The Personal Side

I have always loved reading, and remember that moment as a small child when reading clicked into place for me. From that point, books were my best friends and I have always squeezed in as much reading as possible. There is also the pipedream of being a writer, which I hope will come to fruition one of these days. My first ‘serious’ job after leaving university was as a newspaper sub-editor, and it was a boost to find that my ease with the English language was in demand. I then went off on several tangents for many years, including spending 12 years working with government and other public grants to businesses, research organisations and the not-for-profit sector. I really enjoyed this work but books and words were calling me, and so it was that in 2012 I finally started WordBlink.

As a reader, I am especially interested in children’s fiction and memoirs. I love the layering in children’s books, so that there’s something for parents and children to enjoy. My favourite sorts of memoirs are travel ones: those about people setting up home in other parts of the world, or doing cycling or walking trips. They give me room to dream and to think: what if?

The Professional Side

I specialise in non-fiction books for publishers and self-publishers in the following areas:

Business

Environmental/Horticultural

Memoirs

Self-Help

I am fascinated by the rise of self-publishing and am keen to help authors self-publish as professionally as they can. I work for both trade publishers and self-publishers and think there is room for both in the big world of books.

I also edit, proofread and proofedit a variety of material for business and media clients in the UK and EU, as well as proofreading dissertations and essays for ESL students.

Professional affiliations

I am a Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and work to their Code of Practice. I am listed in their directory. I am also listed on findaproofreader.com.

Editorial Training

  • PGCE Primary – University of Portsmouth
  • MA in Children’s Literature – University of Surrey Roehampton (Roehampton Institute)
  • BA (English, Linguistics) – University of Natal, Durban

Why Wordblink?

I wanted a business name distinct from my own name, because people find my name difficult to remember, spell and pronounce – so the chances of clients finding a website with my name would be ridiculously slim!

The name came to me simply because we blink all the time, so blinking is something I am doing while I’m editing and proofreading: blinking at words. And I am reading an awful lot of the time – so I am doing a lot of blinking at words! It’s possible to miss an error in the blink of an eye when you are checking your own work – and that’s why you need someone like me. I may not be able to finish your work in the blink of an eye, but I will read it carefully and thoroughly and examine it from all sorts of angles. You may be surprised at what I find.