how it works

Plain English editing

Editing levels

Text editing helps readers to read right through with ease and get your important messages on a single reading. It involves:

• tidying up your grammar and punctuation
• reducing the size of your sentences
• reshaping overly complex or confusing text
• applying consistent terminology.

$100 an hour

Proofreading gives your whole document a professional sheen. We do this after editing a document, not as a replacement for editing. It involves checking all fine points of words, punctuation, terminology and formatting.

$100 an hour

With structural editing, we:

• reorder or move sections of text
• restructure your text into lists, paragraphs, charts etc — whatever aids readability
• arrange signposts (headings etc) to guide readers easily through the sections
• ensure the best flow from beginning to end.

$120 an hour

Clarity checks
Get an independent, expert opinion of how well your documents work for their audience and purpose.

We'll analyse your major document (or set of documents) against a number of globally recognised readability markers, and suggest ways it can be improved. 

$120 an hour

Projects
We are happy to negotiate a project rate for developing and/or producing a periodical publication (such as a newsletter) or for editing a single substantial publication (such as an annual report). This may be a more cost-effective option than an hourly rate.

Fees by negotiation

Working with you
At the start of any editing job or project, we take a clear brief from you — about the audience, context, document purpose and stage in the writing process. We also like to view an advance sample of the writing.

We prefer to edit in Word or plain text, using the 'Track Changes' and 'Comments' functions.

For all documents, we include a comprehensive editing report (explaining key editing decisions) and a style sheet (listing recurring style points, word choices etc).

Contact us for a quote or an estimate.

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Writing skills training

Clear brief

Before developing any course, we gather extensive information. We talk with you about your needs, survey intending participants and analyse a cross-section of relevant workplace documents.

Interactive, fun, authentic

Our workshops are interactive — challenging as well as fun. Participants discover for themselves what works or doesn't; practise new ways of writing; and take away strategies for use in their daily writing tasks. The learning materials and tasks incorporate the authentic documents of participants.

We deliver the workshops at your premises (or choice of training venue).

Follow-up

At the end of every workshop, we gather participant evaluations on your behalf. And every training programme concludes with a detailed client report — this is complementary.

Indicative prices

Prices reduce for course repeats. And we are happy to negotiate prices if the training is part of a wider culture-change programme.

Contact  us to discuss your writing-skills training needs.

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Writing support

Coaching

As a follow-up to workshops, we also offer one-on-one coaching — together with workplace assignments, if need be.

Or we can provide ad hoc coaching for anyone in your organisation who has an identified need. We also run coaching sessions for small groups.

Fees by negotiation

Guides

We develop tailored:

• style guides — to provide consistency of terminology, names, punctuation, typography, formatting etc across a whole organisation
• language guides — to guide in-house writers through the complexities of grammar, vocabulary and document structures
• writing guides — to help staff manage all stages of the document-production process efficiently and confidently
• glossaries — to explain your specialist terminology to lay readers
• templates — for specific repeated functions
• standards — to guide writing performance for all staff.

Fees by negotiation

Audit

We can audit your organisation's writing systems, and advise you how to make these time-efficient, cost-efficient and sensitive to the needs of your public.

Fees by negotiation

Contact us to discuss your writing support needs.

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