Portfolio

Here is a selection of the projects I’ve worked on in the past year or so. Most recent work is at the top; scroll down for more. For reasons of confidentiality, in some cases I can only provide very brief details.

Copyediting: Research report

I copyedited a 12,000-word research report covering the financial outlook in a particular region of the world.

Copyediting: Novel

We Are The Ululating Tzatziki: A Quincy Moonbeams Adventure by Matthew Lee

The project:

We Are the Ululating Tzatziki: A Quincy Moonbeams Adventure is a 110,000-word novel by Matthew Lee. As you can tell from the title, it doesn’t take itself too seriously, but editing it was still a serious matter! I knew from reading an earlier version that Matt had cut out quite a lot in terms of plot, which meant I needed to keep an eye on continuity and details that might now be superfluous, as well as the usual checks on areas such as spelling, word use, punctuation, layout and so on.

To help keep track of everything, I used my usual style sheet (in which I list editorial decisions and justifications, idiosyncratic words and any other notes I need) alongside a comprehensive list of what happens in each scene and which characters are present. I sent these documents to Matt at the end of the process along with my editorial report, to make sure Matt had as much insight as possible into how I’d worked.

This was a hugely enjoyable job, and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel when it’s ready for editing!

Feedback:

“If you’ve written a book, and you don’t use the services of a professional copy editor, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Liz went through mine recently and she did such a good job that I told her, honestly, she could charge more for her services.

Sure, you can use AI to proofread materials. But, seriously. You’ve put all that time and effort into writing a book. Count the hours. Show yourself some respect. There is no substitute for a meticulous, highly competent professional like Liz reading through it and giving you the perspective of a [prolific] reader (as in a human reader, the people who you want to read your book) who also happens to be a talented writer.

She’ll spot things that AI won’t. Guaranteed. And you’ll be thankful for it. Five stars because I can’t give her six.”

Matthew Lee, author

Read the book: We Are the Ululating Tzatziki: A Quincy Moonbeams Adventure by Matthew Lee

Editing: PhD chapters on abolitionist health geographies and therapeutic dance

The project:

I have a background in words and wellbeing, so looking at similar issues through dance rather than words was right up my alley! The author’s first language is not English, so I also used my skills as a linguist to pick up on any phrasing that didn’t sound quite right, as well as checking for consistency, spelling/grammar/punctuation and correct word use.

Copyediting: Non-fiction book

Grassroots Economics: Reflection and Practice by William O. Ruddick

The project:

Will approached me on a recommendation from another client while he was finishing this book, and I was delighted to come on board as copyeditor. At around 36,000 words, it was a big undertaking, especially as time was short. Upon looking at the draft, I was immediately struck by the quality of the writing – the prose was already in good shape, but Will wanted to make sure it was accessible to lay readers as well as people who who are already aware of the work of Grassroots Economics. I’d been following Will’s work for a while via his newsletter, but it was a real joy to dig in and learn from his vast experience of working with communities that are practising ways to build resilience and trust in economies that don’t rely on outdated, centralised currency systems.

Even after I began copyediting, Will was updating the manuscript in response to input from other readers, so we had to maintain good communication to make sure I was able to cover everything in the time available. I set aside extra time towards the end of the process to allow for a final read-through and make sure everything was as good as it could be. The final product is a beautiful book that has the potential to change the world from the ground up.

Feedback:

Read the book: Grassroots Economics: Reflection and Practice by William O. Ruddick

Proofreading: Critical geography PhD chapters

The project:

My client approached me about proofreading/light copyediting for the introduction and conclusion to their PhD thesis. They also shared some feedback from supervisors that pointed to certain things that could be improved.

One thing I always do when working for students at any level is find out their university’s rules regarding editing and proofreading. Overstepping these could have disastrous results for the student, so, even if the student is confident in asking for what they want, I always feel a duty of care to double-check. In this case, I was able to proofread the thesis carefully and look out for the issues the supervisors had raised, alongside my usual checks. As a bonus, I also found the topic fascinating – I love the huge variety of information I encounter in my freelance work, and this thesis was one of the most important and interesting that I’ve come across recently.

Copyediting: Research report

The Different Networking Modalities of Social Cooperation (EURICSE)

Feedback: “Thank you very much for your work, it is outstanding.”

Proofreading: Website copy, including articles for publication

The project:

After I copyedited Mustardseed Trust’s annual report, they then asked me to proofread their new website. This included their basic “about” page along with lots of information about their partners and their vision for the world, plus a selection of older articles. I also checked the page headers and footers as well as the SEO to ensure that the pages create a professional impression both on the website and when they show up in search results.

Copyediting: Annual report for a charity

The project:

I copyedited Mustardseed Trust’s annual report. This was a hugely interesting and enjoyable task as it provided a great overview of Mustardseed Trust’s work in funding all sorts of inspiring projects relating to the care economy, basic income and regenerative agriculture. It also presented a few challenges: the report included contributions from many different authors, all of whom had used different style, spelling and grammar conventions. Mustardseed Trust had some very new brand guidelines, so I was able to use those as a starting point for a checklist. To this, I added a list of terms that appeared frequently in different sections, so I could check those in particular for consistency. Mustardseed’s preferred version of English is UK English, so I also ensured that UK spelling and grammar conventions were used – while (of course) respecting the authentic voices of the original writers.

Feedback: “It was great, we accepted every single change that you suggested! It was great that you gave us tracked and accepted changes.” – Katrina from Mustardseed Trust