Writing & Editing

COPY EDITING & PROOFREADING

It is always ideal to have someone else read your work, thought it is not always possible due to time and other constraints. My objective is that my clients become aware of the issues in their own writing and learn how to deal with them, so that eventually they can edit their own work without or with minimal external help.

What type of editing do you do?

Structural or Substantive Editing:  Reorganize a manuscript to improve clarity in content and structure.

Copy and Stylistic Editing:  Check the internal consistency of facts, look to clarify meaning, eliminate jargon, polish the language, and do other non-mechanical editing. Correct grammatical errors, word usage, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure. 

Proofreading:  Check text for minor, mechanical errors, such as spelling mistakes, typos, or small deviations from a specific style.

What type of texts do you edit?

As a creative writing and technical editor, I help authors get their books ready to submit for publication, from the rewriting stages at the beginning to the final stages of proofreading and formatting.

I specialize in creative non-fiction articles and books (for example, memoirs), and technical writing (guides, how-to, reports, business copy).

As an academic editor, I work with professors and students to improve their grant, scholarship or school applications, project proposals, essays, papers, theses, dissertations, journal articles, book chapters and reports. I specialize in APA style, and environmental sciences, social sciences, humanities and the arts.

In what languages do you edit?

All editing services are provided both in English (Canadian and American) and Spanish (from Spain and Latin America).

I have been a member of Editors Canada and the Spanish Editors Association, an association of professional editors specialized in the editing of Spanish texts for the United States.

WRITING & WRITING INSTRUCTION

I specialize in creative non-fiction, technical and academic writing. Examples of previous writing are a networking manual for the YWCA, several academic articles, book chapters and reports, and over 400 articles on travel, culture, and social issues for educational and bilingual magazines, newspapers, and for the general public .

I’m an alumna of The Writers Studio at Simon Fraser University and a past Greater Vancouver Area representative and board member of the Federation of BC Writers.

Services include:

  • Writing original copy: Provide original text, either based on your material or our own research.
  • Manuscript evaluation: After analyzing a manuscript for strengths and weaknesses, provide a brief report with suggestions for improvement.
  • Re-writing: Create a new manuscript, or parts of a manuscript, on the basis of content and research supplied by the author.
  • Coaching for better writing: Teach and provide you with the tools to do your own editing and feel confident about your writing.

I can help you produce the following texts:

  • Business / Non profits: résumés, goals and mission statements,  proposals, brochures and newsletters, copy for websites
  • Non fiction / Creative writing: personal life stories/ biographies, non-fiction articles, chapters, or books
  • Academic / School / Work: applications, papers and essays for courses, proposals for scholarships and grants, articles for publication, workshop and course materials, curriculum development, CVs

Do you have a question?  Would you like to discuss an idea or a project?

Contact me; I’ll be happy to explore your options.