If you need help with books, reports, proposals, RFPs, case studies, web copy, speeches, copywriting, or video scripts, I can help. I’ve done all of the above.
I have worked for a wide range of clients: government agencies, corporations, nonprofits, academic think tanks, and newspapers and magazines.
I have explored a wide range of topics: politics and public policy, urban planning and development, business, education, psychology, and sports, to name a few.
I offer four kinds of editing services:
Developmental Editing: If you’re at the start of a major project — a book, report, proposal, or case study — you might need help to scope it out. These projects are major time commitments. The road is filled with blind alleys and ugly surprise if you don’t have the right game plan.
This is no hyperbole: If you have an experienced author and editor helping out at key moments (especially the beginning), you can save literally hundreds of hours. And you avoid intense blows to your confidence. Who needs it?
Overhauls: You have already written a draft. You’ve got most of what you need … or do you? It’s a mess. You need a fresh pair of eyes. More important, you need someone with the experience to restructure the piece, get rid of junk, and make the sentences and paragraphs sing.
The greatest frustration, for any writer, is getting deep into a project and getting stuck with no way out. Too often, we just push ahead, even if we don’t have a plan, for the sake of “getting it done.” But when we’re in too deep, we often can’t find a way out. An expert outsider can help.
Honing and Perfecting: You have a strong draft. It says what you want it to say. But something is missing. The language gets clunky at times. Some of the pieces don’t fit. You have some holes, but you can’t figure out what they are.
The people who matter notice things that others don’t. They notice repetitions, clunky sentences, and imprecise language. So if you are trying to shine your image, you better make sure your documents do all the little things right.
But even if you don’t care about impressing elites, you should care about conveying your ideas clearly. If you don’t, you can lose out on deals, get orders wrong, and undermine the efficiency of your operations. Studies show that poor language costs American businesses billions a year. How much you you lose because of inadequate writing?
Ongoing Work: You can’t afford a whole editorial department. You’re busy doing other work. But you would like someone on call–someone who is available for the big projects and heavy writing periods. Someone who can edit pieces on a weekly or monthly basis.
In the post-COVID world, many businesses and organizations are already using “hybrid” offices. People don’t go to the office everyday. So why not get a parttime expert editor on your team?
JUST ONE MORE THING
If you don’t want to offload all your writing–if you want to give your team the skills they need to take command of their own writing–consider booking a one- or two-day seminar. I can teach you all the tricks of the trade in dynamic seminars. Your people will improve their writing as soon as they get back to their desks.