Portfolio

I specialise in proofreading and editing natural history and other science-related material, including books, reports, magazines, web copy and student work. I have also worked on fiction books, and have extensive experience writing for the web.

I have been a Professional Member of the SfEP (now the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading) and have undertaken courses in proofreading and copy-editing, including passing the Publishing Training Centre’s Basic Proofreading course with Distinction.

You can find out more about my experience and qualifications below, or see what clients have said about me on my testimonials page.

Proofreading and Editing

Bloomsbury Publishing

  • Proofreading
    • Feasting, Fowling and Feathers, Lost Animals, Sex on Earth, p53: The Gene that Cracked the Cancer Code, House Guests, House Pests, The Complete Naturalist, Understanding Bird Behaviour, Wild Cats of the World, Mark Carwardine’s Guide to Whale and Dolphin Watching in Britain and Europe, Sorting the Beef from the Bull, Butterflies of Britain and Europe: A Photographic Guide (Second Edition), Tracking the Highland Tiger, The Missing Lynx, Planting for Pollinators, Ebb and Flow, Where to Watch Wildlife in Britain by Low-carbon Transport, Keeping Chickens, RSPB Spotlight books (Otters, Puffins, Robins, Foxes, Kingfishers, Woodpeckers), RSPB Handbook of Scottish Birds, RSPB Guide to Birdsong, RSPB Birding Year, RSPB Bird Tales, Pocket Guide books (Trees and Shrubs, Insects, Garden Birds, Mushrooms, Tracks and Signs, Butterflies, Spiders), RSPB Pocket Book of Owls, RSPB Pocket Book of Hedgehogs
  • Copy-editing
    • The Teal, The Barnacle Goose and The Common Eider (Poyser Monographs), Rocks and Minerals, Nextinction, Herding Hemingway’s Cats, Death on Earth, The Ethical Carnivore, My European Family, Geological Structures, RSPB Spotlight books (Bumblebees, Owls, Hares), Borrowed Time, Field Guide to the Caterpillars of Great Britain and Ireland, The Dangerous Snakes of Africa, His Imperial Majesty, Mission Penguin, Field Guide to the Grasshoppers and Allies of Great Britain and Ireland, RSPB Butterflies of the British Isles, Concise Guides (Pond Dipping, Rockpooling)

Pelagic Publishing

  • Proofreading
    • Bat Conservation: Global evidence for the effects of interventions
  • Copy-editing
    • Urban Peregrines

HarperCollins (William Collins)

  • Proofreading Human Universe

CABI

  • Proofreading
    • Urban Insect Pests: Sustainable Management Strategies, Rodent Pests and their Control, Exotic Fruits and Nuts of the New World
  • Copy-editing
    • Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Management and Heritage Tourism Destinations

Reaktion Books

  • Proofreading
    • Lightning, Seal and Moth
  • Copy-editing
    • Beetle, Scorpion and Rhododendron

British Wildlife Publishing

  • Proofreading
    • Pocket Guide to the Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland

Ivy Press

  • Copy-editing
    • The Book of Snakes, Bird Love, Lizards of the World, Coral Reefs: A Natural History

Biosphere Expeditions

  • Editing several research expedition reports

Cheshire Wildlife Trust

  • Regular proofreading of members’ magazine and internal reports

The Wildlife Trusts

  • Editing of various reports

Oxford University Press

  • Fact-checking of children’s science books

Newgen Publishing (previously Out of House Publishing)

  • Proofreading
    • The Dwarf and Mouse Lemurs of Madagascar, The Missing Lemur Link (Cambridge University Press)

English Heritage

  • Proofreading a resource for teachers

Independent authors/clients

  • Proofreading of various learning resources
  • Copy-editing
    • Review and copy-edit of Give My Love to Charlie (William Critchley)
    • From Field and Fen (Mike Toms, BTO)
    • Island Expeditions (Nigel Winn)

Postgraduate and undergraduate students

  • Proofreading dissertations/theses, project reports and research papers
    The Teal
    Feasting, Fowling and Feathers
    RSPB Spotlight: Puffins
    RSPB Spotlight: Otters
    Urban Peregrines (Ed Drewitt)
    The Complete Naturalist
    Exotic Fruits and Nuts of the New World
    Human Universe (paperback)
    p53: The gene that cracked the cancer code
    Lost Animals

          

    As part of my work for ARKive (Wildscreen) (2008–2013)

    • Several hundred species profiles proofread and edited
    • Over 200 undergraduate and postgraduate species profiles marked, assessed and edited
    • Regular proofreading of blogs, news articles and other web copy

    Writing

    • Freelance writing and a book review for BBC Wildlife magazine
    • Article for Bird Watching magazine
    • ‘Species of the Day’ profiles for Species on the Edge of Survival, an IUCN book

    I also have extensive experience of writing for the web, including optimising for SEO and ensuring that text is clear, concise and easy to read on-screen. This has included:

    • Nearly 500 species profiles written for the ARKive website (an initiative of Wildscreen), as well as regular blog posts, news articles and topic pages
    • Regular wildlife-related blog posts for Ramblings of a Zoologist (now offline)
    • Online article for Somerset Wildlife Trust – ‘Exploring Somerset’
    Somerset Wildlife Trust - Exploring Somerset

    Other writing experience

    • English/Spanish translation guides for scientific terms (unpublished), for Explorer’s Inn, Peru
    • Short photo stories for children (unpublished): Tiny Ted’s Big Adventure, Ziggy the Zebra Hides His Stripes

    Academic qualifications

    I am trained as a zoologist with a BSc in Zoology and an MSc in Animal Behaviour. I also have a BTEC Advanced Diploma in Tropical Habitat Conservation, together with survey and research experience in the UK, Peru, Mexico and Tanzania.