We offer a full suite of editing services, including:
- Copyediting and proofreading
- Substantive editing, including content (re)structuring
- Rewriting
- Writing coaching.
Our founder Catherine Viola has extensive experience in all these areas. She can help you plan or rework complex content, such as proposals, reports and presentations, for optimal impact and readability. In addition, documents can often be dramatically improved by presenting data and key messages in charts and diagrams instead of just text. Good grammar and spelling are also essential for a polished and professional finish. For our clients in the telecoms and utilities sectors, these editing services benefit considerably from Catherine’s specialist industry knowledge.
Catherine can also provide individual feedback and training to help improve your team’s business writing. Upskilling your staff in this area is good for business and can help boost job satisfaction too.
Types of editing
Proofreading
Proofreading involves making final checks and corrections to a document before it’s published or sent to a client. As well as fixing any outstanding spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, the proofreader makes sure that the document is properly formatted and free from inconsistences.
Proofreading is the very last stage of creating a document. At this point, the deadline for finalising the document is looming, so any changes have to be kept to a minimum. There is no time for major revisions, such as rewriting or adding new content.
Proofreaders check and correct content prior to publication.
Copyediting
Copyediting is detailed work on a full draft of a document aimed at ensuring the accuracy, clarity, conciseness, and consistency of its content. As well as correcting spelling, typos, grammar and punctuation, copyeditors make sure the document follows house style and is properly formatted. They rephrase sentences to make them more succinct or clarify the meaning, and raise author queries to address any inconsistencies, ambiguities or omissions. Once the copyeditor has checked the author’s revisions, the document is ready for proofreading.
Copyeditors prepare documents for publication, ensuring the content is accurate, clear, concise and consistent.
Substantive editing
Substantive editors (also known as structural or content editors) work with authors to ensure their content is suitable for its intended audience and purpose. They help structure the document in line with its key ideas and aims. They make suggestions to improve the logical flow of the argument and highlight any significant omissions or inconsistencies.
Ideally, substantive editors get involved in complex writing projects right from the outset. At this stage, they can advise on the title, scope and structure of the document, which reduces the need for making major changes later on. Later in the writing process, substantive editors review partial or full drafts, and may restructure the overall content to strengthen the argument. They also reorganise paragraphs and sentences to improve the logical flow. Any major changes are decided collaboratively with the author.
A substantive editor is a writing companion who helps authors create complex documents that fit their intended purpose.
