About me
In my early life, I completed an Honours degree in psychology then worked as a mental health nurse in Scotland for a number of years. I eventually went back to university to study religion and theology, and I loved it so much that I stayed on to complete my PhD. The next thing I knew, I was living in New Zealand, working as a lecturer in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Auckland. I took early (very early!) retirement in 2021 and have been spending most of my time since then editing and writing.
Over the past fourteen years, I have gained a lot of experience in editing, copyediting, and proofreading academic work, including books, book chapters, book proposals, and journal articles. I have previously edited a number of single-author and multi-author books and have served as editor for two academic journals. I have also worked with many Honours, Masters, and PhD students, guiding them through the process of successfully completing their proposals, dissertations, and theses. These experiences have given me the skills to assist writers in different ways – from constructing coherent arguments and crafting snappier sentences to checking references, spotting inconsistencies, and correcting pesky typos.
My recent projects have ranged from editing a 250,000-word academic volume to proofreading journal articles, PhD thesis chapters, and blog posts. I am happy to consider projects of any size, no matter how big or small.
While most of my editing experience has been with academic writing, I can work with you on any of your writing projects (including blog posts, news articles, short stories, conference presentations, CVs, covering letters, job/promotion applications, and podcast scripts). My “specialist subjects” include religion, theology, gender studies, criminology, literature, and visual culture, but I have edited work from other disciplines and genres, including philosophy, anthropology, sociology, education, linguistics, history, and creative writing. I love working alongside both experienced and novice writers, helping them to create work that is as clear and compelling as can be. I have a gimlet eye for detail and my feedback to authors always includes generous amounts of both constructive criticism and commendation.
When I’m not editing and proofreading, I love reading and writing crime fiction, knitting scarves, and listening to podcasts. My latest passion project has been researching and writing podcast scripts.
I am also a verified editor and proofreader on the publishing platform Reedsy.