Welcome to my professional copywriting, editing and proofreading service
If you’re reading this page you’re obviously in search of a good copywriter, editor or proofreader/final eye specialist …or maybe all three. Rest assured, you’ve come to the right place.
I'm Catherine Jackson, a copywriter, editor and proofreader with over 40 years’ professional experience.
As a wordsmith, I can help you write a polished piece of work in a range of genres and formats or cast my exceptional eye for detail over existing copy to ensure spelling and grammar are perfect and language is appropriate, including localisation. And all the time observing tone of voice, brand guidelines and those all-important deadlines.
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Copywriting and proofreading portfolios
If you don’t already know me, I’d like to invite you to take a look at my portfolio pages, where an extensive range of professional copywriting and editing/proofreading work is presented. For more information about my career so far, please see About me.
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Based in the Home Counties puts me within easy reach of London, but I am also able to work remotely – I have a quiet, dedicated home office, fully equipped with an Apple Mac, Mac apps, MS Office Suite and Adobe Reader.
Don’t forget to check out the Testimonials section too, where other professionals who have worked with me give their honest opinion ...and then let's talk.
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BREAKING NEWS
New fiction title proofread for Simon & Schuster. More details on publication – May 2024!
COPYWRITING PORTFOLIO
Let's write some copy ...
Perhaps you need a website written, an article, a press release or news story? Or maybe a radio script, some product descriptions or social media posts?
I have many years’ experience in writing both editorial and advertising content, from news stories to descriptions of everyday items and high-end luxury goods to blogs, press releases, reports and white papers.
My copywriting is crafted in both print and digital formats, while blogs, articles and white papers involve interviews and in-depth research.
My copywriting portfolio includes:
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Adverts
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Articles
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Blogs
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Emails
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Press releases
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Internal comms
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Marketing collateral
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News articles
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Newsletters
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Product descriptions
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Scripts
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Social media
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Websites​
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White papers
Samples from my copywriting​ portfolio
Scripts
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Company: Splash Worldwide
Client: Barratt Homes/David Wilson Homes
Product/campaign: Sales promotions for various developments across the UK
Format: 30 second radio adverts for local radio stations
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Scripts
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Company: Maileva by Asendia
Client: Maileva
Product/campaign: Promotional tool
Format: 105 second animated video
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PROOFREADING PORTFOLIO
Let's read and edit some proofs ...
My proofreading and editing portfolio is as extensive as my copywriting one, having been a journalist and editor for many years. I've honed those skills by working in marketing and advertising, as well as editorial, thus increasing my versatility. So, how can I help you?
Maybe you've written your text already and need a professional, experienced final eye specialist to look over it and ensure grammar, punctuation and spelling are all tip-top? Be under no illusion – proofreading is essential if you are to avoid innuendo, inconsistency and misinformation. Just because someone is able to read, doesn't mean they can proofread.
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Perhaps your text is a translation and needs to be localised into UK English? I can help with that too, as well as proofreading US English.
If you’re not sure if you need your text proofread, then check out my articles – To proofread or not to proofread? That is the question and Spare a thought for punctuation – on why you should absolutely have copy proofread …and save yourself some grief – not to mention money – in the long run.
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With my long experience of proofreading all manner of publications comes an acute eye for detail. My proofread will also include a quality check (QC) on layout, image fit and page overview as standard.
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My proofreading portfolio includes:​
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Adverts
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Books
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Brand guidelines
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Brochures
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Catalogues
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Financials
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Magazines
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Marketing collateral
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Motion content
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Product information
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Property
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Recipes
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Reports
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RFPs
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Translation localisation
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Travel
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White papers
Samples from my proofreading​ portfolio
Moving content
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Company: Splash Worldwide
Client: Nike
Product/campaign: Rio Olympics 2016 promotional videos
Format: 30-second – 3-minute videos in English with various
languages sub-titled
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Nike: Unlimited Youth The Iron Nun (Sister Madonna Buder)
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Nike: Unlimited Will Mountaineer (Kyle Maynard)
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TESTIMONIALS
What others say about my editing, proofreading and copywriting skills
OVER & ABOVE
“Catherine has been a key part of my new book’s development. I booked her for proofreading services and she went over and above to work on my book. She proved that she is highly skilled, professional and an expert in book structure. I am so impressed with the way that Catherine stuck to deadline and made some key suggestions to the layout of the book, which I took on board. I can highly recommend Catherine for her proofreading/editing services and I will be back when I need work done on my next book. Brilliant work, 100% professional and an asset to my new book.”
Helen Bullen, Business Mentor, Author – new book 'Agnes, Bea, Cancer and Me'. Motivational business support and advice. Kindly Blunt™ Podcast,Triple negative breast cancer survivor.
QUALITY ASSURANCE
“Catherine is a proofreading and copywriting guru. Quality assurance is her forte and she always ensures continuity across the board.”
Martin Snook, Shaun Power Design
EYE FOR DETAIL
"I was very pleased with the [proofreading and copy editing] work you did and impressed by your eye for detail. In addition to spelling, grammar and style errors, you picked up on less obvious things that are sometimes overlooked, e.g. repetitive phrasing, inconsistent dates, incorrect alphabetisation [sic], nonsensical sentences, and inconsistencies between sections. You also raised pertinent queries."
Rachel Lawrence, Senior Commissioning Editor, Insight Guides
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A SKILL WHICH WE WILL CONTINUE TO USE
“Catherine has always delivered brilliant copywriting and proofreading work for us. Our company has numerous products and services delivered through several departments, which can be complicated to understand. However, Catherine creates a tone of writing that is exciting to read, includes everything needed from creative content to technical AV data, which the reader is able to consume and digest with pleasure. Catherine has a skill which we will continue to use as we simply do not have the level of writing in-house, thank you Catherine.”
Robin Breese-Davies, CEO, ted group
STELLAR JOB
“I had the pleasure of working with Catherine … a major rebrand with loads of guidelines. Catherine not only did a stellar job at proofreading but was fully aware of the design guidelines and noticed as soon as the guidelines were not implemented, avoiding any embarrassing client explanations… you’ll quickly come to the realisation that if she questions something you’ve done that she’s proofread, she’s right and you must just do it.”
Carlo Imbriolo, Freelance Designer at Splash Worldwide
GREAT ARTICLES
"Catherine has a fantastic eye for detail and is a pleasure to work with. She is skilled at managing a variety of tasks including external and internal communications. She has written some great articles really contributing to the marketing of Asendia. Great team player as well as working alone and her proofreading is unrivalled."
Nicola Cameron, Asendia
HIGHLY DETAIL-ORIENTATED
"I have worked with Catherine for the last 5 years across various high-end clients. She is friendly, approachable and passionate about her work. Catherine is highly detail-orientated with impeccable attention to detail. Her proofreading experience and self-taught knowledge of individual brands is invaluable. She possesses strong communication and interpersonal skills and is able to work on her own as well as part of a team. She prioritises and shifts focus as needed and often goes the extra mile to fulfil the clients' expectations. She is a pleasure to work with and would be an asset to any team."
Ian Tebbutt, Integrated Project Manager, Splash Worldwide
ABILITY TO PICK UP THE BALL AND RUN
“Catherine worked for me on a very intensive project in which she served as a proofreader across many international languages. This was a difficult project with high volumes and manic deadlines and I was thankful for her ability to pick up the ball and run with it. I found her to be proficient, accurate, and always ready to help in any capacity.”
Brendan Sweeney, Studio Manager, Hogarth Worldwide
EXCELLENT SKILLS
"Catherine is a very hard worker and her skills in copywriting from short articles to SEO websites to lengthy white papers are excellent. Her attention to detail is fantastic and I strongly recommend her."
Melissa Dainelli, Marketing Executive, Asendia
HIGHLY TALENTED INDIVIDUAL
"I create technical documentation for customers on a regular basis that go through Catherine for approval; we refer to as “my hieroglyphs”. Catherine keeps the Asendia brand consistency at the same time allowing freedom for the documentation message to stay as intended. But also Catherine is very technical minded and understands the document message on first release. She adds very constructive suggestions that compliment greatly the initial message. Catherine is a highly talented individual."
EXPERIENCED & CALM
"It was a real pleasure working with Catherine, and I'd recommend her highly. She's a very experienced copy-editor and proofreader with an excellent eye for detail, a great work ethic and the ability to stay calm while juggling a heavy workload. In addition, Catherine is friendly, a very supportive colleague and a real team player."
Emma Dixon, Director, Emma Dixon Editorial
HIGHLY EXPERIENCED
"I have worked with Catherine for a long time. She is friendly, approachable and passionate about her work. She is a highly experienced Copywriter and Proofreader and her attention to detail is exemplary. She professionally handles projects working alone or as part of a team and would be a huge asset to any company."
Michelle Parker, Creative Designer/Artworker, Splash Worldwide
CONSISTENT & ACCURATE
"Catherine and I were contracted to work together on a large telecommunications project in January 2013. She was a pleasure to work with, always professional and thorough in her approach to maintaining consistency and accuracy. I would welcome the chance to work with her again."
Daniel Mills, Freelance Senior Print/Digital Artworker/Retoucher/Production Specialist at Daniel Mills Limited
ABOUT ME
Becoming a copywriter, editor and proofreader/final eye specialist
Hello again. Well, now you know my name and what I can do, here's a little bit of background.
As you can see from my CV below, I am a former journalist and now a copywriter, proofreader/final eye specialist and editor. Why? My love for the written word has known no bounds from a very early age. I was always good at English and story writing. If it was written, I’d read it …and (also from a very early age) get frustrated when it was badly written, badly punctuated and badly spelt. My career, it seemed, was mapped out.
To the untrained eye English seems a difficult language, full of complicated rules and odd spellings. But it is those idiosyncrasies that make the English language such a beautiful one. It’s a language like no other and deserves respect. I soon became aware that it was my life’s mission to uphold its values and champion its authority. And, that my passion for it could be of service to others.
Early days for me
My career started in newspapers, where I quickly progressed from the news desk to the subs’ desk and to the dizzy heights of Chief Sub-editor. It was a time of great change in print; from hot metal to DTP (desktop publishing) to the digital world. Living and working through these monumental changes provided me with a comprehensive grounding in the publishing and printing world which is still relevant today.
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New technology and me
Going back to work after having a family sent me off on a tangent, but one that introduced me to MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint and obligingly expanded my repertoire from just Quark Express. Equally, I had ‘crossed the line’ into advertising and marketing.
As the digital world grew, I forayed into creative SEO copywriting and wrote websites, social media posts, advertising and marketing collateral, as well as articles and press releases for the companies I worked for and their clients.
Take a look at my copywriting portfolio.
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Get it read by me
Proofreading is often seen as the poor relation of copywriting, but don’t be misguided here. It’s so important. Unchecked, it can totally destroy the copy created, sending out completely the wrong message. In the long run, a thorough proofread can save the client both money and grief. See my articles To proofread or not
"Unchecked, it can totally destroy the copy created, sending out completely the wrong message."
punctuation for a long list of reasons why proofreading is ALWAYS a good idea. In fact, so important do I think it is, I’ve made at least half of my career out of it.
Take a look at my proofreading portfolio.
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At your service
Having taken a lifestyle choice to work again as a freelancer, I am at your service.
With a quiet, dedicated office at home in the north Home Counties and close to London, I am equipped with an iMac and copywriting and proofreading tools, and just as much enthusiasm – but far more experience – as 40 years ago.
Specialities
My repertoire covers
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books
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editorial
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print and digital
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advertising (above and below the line, print, digital and radio)
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motion content
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business proposals
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social media
with particular attention to audience, tone of voice and house styles.
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In addition, I have a wide, personal interest in and knowledge of English and European history, travel and other cultures, cooking, sewing, gardening and photography.
When I’m not reading and writing professionally …I love to travel with my husband, Martin, and I make sure I’ve read up all about where we’re going first. When we get home, I love creating memoir coffee table books with all the photographs we've taken.
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So, still reading and still writing.
Otherwise I can be found in my little sewing room, in the kitchen cooking or baking, or in the garden …creating, creating, creating.
Oh, and I’m never without a (fiction or non-fiction) book to read!
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Let's talk
Please contact me to discuss your requirements, including remote and on-site working. And, if you need more convincing about my capabilities, please see what other professionals have said about my work on my Testimonials page.
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"...a thorough proofread can save the client both money and grief."
CURRICULUM VITAE​
NCTJ (National Council for the Training of Journalists) certificate
Adobe InDesign CS5 certificate
Adobe Reader - Proficient
ProofHQ - Proficient
MS Office Suite - Proficient
Word - Excel - PowerPoint
Apple Mac apps - Proficient
Pages - Numbers - Keynote
'How to be a crazy good copywriter'
revision and update March 2020
'Beginner to Pro in SEO writing'
revision and update April 2020
Foundation Diploma in Photography -
Distinction
Q&As
Any questions?
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What sort of content do you write?
I have an extensive range of content copywriting in my portfolio from news stories to reports and white papers, to marketing, descriptive and instructional text, to website and social media copy, to radio and video scripts.
I have worked in the press, travel, retail, education and financial sectors. I have been a news reporter, sub-editor, sales and marketing executive, account manager, copywriter and proofreader.
Please take a look at my copywriting portfolio.
How good is your proofreading eye for detail?
I have an excellent eye for detail. Please see my testimonials for comments from clients and other colleagues, who specifically mention my eye for detail.
As a freelancer, do you work remotely?
Usually I work as a remote freelancer. I have a quiet, dedicated office at home in the Home Counties, fully equipped for copywriting and proofreading on an Apple Mac. I have unlimited broadband, MS Office suite and Adobe Acrobat Reader. I can also attend online meetings and stay in touch by email and mobile phone.
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Please contact me to discuss your requirements.
Do you write brochure copy?
Yes, I do. I am an experienced content writer and have a long history of writing for various types of brochures: promotional, products, services, internal and external communications. Please take a look at my copywriting portfolio.
Do you write copy for social media?
Yes, I do. I wrote a series of social media posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for House of Creed.
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I currently work for a social media company, where I both write and proofread social posts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter [X] and Instagram for their diverse clients.
Please see my copywriting portfolio for a selection of social posts.
Are you able to follow brand guidelines?
Yes, absolutely. I've even proofread and helped to write some.
In both my copywriting and proofreading roles, I have worked with many high-end, luxury and everyday brands including BlackRock, Graff Diamonds, Lexus, Investec, Nike, House of Creed, Harrods, Norwegian Airlines, TUI and Sensatori, First Choice, Robert Dyas, Neff, Tesco, EFG, HTC One, adidas, Barratt Homes, David Wilson Homes, Barratt London, Norwegian Seafood Council, ted, Insight Guides, Berlitz, Post Office, Newell Rubbermaid …all of whom have their own specific brand guidelines to follow.
Can you localise translated texts?
Yes, I can. I have worked for a number of organisations where translated copy has needed to be localised for both the UK market as well as for US English readers.
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Most recently, I have localised texts for the Norwegian Seafood Council (an example of which is included in my proofreading portfolio above) on both their advertising collateral and their recipe range.
Do you write website copy?
Yes, I do. I have written copy for web pages and websites for some household names such as the Post Office, as well as luxury brands like House of Creed. I wrote the original website for ted (the entertainment department) when it re-branded and contributed on a regular basis to the website at Asendia, where I worked as the copywriter.
I have also recently completed a refresher course on SEO writing to ensure I am up to date. Examples of this work can be found in my copywriting portfolio.
Do you write in a particular tone
of voice?
No, I write in lots of different tones of voice, befitting the subject or job in question. Whether familiar or formal, fun or corporate, I can write to whatever tone of voice you require. Please see my copywriting portfolio to get a taste of the wide range of my work.
Do you write blogs?
Yes, I do. I have written blogs for
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luxury brands like House of Creed
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newly formed companies such as Asendia
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online blogs like Demand Studios.
Please take a look at my copywriting portfolio.
Do you write advertorials?
Yes, I do. The most recent advertorial I have written was in The Stage for ted – the entertainment department.
I have also written copy for advertisements while working for Folens Publishers and Splash Worldwide.
Please see my copywriting portfolio.
Are you able to write instructions?
Yes, I am. I’ve written instructions for a whole host of things: how to use an item (including a double roundabout!), how to write for a brand (ted, Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes), how to enter a competition (Post Office), recipes and a very complicated guideline on how to qualify for free school material when a new Government strategy for teaching maths was introduced in the late ‘90s.
Do you QC as well as proofread?
Yes, I QC as well as proofread. As a Chief Sub-editor, I was tasked with page layout, typography and image quality, as well as the run-of the-mill copy editing and headline writing. As you can see from my testimonials, I have a reputation for going the extra mile.
Which programs can you use?
I use – and am proficient in – a number of programs and apps for writing, reading and editing, including:
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MS Office Suite: Word, Excel and PowerPoint
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Apple: Pages, Numbers and Keynote
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Adobe Acrobat Reader
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ProofHQ
Do you proofread books?
Yes, I do. It’s an area of proofreading I most enjoy and I would love to do more.
In the last few years I have proofread 11 travel guides for Insight Guides and Berlitz on destinations all around the world. Book sizes have ranged between 100 and 400 pages. I've also proofread a teacher’s guide for an innovative cursive writing scheme for infants, Marvin’s Marvellous Mountain.
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I've recently proofread a fiction title for Simon & Schuster – and my work was so well received, they have promised me more.
I am particularly adept at picking up inconsistencies – please see my testimonials – and am happy to copy edit as well if necessary.
What specialities can you provide?
I'm a great lover of anything historical and have a particular interest in both English and European history, which I studied for
A-level and have continued to do so.
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My passion for travel has also led me to proofread a number of printed travel guides for Insight Guides and Berlitz.
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As a more-than-competent cook and baker, I also love a recipe book and have proofread a number of recipes for Norwegian Seafood Council and the Level Best Art Cafe Cookbook. I have reviewed food and recipe books for a friend's website www.foodepedia.co.uk. Food has also been big on the agenda on my travels.
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As well as a knitter, I am also a competent dressmaker and sewer of household items like curtains and blinds, and I have a better-than-average knowledge of the garden.
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All this is in addition to the editorial and advertising expertise I have gained over the last 40 years.
I have a document for proofreading that requires close attention to tone of voice. Is that within your remit?
Yes, tone of voice is certainly within my remit. I have had to pay close attention to tone of voice since starting my career in newspapers and have continued to do so. For the past five years I have worked with Barratt Developments plc, which is particularly keen on tone of voice to separate and identify its various brands.
After writing the original website for ted, following its rebrand, I also wrote tone of voice instructions along with a vocabulary list for ted staff who are updating and populating the website as the business evolves.
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Part of my account management role at TUI UK&I involved checking tone of voice – of which there were many – for the different brands and categories of the holiday brochures.
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Please see my proofreading portfolio.
Do you copy edit as well as proofread?
Yes, I do. I have always included copy editing in my proofread since my days on newspapers – old habits die hard.
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