EDITORIAL SERVICES
Our job is to help clients communicate effectively and accurately with their audiences. We look at the substance of what the client is trying to say, and tailor the language and content to produce a clear, cohesive message that will suit the needs of the intended readership.
Ours is a technical editing service. That means that we focus not only on the language but also on the content, which we scrutinise for factual accuracy. This includes checking mathematical calculations.
We bring to the job our interest and experience in Earth sciences, sustainable development, and healthcare — particularly around HIV and AIDS.
We specialise in editing publications written by people who:
- do not speak English as a first language;
- have difficulty explaining complex technical concepts to audiences outside their field;
- have been taught to write in ‘management-speak’ or other jargon that is not appropriate to the publication’s audience; and/or
- struggle to write effectively.
Our integrated editorial and design service benefits clients in several ways:
- Continuity — we see the job through from draft to print-ready artwork.
- Problem-solving — we spot potential production problems early on, and deal with them at the editorial stage.
- Technical awareness — we attend to structural issues that non-designers overlook.
- Late changes — an editor who is also a designer can amend text within the layout and make design adjustments at the same time.
Of course, if a client already has a preferred designer and only needs an editor then we have all the necessary software to take care of copy, even if the project is already in production.
Between 2011 and 2019 we did a great deal of work for the World Food Programme (WFP). Examples of publications that we edited and designed for public consumption can be downloaded from WFP's website via the following links:
Please note that we cannot take on jobs at the eleventh hour. Technical editing is very time-consuming because it usually involves a lot of research, and professional design bears no resemblance whatsoever to producing documents using word processing software.
We would therefore ask you, please, to talk with us before you plan your production schedule so that we can advise you as to how much time will be needed for these tasks. We want to do the best we can for you. Time makes that possible.
