Proofreading, Editing, Writing

What sort of proofreader and copy-editor would I be if I didn't dabble a little in writing too ... Feel free to browse through my latest journal entries below.

JOURNAL

Recent Work at ProofreaderNI

Posted on 21st May 2015

Snowed under would be the term I use here – albeit a bit strange to be talking about snow in May! (Rain would be more appropriate L.) It’s studentsville at ProofreaderNI HQ, the time of year when theses and dissertations have to be handed in -- and there’s always a mad panic to get work proofread before a uni deadline.


I quite enjoy student work; it’s diverse, with topics ranging from theology and business to nursing; for the most part the work isn’t too long so there’s a quick turnover and I’m on to something new; and students, in my experience, are very grateful for any help you can give them.


When your degree mark is dependent on coursework, it’s nice to know that your hard work is being showcased to the best of its ability. And that’s where I come in. It’s hard enough to get coursework to degree standard without having to worry about punctuation and spelling. Sure, spellchecker is a great invention – and it has its place, don’t get me wrong. But will it be able to read your work for sense? Methinks not. Will it recognise when you’ve accidentally left a letter out if you still make a word? No. Take for example, for or form, cause or case. Easy mistakes to make, but be aware that missing letters can change the meaning of a whole sentence. What about homophones? Discreet and discrete, stationary and stationery, rein and reign, principal and principle … I could go on, but you get the idea. My point is: a fresh pair of eyes looking over your work is extremely helpful – even better if those eyes are trained in proofreading.


Yes, it costs money. There’s no way around that. But what you get out of it is peace of mind that your work is consistently presented, reads for sense and has correct punctuation, spelling and grammar. My aim is to make your writing easy for your reader to understand – believe me, some subjects are hard enough to comprehend without added gremlins sneaking in!


PORTFOLIO


Let's work together

Please contact me for any other information or a quote.
Phone: 00 44 7979434500
Email: victoria@proofreaderni.com

You can also find me here:

EPANI PTC
  • I have employed Victoria Woodside for several projects over the past year and found her to be an excellent proofreader. She is thorough, eagle-eyed and meticulous. She is also a pleasure to work with - professional yet friendly, efficient and timely. I can't recommend Victoria highly enough...

    Averill Buchanan
    Advanced Professional Member, Society for Editors and Proofreaders

  • I am working with Victoria on two projects and am extremely pleased with her work: one piece of work is fiction and the other is non-fiction. She is able to edit equally well on both even though they are two entirely different genres. She has checked facts, corrected spelling and punctuation and made good suggestions about layout and formatting. The work is all mine but she has somehow made it better. I look forward to working with Victoria in the future.

    Rev. Neil Cutcliffe
    Author

  • Victoria has proof-edited business documents for us on numerous occasions. We are very pleased with the standard of her work and I am sure that her contributions have positively impacted on our business.

    Mark Grain
    Financial Director, Woodside Haulage Group

  • Victoria provided a fast, attentive and very thorough service. It immensely improved my work and focused my attention on various aspects of my writing throughout my dissertation.

    Student
    Anonymous

  • I found Victoria easy to deal with, she has a pleasant and willing manner and always responded to emails/calls/texts promptly. Victoria engaged well with the content of my book and was considerate of the subject matter. Victoria was thorough in her proofreading and demonstrated a high level of attention to detail.

    Victoria offered suggestions but was not forceful with any of them, and was open to my view on her suggestions. I found Victoria to be professional and efficient in her work and I would have no difficulty recommending her to others and I would certainly use her services again in the future.

    Nollaig Mc Sweeney
    Author

  • Victoria has been amazing at helping shape the flow and language of our brochure, from simple mistakes to rewording entire sections.

    This had made a big difference to the standard and quality of our brochure, which we are very grateful for.

    Alex Milne
    Milne Holiday Parks