Dave M

Exeter, United Kingdom

“Going the extra mile for you and your work!”

Specialist subjects:

Event Management Fiction Film Studies Journalism Marketing Mental Health Music Nutrition Politics Sports Science

Editing formats:

Education:

Diploma in Journalism

Favorite referencing style

Harvard referencing is the style I’ve had the most experience with.

Why I became an editor

My career in journalism and television production has seen me edit articles and scripts for the last 30 years. I really enjoy helping writers improve their work, and proofreading is a natural extension of this. As a freelancer, I love the freedom of not knowing what work is coming next, and the variety of subjects and styles means you never get bored.

Background and experience

I trained as a journalist before moving into television production. I wrote articles for local and national newspapers, working for ITN and Sky Sports in the UK.
After almost 20 years, I left to become a freelancer. Now I work with a number of major corporations and governing bodies (BBC, FIFA, International Olympic Committee) on various aspects of their work, including press releases, television running orders, and scripts.

Why I love proofreading and editing

I would always tell my team of journalists at Sky Sports, "There's no such thing as the perfect script." If you gave ten people the same information, they would write ten different scripts. As a proofreader and editor, you have to respect the way the writer has crafted their work, but make sure that the mechanical side of the language is adhered to. There is nothing better than tidying up a beautifully written passage while maintaining the author's style.

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Favorite book:

I love thrillers. Anything written by John Grisham, Tom Clancy, or Lee Child are my favorites!

Hobbies:

If I am not proofreading your work, I am likely to be at a major sporting event—but in a TV truck or media room outside the stadium!

Editing tips:

I first read the whole text or a section of it to get a feel of what it’s about and the author's style. I have a checklist I go through that includes checking for the edit language and double spaces.

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