicants will be stored in that specific Job Spot 'inbox', along with the application messages.

The downloading or recording by any other means of web directory members’ details is strictly forbidden. Members have given their express permission to appear in the web directory and to be viewed and contacted by Publishers who are members of Freelance Publishing Professionals. Any copying or storing of members’ details outside of the directory is a breach of the General Data Protection Regulation (2018).

There are two options open to you (in addition to browsing Freelancers and contacting the profiles that match your requirements):

1) Access the ‘Advertise to freelancers’ page. Here you will be prompted to complete a simple form which will create a ‘Job Spot’ advert. The advert will automatically be populated with your organisation's name and logo. Freelancers who have opted in to receive Job Spot notification emails will be alerted immediately.

2) Access the ‘Browse freelancers with immediate availability’ page, where you can contact Freelancers who have posted adverts showing their current availability.

No, placing an advert is completely free once the annual subscription has been paid. You and others in your organisation can place as many free adverts as you wish.

No, only Freelancers and other members of your organisation can see the adverts that you place.

Your name and your organisation's name and logo will always appear on adverts you post. However, if you would like complete anonymity, we are able to post on your behalf. Please contact us to use this bespoke service.

Yes, we welcome these kinds of adverts as we find that our freelance population is often flexible and open to new opportunities, particularly short-term, in-house or remote contracts.

We don’t charge any kind of commission when you hire a Freelancer through our web directory. Your organisation pays an annual subscription fee, and that is the only fee we charge.

We do not offer these services as part of the standard annual subscription because such services demand a high level of professional investment in terms of time and skills. However, we are able to offer such services for an additional fee. Please contact us to discuss your needs and how we can assist you.

Yes, we offer a range of bespoke additional services tailored to your needs. Please get in contact with us to discuss your requirements and how we can help you.