Editorial services
The right editorial input can ensure high quality written material that is appropriate for its purpose and audience.
I have experience of a range of editorial work gained during my in-house and freelance careers.
My current main area of work is copy-editing, with the aim of helping authors maximise the quality of their written work. This involves making revisions, and offering suggestions for redrafting and restructuring in order to enhance the author's text and ensure clarity of meaning (in addition to basic proofreading checks).
I am also able to undertake:
- Proofreading: Checking final copy for grammar, punctuation, spelling, layout, consistency and sense, with limited revisions to ensure clarity of the text and limited fact/name-checking
- Wordcount reduction: Editing work to achieve a specified length
- Adaption of material for different audiences / different formats: Working from a single source to produce variation(s) which take account of the needs of different audiences (eg, children and young people; non-expert general public / service users; those with English as an additional language); producing summaries, leaflets etc.
- Drafting of reports and other outputs: Producing original text drawing on information and sources provided by the client
- Fact-checking: Checking of people, places, names, dates etc separately from - or over and above that included in - standard proofreading and editing work
- Application of house-style: Revising documents in line with agreed style.
I am experienced at working with authors for whom English is a second language. For such authors, the copy-editing process aims to achieve smoother, more 'readable' English. My aim is to help authors communicate their message effectively to their audience, and I work hard to achieve this.
I generally work on electronic files in Word using the tracked changes / comments functions, allowing the author to accept or reject suggested revisions and respond to any comments. I am happy to discuss alternative approaches for individual commissions.
Examples of the type of documents I am able to work on include:
- Academic: journal articles, books, reports, research bulletins, and other publications; funding applications; undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations and theses
- Public and third sector and corporate: policy papers and research reports; brochures and annual reports; internal and externally published papers of all type
- Small businesses: leaflets, brochures and other marketing materials; proposals; web content.
I will consider work in any field, but bring expertise and added value to work related to the following areas: the social sciences, social policy, social research; government and the wider public sector. I have particular experience of working in the justice and health and social care fields.
My professional social research background offers added value to clients in the research and academic sectors.
Rates
Rates for all services are negotiable, dependent on the nature of the job, the level of input required and the timescales for the work. I am happy to provide a quote (fixed rate, word-count rate or hourly rate) on the basis of sample text. Please contact me to discuss further.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your editorial requirements.