Hi! I'm Beth and I'm a freelance non-fiction copy editor and proofreader

Are you a publisher looking for a professional editor to enhance your non-fiction books at a competitive cost with a fast, reliable turnaround?

Are you an independent author seeking a friendly copy editor or proofreader to perfectly polish your words and take the stress out of the publishing process?

Here's how I can help...

  • Easy to work with

    I’m a friendly, reliable freelance copy editor and proofreader, offering first-class editorial services to publishers and self-publishing authors. I specialise in non-fiction books and work in Microsoft Word, InDesign or Adobe Acrobat Reader. I provide a prompt and professional service at highly competitive rates.

  • Highly experienced

    I have 20 years of editorial experience (including 5 years in house at David & Charles). I have worked on over 400 non-fiction titles for a variety of esteemed publishers and self-publishing authors. I have also edited over 50 business reports as well as website text, essays, theses, blogs, brochures and marketing material.

  • Fully qualified

    I am a professional member of the CIEP. I have a first-class degree in English and keep my professional training up to date. I completed CIEP courses, such as Getting to Grips with Grammar and Punctuation and Word for Practical Editing. I have also completed a course on Editing Illustrated Books with the Publishing Training Centre.

My specialist subjects


  • Arts & Craft

  • Business

  • Children’s Activity Books

  • DIY

  • Food & Drink

  • Health & Lifestyle

  • History

  • Home & Garden

  • Photography

  • Science

  • Self-Help

  • Sport & Leisure
‘It is always such a pleasure to be working with Beth, I really admire her accuracy and attention to detail. She always delivers on time or ahead of the deadline. I strongly recommend her brilliant services, she is above all a very friendly and approachable person.’
Caroline Guillet, Editor, Bloomsbury Sport

Examples of books I've worked on

Copy editing

Copy editing takes raw material and makes it ready for publication. The aim is to ensure that text is accurate, easy to follow, and free of error, omission, inconsistency and repetition. This process picks up embarrassing mistakes, ambiguities and anomalies, brings to light any legal problems and analyses the document structure to make the text the best it can be.

I usually copy edit using Microsoft Word, with Track Changes on if desired, marking up author queries as easy-to-follow comments within the document. I copy edit both UK and US English and make sure to follow house style. I am familiar with the Chicago Manual of Style and Harts Rules, and consult the Oxford or Merriam-Webster dictionaries.

When copy editing, I will:

  • Check all content and structure and that the copy is complete.
  • Clean up the document, fixing page set-up, spacing, heading levels and fonts, identifying any problems.
  • Correct errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, style and usage.
  • Fact check to ensure accuracy and query any anomalies.
  • Raise queries about inconsistencies, confusing terms, incomplete references and more.
  • Make text consistent to house style or create a new style and spellings sheet as needed.
  • Check illustrations, graphs, statistics and tables, making sure images support the text.
  • Check hyperlinks, footnotes and references, styling these consistently.
  • Flag up any instances of plagiarism or legal issues, such as permissions.
  • Suggest ways to reduce or increase the word count, where necessary.

This results in a document that’s correct, clear, concise, complete, coherent, consistent and credible – the seven Cs of editing!

'You’ve done a brilliant job! You’ve gone above and beyond… I’m delighted with the quality of the copy edit.’
Heather Bradbury, Editor, Green Books

Proofreading

Proofreading is a quality check and tidy-up of the final text proof, looking for consistency in usage and presentation and accuracy in text, images and layout.

I proofread UK and US text in Microsoft Word, InDesign or PDF files. I can use British Standards Institution (BSI) marks, if required.

When proofreading, I will:

  • Compare the proofs to the edited copy, line by line or reading 'blind'.
  • Check page numbers, headers and footers and page headings.
  • Check the table of contents against chapter titles, page numbers and endmatter.
  • Ensure consistent styles of spellings and hyphenation, following a style guide, if supplied, or compiling my own.
  • Watch out for omissions and inconsistencies in typography, layout and content.
  • Judge the need for changes in view of the budget and schedule.
  • Check or insert cross-references where appropriate.
  • Eliminate inelegant or confusing word, column and page breaks.
  • Ensure that illustrations, captions and labels correspond
  • Spot misquotations, errors of fact, misspelt names, misused words, numbers that don't add up and incomplete references.
  • Check that content looks right and is logically arranged.
  • Liaise with the author(s) to resolve queries or advise the client, as necessary.

When proofreading, care, judgement, skill, knowledge and experience are used to check that the work of the writer/editor and designer/typesetter is satisfactory.

‘Many thanks to Beth for her superb copyediting of my book. Beth’s expertise and knowledge proved invaluable for my manuscript and I appreciate her tailored approach to it. On one level providing a thorough proofreading of the book as well as giving it a comprehensive, professional and invaluable copyediting. It has been an absolute joy conversing with Beth and she has at all times been available, friendly and informative. I can’t recommend her highly enough.’ Annika Perry, author of Travel With Me

Editing clients

‘You’ve done a really wonderful job (again!) – my team are so happy we’ve found you and that you’re now working on our books. It is such a joy to have a copy editor with so much crafty knowledge plus with your clear AQs and markup it makes everything smooth sailing with the author!’ Natasha Collin, Editor, Bloomsbury Publishing

As well as some lovely self-publishing authors, I have been lucky enough to work with the following amazing clients:

3dtotal Alpina Arcturus Publishinge Bloomsbury Sport Bookoli
The Bright Press Bunny & Bumble Centum Complete Creative Universe
The Crowood Press Ebury F&W Media Green Books Greenleaf Publishing
Haynes Herbert Press Ivy Kids Ivy Press Luminix
Moot Nakono Orion Parragon Quintet
Quarto Rethink RHS Swales & Willis White Lion

'Beth is great to work with, she always does a thorough job, keeps to the brief and works to the deadlines provided. We have worked on several books together, often quite complex titles with challenging deadlines. I would highly recommend her for project editing and proofreading work.' Emma Gardner, Editor, David & Charles

Fees

I offer highly competitive rates, from just £25 per hour. Fees can be calculated as an hourly or daily rate, per word or for a whole project – whatever suits you best! Each project is assessed on an individual basis as many factors affect how long a job will take, such as the quality of the writing, the word count, the number of references or tables to check, and so on – there is no one-size-fits all for editorial work!

Before I can give you a bespoke quote, please help me by providing the total word count of your project, your desired schedule and details about the type of work you require. For the most accurate quotes, a sample file (of around 1,000 words from the middle of your book) is helpful.

‘Beth became the editor for my debut novel Ladies that Did by way of a search on Google… best day of my life! Her professional but kind manner was the bonus to her unbelievable editorial expertise. Without Beth I would not have taken the novel any further forward. She not only helped with editing and proofreading, but her kindness that enhanced the work with her gently suggested ideas was a bonus and showed her dedication. I felt that she ‘held my hand’ through the journey towards the finished work with the encouragement to continue to a successful end. I thoroughly enjoyed the shared experience of working with Beth and would highly recommend her professional services.’ Lyn Robinson, author of Ladies That Did

A little more about me...


I live in Bovey Tracey, Devon, with my husband Mike, and am a mum to two teenage boys. When I’m not busy editing, you can find me at my local Scout group as a keen Squirrel and Cub leader. I also enjoy volunteering at my local charity swimming pool.

I love long walks on Dartmoor or a coastal path, practising yoga and Pilates, going to the gym and catching up with good friends over a coffee. My elderly cat, Monty, keeps my lap warm as I work!

Please feel free to email me with any questions or to discuss your editorial needs at: [email protected] I’ll be delighted to hear from you.