Why is editing so important?
Anyone reading a document, whether it’s an essay, report, funding application or novel will want it to be clear, succinct, grammatical and correctly spelled.
Types of editing
Editing means different things to different people. At its most basic level, it involves what is often known as proofreading – checking for spelling, typos, punctuation mistakes. At its most complex, it involves working with the writer at a developmental level, i.e. discussing ideas, structure of the document.
The editing I do can be described as copy editing, defined on Wikipedia as “the process of reviewing and correcting written material to improve accuracy, readability, and fitness for its purpose, and to ensure that it is free of error, omission, inconsistency, and repetition.”
I check for the following:
spelling and grammatical mistakes
clunky sentences
wrong use of words
logical flow of ideas
repetition of ideas
Process
When you contact me about something you’d like me to edit, I’ll read the document to get an idea of how long editing will take, then give you an estimated cost. I charge £35/hour.
Payment
Fees can be paid by cheque or BACS, and should be settled within two weeks of receiving your edited document.
Strengthening your writing workshops
These explore the ingredients of good writing and give participants the chance to practise developing the skills. The workshops consist of input and small group work. Such tools help to make writing more succinct, readable and engaging. If staff in your organisation would benefit from attending a workshop, please get in touch with me at: Riddell.Jane@gmail.com
The workshops last between 1.5 – 2 hours and the fee is negotiable.
Testimonies
Jane recently shared her expertise through a short workshop on ‘Strengthening your writing’ with Members of The Melting Pot. The process and content of the session was well delivered and thought through. What it taught me as a participant was:
– how easy it is to read good written material
– how hard thorough editing is for the majority of us – editing well is a real skill
– how useful editing is to a wide variety of circumstances – from business reports and important letters, to essays, funding applications, scripts etc
– simple steps to improve my own written language skills
– that it is worth the investment of ‘yet more time’ and/or through hiring an editor, for those important things in life – where choice words matter
Claire Carpenter, MD, The Melting Pot
“During 2013 I worked on a book on a new management model. I am Dutch but I preferred the book to be in English. My English is quite reasonable but not perfect. Choice Words Editing took care of my errors, but not only that: it often improved on my text and made it much clearer. All honour to Choice Words Editing!” Wiet Janssen
“Jane has edited some of my text for websites. Jane impressed me because she works very fast and methodical. She also helped me improve my work suggests some changes. It was honour to work with such as professional editor as Jane. I highly recommend.” Kris Kubic
Jane at Quiet Fiction 