Jeremy Lowe

Editing & Proofreading Services

"Good writers are those who keep the language efficient. That is to say, keep it accurate, keep it clear" - Ezra Pound

Welcome to my website. My name is Jeremy Lowe and I can offer my services as a trained proofreader and editor specialising in general and academic non-fiction. People judge writing as they do faces: on first impressions. If you have work to submit, and need to be certain that it attains the highest levels of expression and presentation, then I can help. Perhaps you are preparing:

A dissertation, thesis or conference paper

A book-length manuscript

A journal article or collection of essays

A web page or online resource

Whatever your circumstances, as a writer you bring the talent, the vision and the ideas, but you need a trained professional to look at your work with an objective, fresh eye, and to raise it to the highest possible standard. Why? Because it is very difficult to proof and edit your own work! As a writer I know this only too well; as an editor I am in a position to offer the very precise and insightful examination that your work needs.

Your writing is important, and deserves not to be undermined by avoidable errors and problems.

Editorial Services

I can offer a professionally trained editing service expressly tailored to your individual requirements. There are three basic categories of editing; which of them best suits your writing depends upon your requirements as a writer and the level of work involved.

Proofreading - I check your manuscript quickly and efficiently for mechanical errors of punctuation, spelling and grammar, inconsistencies of style and formatting, check the manuscript thoroughly to ensure consistency of style and format. This service is suitable for writers with final drafts, who want a second reader to eliminate any lingering errors.

Light edit - Here, I will proofread your document thoroughly, correcting mistakes as before, but also make suggestions and minor editorial changes that will improve the sense or basic structure of your work. If you are looking for occasional help with phrasing, or need to make slight changes to sentence and/or paragraph structure, then a light edit is appropriate.

Heavy edit - This is a comprehensive examination of your work, which involves correcting mistakes, ensuring consistency of style and presentation and re-wording sentences, as well as re-structuring large passages of text. With a heavy edit I will suggest ways of re-writing problematic sentences, make insightful comments and suggestions, raise queries, and offer alternative ways of structuring your writing, to ensure that it says exactly what you want it to say.

These are very broad categories, and may not fit your needs exactly. Similarly, it is difficult for me to assess the level of work involved without seeing your writing. The solution is simple: contact me, let me know what kind of editing work you want, and e-mail me 1-2 pages of text, and then we can agree on a suitable rate. Because I work independently I am able to be flexible and work precisely to your requirements, and so I am in a position to offer a professional service at an affordable price. Please see my Rates page for a good idea of how much the work will cost.

My Editorial Approach

My first consideration is that this is your work, and it must be your voice that emerges from your writing. I am guided by the words of James Thurber, who said that a good editor should ask, "How can I help this writer to say it better in his own style?" and avoid "How can I show him how I would write it, if it were my piece?" I would also add that editing has a practical purpose: it helps the writing to achieve what the writer wants it to achieve. I am not here to impose my own style, although I will ensure that your document conforms to the accepted standards of correct English. I am here to facilitate your writing goals, and nothing more.

About Me

I am a freelance editor and proofreader living in Derbyshire, England. I have a BA in English Literature from the University of Birmingham, an MPhil in Medieval Studies from University College Dublin and a PhD in English Literature from the University of Washington. I was a Visiting Fellow at Pembroke College, Cambridge, before working as a tutor and lecturer at two prestigious universities in the UK (Sheffield and Birmingham). I left academic life fairly recently, tired of the uncertainty and debilitating departmental politics. I decided to put my years as an unofficial editor, academic advisor and literary critic to good use, and became a freelance. Please see my Qualifications page for a more detailed summary of my work. I am married to Paula; we have a 7-year old son, who bears the name of a mythical Irish king, and a lordly little dog called Merlin.

If you have arrived here seeking information on how to become a proofreader or copy-editor, you will find a more suitable site at www.copyediting.co.uk.