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.

I wanted to say a huge thank you. You are incredibly thorough and all your changes and suggestions make so much sense and have hugely improved my manuscript. Having read it through a zillion times before I sent it to you, I confess I wondered how much you would find that needed work – and now I know! I couldn't be more pleased and more committed to the importance of having an MS copy-edited by a professional. You are also the perfect person to work with – patient, helpful, good at communicating and do things when you say you will – and I Iook forward to working with you on the next book.

Mary-Jane Houlton, author of Just Passing Through

I have been outsourcing proofreading work to Louise for over four years now and am extremely happy with her services. She is professional, dependable and always a pleasure to deal with. If you’re looking for an experienced proofreading service you can rely on, I highly recommend Louise!

NIck Jones, MD, Full Proof, www.full-proof.co.uk/

Having used services of Louise in proofing and copy-editing my essays, thesis and academic publications for more than a year, I can confirm that she is an outstanding professional with an eye for detail. She is very supportive, efficient and extremely reliable. I highly recommend her anytime. Thanks Louise for your support!

SJ, Student

A heartfelt thank you from Arve and I for doing such a thorough and conscientious job! We truly appreciate it. If ever we submit an MS to Routledge again we will ask to have you assigned as our copyeditor if at all possible.

Arve Hansen & Kenneth Bo Nielsen, co-editors of Cars, Automobility and Development in Asia

My experience working with Louise over the last year has been an absolute pleasure and a very educational process! Not only did she get my children's book edited, she also got it self published from start to finish, both in electronic form as an ebook on Kindle as well as in paperback form on Amazon. Louise did so much more for me than I could ever hoped for! She guided me in the right direction to liaison with third parties like the cover designer ... She did a lot of research and made sure I felt my work was in good hands! I could not have published my book without her and cannot speak highly enough of her professional services!

Jacqueline Waterhouse, author of Princesses Don't Wear Glasses

Working with Louise was a real pleasure. Her professionalism and attention to details went far beyond her remit. Having my manuscript scrutinised by an industry professional was invaluable. I have no doubt that her input will take my writing to the next level and I look forward to working with her in the future.

Craig Briggs, Author of The Journey Series

I'd highly recommend Louise. She did an excellent job of editing and proof-reading my latest book to ensure consistencies in the text and making suggestions for improvements. With an excellent eye for detail, I'd not only recommend Louise for book editing, but also for articles, blog posts and proposals where accuracy is essential. So much so, that I've now recommended Louise to many of my clients who are going through a similar journey, and I also asked her to contribute to my book.

Karen Williams, Author of Your Book Is The Hook

Louise recently proofread a complicated German translation of a book called Edible Cities for Permanent Publications. To say I was impressed with the thorough precision she completed the task with would be an understatement – I actually even took pleasure in the process of working through her corrections, excited at the turn of every page as to what tiny incorrect detail she was going to uncover next! I have no hesitation in recommending her work as being of the highest standard.

Tim Harland, Permanent Publications

Louise did exceptional and efficient work analysing and correcting the first ten pages of my novel. Her work was quick and her communication was excellent; she replied immediately to emails and has the capacity to deliver on a tight deadline. She was efficient in her corrections and made great comments about the text. Highly recommended.

Zoé Henriques

As a first-time author, I feel fortunate to have located Louise as my copy editor. She completed proofreading and editing of my 203 page book titled Self-Employment - The Secret to Success, published in September 2014. She took my work and helped me transform it into a product that I could feel good about. I found Louise to be nice, helpful, professional and  consistent. She has an eye for detail. And her suggestions and critique were helpful during my re-write.  Most importantly, she gave genuine feedback and always answered my emails. I enjoyed working with Louise and  she is a pleasure to work with. I wholeheartedly recommend Louise to anyone who wants to take his/her creation to the next level.

Lalani Jay, author of Self-Employment - The Secret to Success