Professional proofreader

How a proofreader can help your online business

Hi. Gary Harvey here...

Let's face it. Nobody is good at everything. Your skill may lie in business. Or software design. Or you may be a clever entrepreneur with a promising idea...

... BUT you're also smart enough to know that you are not a trained journalist and you sometimes find it hard to put your ideas down on paper clearly.

That's where a professional proofreader/copy editor can be an enormous help. You do what you do well, and I do what I do well. Together we can sharpen up your website and your autoresponder emails. You'll be more than satisfied with the improvements, just like these delighted clients were.

Do you have trouble with these? Lots of people do.
- Spelling?
- Grammar?
- Punctuation?
- Knowing how to make things "crystal clear"?
- People dont seem to understand what you've written?

Or does your writing simply lack LIFE and ENERGY??

A professional proof reader and copy editor can help. He or she will read your text with fresh eyes and spot the problems at once and work with you to express your intended meaning clearly.

Many a clever entrepreneur does not have the same level of skill when it comes to producing crystal clear writing. And vice versa, of course.

People do judge the value of an online business by what they see and read. How else can they assess it, anyway? So you dont need to let your site be downgraded by...

glaring speling mistakes,
capital letters in Odd Places,
words that runtogether,
writing "there website" when you mean "their website",
using "it's" when you mean "its",
inconsistent punctuation;
-- and a lot of other popular English mangles.

So easy to get wrong.

So easy to fix, too.

These are all things that I can help with. If you'd like to contact me for a free quote, just click and I will reply within 24 hours. Usually much sooner.

The best writing style for most websites

Most people dont want to read stuffy, long, convoluted sentences when they're online. They want conversational English. Friendly. Just you talking to them in their language. And that's what I'm most comfortable with too.

However I can also write, edit and proofread at university essay level. In June 2003, I completed a Bachelor of Internet Science and Technology which adds to my previous Bachelor of Arts and Diploma of Freelance Journalism.

So the formula for readable web English is...

• Short words most of the time.
• When you do use a longer word, make sure the context reveals the meaning.
• Short sentences... most of the time.
• Short paragraphs... always.
• Make it flow.
• Readable font size, color and style.
• Avoid slang and regional language. Think global for the web.

So we'll make your text friendly and relaxed, while at the same time informative and crystal clear. If something doesnt make sense, together we'll clarify it.

"Dont" or "don't" ?
Both are now acceptable in Web English, so if the apostrophe is important to you, please let me know. Here are a few sites that omit the apostrophe: UKscientists, Microsoft, a BCTV course in mass media today, universities at Berkeley, Illinois and Alaska, and no lesser an authority on the English language than Oxford University Press. The easiest way to spot these usages is with the free Google toolbar installed on your browser, using the highlight button. (By the way, some readers have pointed out that you can go too far with this apostrophe-less writing. Agreed! How confusing would it be if we started to see Id, Im, Ill, were, well, youd and youre?

Friendly professional proofreading

No job is too small. No task is too big. So please let me know whether you need...

• straight-forward proofreading where the focus is on spelling, punctuation, grammar (with little in the way of re-writing)?

or...

• a significant degree of editing and/or re-writing? I will make all the necessary text edits so that your message is clear and well-expressed. This includes spelling, grammar, punctuation, visual consistency and word choice, as well as asking the big questions: Is the meaning crystal clear? Is the message developed soundly and in a convincing way, or will people see holes in the logic?

Please with details of your proofreading needs. You can expect a prompt response to your enquiry. In every aspect of our business relationship, you can expect friendly professionalism with full confidentiality.