PROFESSIONAL COPY EDITING
Sometimes less really is more
What is copy editing?
Let’s say you’ve written lots of lovely copy about your business. You know your business best, so what you’ve written comes from the heart and offers the sort of intricate detail that only you could know.
You’re happy with what it’s saying but you think it’s way too long, which might be off-putting to readers. Maybe you have waffled on a bit about certain aspects, but you really think that everything you’ve written is important when telling your story.
Oh, and what about your spelling, punctuation and grammar, can you really rely on your computer to get it just right? Perhaps, you may wonder, there is a way you can polish your copy to make it more attractive to the reader’s eye and to ensure every word is spot on. There is, and that’s using the services of a professional copy editor.
Editing is the middle step in the process of crafting beautiful, compelling, engaging copy. In the hands of a skilled editor, no matter what changes they make, your voice will still be heard, and your brand’s tone of voice adhered to, or even created if they feel you don’t have one!
As they rid your copy of errors, and check your ‘facts’, they will make sure that your sentences flow effortlessly into one another, really telling a story. They know how to grapple with grammar, and win, and they can spot a misplaced or missing punctuation mark like a hawk soaring over its prey.
They will shave away at the over-long, simplify the over-complicated and tone down the over-dramatic, weeding out repetition and maintaining style rules as they go.
What can copy editing do for your business?
A lot of people in business like the idea of writing their own copy. They know their business inside out, and have put their heart and soul into building it, so it’s not surprising really. There’s nothing wrong with that, and a lot of copywriters, myself included, really enjoy polishing other people’s copy and getting a great big pat on the back for making it better.
Using the services of a professional copy editor will help you to talk to your audience exactly how you want to, but with the added security that it will be free from errors. Rogue punctuation marks will be banished, spelling mistakes eradicated, style glitches fixed and ill-chosen words replaced.
What you’ll be left with will be well-written, easy-to-read flowing copy that will help you to connect with your audience. Your professionalism will shine through, gaining their trust, and then their business.
Look at a professional copywriter as someone who gives you the freedom to write your own copy without having to worry about any errors or factual inaccuracies creeping in. You can say exactly what you want, how you want, safe in the knowledge that what is published will be clear and correct, readable and professional but still one hundred per cent you.
What is my experience in copy editing?
When less is more, or you’ve written your own copy that needs a bit of polishing, that’s when you need the services of an experienced copy editor.
I worked as a newspaper sub-editor for many years. This job involved sometimes shaving hundreds of words from a story but leaving behind all the important facts and figures, neatly polished into a well-crafted and interesting read.
I then moved to the fast-paced marketing department of a large holiday company, producing copy for brochures, customer magazines, press ads and direct mail as Head of Copy. My years working in newspaper journalism, where deadlines were numerous, constant, and quite simply could not be missed, taught me not only how to edit words skilfully but also at breakneck speed when required.
Named by some of my former colleagues as a ‘copywriting machine’, not to mention, the ‘queen of grammar’, there’s nothing I can’t edit. It’s easy for me to turn a double-page spread magazine article into a couple of well-chosen paragraphs for a direct mail message, then edit it further to make a two-line soundbite.
Using the right grammar and punctuation is second nature to me. I’ll meticulously check facts, then check them again, and I spot errors from a mile away.
please give me a call on 07926 071650 or email janette@janettemallard.co.uk
