Liz T

Reading, UK

“Working hard to make reading easy.”

Specialist subjects:

Editing formats:

Education:

Favorite referencing style

I like The Chicago Manual of Style because it has separate versions for sciences, humanities and students (Turabian) which appeals to my sensible side.

Why I became an editor

After studying maths and sciences at school, an accountancy qualification seemed the logical way forward and lead to roles in many different companies and business sectors. Working by day and studying by night worked for me because I love to read and to learn.

However, many years later, a mid-life crisis had me learning to ride a motorbike, dancing Argentine tango in Buenos Aires, and deciding life was too short for a daily commute.

I had often helped colleagues with the wording of reports or emails and enjoyed helping them shape something that would easily convey their message. Cross-checking facts and figures is drummed into you in the finance world, so a career in editing, working from wherever I happened to be, was the ideal choice for my next career.

Background and experience

I started out in banking before starting a brewery. My partner did the brewing while I did the sales, finance, admin, marketing, and even, for a while, the deliveries. When the time came to get a "proper" job, I decided I most enjoyed counting the money so got a job as an accounts assistant for a potato-growers’ co-operative and started studying. I moved jobs, climbing the corporate ladder, and worked for food production companies, a mobile technology company, a medical products company, and an agricultural chemical company. I worked for anything from a small, family-run business to a large FTSE 50 company and much in between. I managed small teams and worked with people from around the world. Proofed is my first professional venture into the world of editing but I have been informally proofreading and editing reports, emails, and marketing literature across all of my roles, as well as for friends.

Why I love proofreading and editing

I love helping people get their message across in a way that is easy for the reader to understand. Taking a sentence that trips the reader up and putting in (or taking out) that one little comma so that it flows is catnip to me.

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Favorite book:

The Stand by Stephen King

Hobbies:

I like to dance Argentine tango and ride my motorbike – but not at the same time!

Editing tips:

Once I've finished, I go away and do something completely different for at least an hour. Then I come back and do one last read through with fresh eyes.

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