Why copyediting?
You know what you want to say. But getting from a working draft to clear, polished, publish-ready copy can take time you simply don’t have.
Maybe multiple stakeholders have turned your crystal-clear prose into muddled messaging. Perhaps your tone of voice has disappeared under the weight of a waffly narrative. Or perhaps AI has done the easy bit: making the words sound good. The harder job is making sure there’s depth, nuance and a genuinely meaningful message behind them.
My copyediting service gives you an experienced editorial eye when you need one. I’ll do the detailed heavy lifting while you get on with everything else on your to-do list.
What does your copyediting service include?
There's more going on behind good copy than meets the eye. Messages get sharpened, ideas are untangled, and words are made to flow.
Depending on what your content needs, I will:
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correct spelling, grammar and punctuation
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improve structure and flow to make your content easier to read
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unpick and simplify complex ideas and sentences
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make sure your message or main idea is clear and easy to understand
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check for contradictions, inconsistencies and omissions
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remove unnecessary repetition and waffle
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ensure your copy aligns with your tone of voice
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make sure the writing style is appropriate for your audience
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apply editorial scrutiny to potential legal or reputational risks – such as misleading or unsubstantiated claims, unattributed quotes or exclusionary language.
Your content benefits from independent editorial judgement, while your expertise, your voice and your objectives remain central to the process.
The business benefits
With a fresh editorial perspective, you can expect:
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clearer communication – language that’s easier to understand and more likely to resonate with your audiences
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a sharper message – so your key points don’t get lost in unnecessary words or complexity
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a consistent voice – across your communications, even when content has been written or reviewed by multiple stakeholders
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fewer costly mistakes – with potential errors, inconsistencies and reputational risks picked up before publication
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flexible editorial support – hire me when you need me, whether that’s for a single document or ongoing support
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a fresh pair of eyes – an independent perspective can spot what's hard to see when you’ve been immersed in the content.
There's less for your team to worry about. More confidence in what goes out.
How does the copyediting process work?
Every commission is different, so I’ll tailor the approach to your content, objectives and deadlines. But a typical copyediting project looks like this ...
The brief
1.
You’ll tell me what you need your content or communication to achieve, who it’s for and anything else I need to know.
You’ll then send me a sample – or the whole document – so I can get a feel for the content. A Word file is most common.
A light, medium or substantive edit?
2.
I’ll review the content, and we’ll agree on the level of intervention it needs, from a light edit to a more substantial one. We’ll also discuss your timescales so I can give you an estimate for the job.
3.
Getting to know you
If you have a style guide or brand guidelines, send them my way. If you don’t have guidelines, I’ll create a style sheet for the project. This records the conventions I’ve used – for example, British English spellings, hyphens, en rules, quotation marks, lists, capitalisation and number formats.
That means your content has a clear, consistent editorial framework, and you have a useful reference point for future work.
Query-handling
4.
I’ll agree with you on how you’d like me to raise questions or flag anything that needs your attention.
For a complex or large commission, a weekly catch-up may work best. For other projects, I might raise queries directly in the Word document or list them separately for you to review. Either way, I won’t bombard you with questions. I use sound editorial judgement and query the things that really matter.
5.
I edit your content
I’ll read through your content carefully, making minor changes such as punctuation corrections ‘silently’. For more significant edits, I’ll use Track Changes. This keeps the amount of markup you see to a minimum and makes it easier to focus on the changes that need your attention.
6.
You get publication-ready content
Once I’ve completed the edits, I’ll send the file back to you along with the list of queries and, where relevant, the style sheet I’ve created. You’re then free to review the changes, resolve any outstanding queries and get your content ready for publication.
