For a regular publisher

I work with an in-house managing editor who coordinates workflow with a pool of freelances. The main objective of the on-screen copy-editing stage is to read for sense, apply house style and perform internal cross-checks for references and figures/tables, with return within the week. The international non-native English authorship means that variations to orthodox sentence construction are allowed while ensuring that text is comprehensible and unambiguous.

For a bespoke XML project manager

I provide editorial support at all levels for an XML-based cross-media educational game, working directly with the project manager and author. Single-source content is written directly into page layout before export to XML and requires copy editing, some rewriting to comply with space constraints and checking the application of XML elements before proofreading. Web-only content is written within a bespoke XML structure, which requires checking for well formedness and validity, copy editing and the use of self-developed XML processing tools to generate suitable material for a proofreader.

For a subcontracting editor

My working relationship with this editor started with proofreading technical documents that required consistent style for data presentation and referencing. My services now extend to copy-editing for style and sense and contributing to spelling and hyphenation decisions.

For a software sales department

A software company wanted to publish a white paper to educate their potential customers about the value of their product, yet had limited time to dedicate to the project. I suggested that both rewriting and copy editing would be beneficial. I restructured headings and the order of ideas, removed repetition and inserted additional concepts. The manager was extremely pleased with the end result, an succinct treatise for their target sector.

For a small business

A long-established beauty salon contracted a design and print house to produce a new 24-page marketing booklet. Communication problems had occurred and the salon was worried that the booklet would not reflect their high standards of care. I was brought in very late in the production process, the day before the booklet went to press. I noted numerous typos and inconsistencies in design and content and directly instructed the designer/typesetter.

For a student

A student had prepared literature research coursework and wanted the document to be styled before printing at the end of the week. I created and applied paragraph styles throughout the document. The student noted that she would have taken much longer to do the job.