0418 532 114 [email protected]

A skilled professional editor
will improve your writing

Anything in written form — report, tender, manual, article, résumé, proposal, guide, submission, plan, reader, policy, technical paper, academic paper, white paper, marketing material, manuscript, public document, annual report, website — can benefit from the skills of professional editors.

At Professional Word Services, we look at written material through the filters of grammar, spelling style and consistency, word usage, punctuation, sentence construction, logic and coherence, organisation, length, format, house style — everything that goes into making the written word clear, concise, consistent and correct. Our professional editors also fact-check and confirm the spelling of unusual words, such as place names. All document changes are tracked in Word and feedback and queries are noted in comments mode by our professional editor.

Our professional editors work predominantly with business, education institutions, publishing houses, communications consultants and other organisations producing written information for the public. We have edited over a huge range of topics over many years, and our professional editors take pride in being able to competently edit material on just about any subject.

Our professional editors are based in Melbourne, but through the resources of the internet and modern communications options we work with clients Australia wide.

Professional editor or professional proofreader?

Use this checklist to decide if your material needs editing or proofreading.

We offer the skills of a professional editor across several areas.

Editing of new material – reports, manuals, programs

Written material compiled in-house often comes from many different sources. We can edit the many parts into one coherent and consistent whole. It can also be difficult to edit material you have written or spent a long time compiling. A professional editor can act as a dispassionate third-party to provide objective assessment, feedback and editing.

Examples of recent editing work include:

  • 7000-word application for school principal
  • 8000-word annual conference program
  • 30,000-word financial services manual
  • 8000 words over 16 articles for in-house magazine
  • 18,000-word submission to a market regulator.

Assessment of existing written material

Have the quality and clarity of your existing material assessed by our professional editors and, if necessary, rewritten or refreshed to suit the changing needs of your business and its clients.This could include items such as manuals and business profiles.

Rewriting or editing of existing or piecemeal material

If you have had a go at writing it yourself, but know the end result does not read the way you want, then send it to us. Our professional editor will take the information you provide and turn it into the words you need.

Editing for print, in-house or online publications

Editing is an important part of the production process that takes the written word to its audience. Our professional editors can provide extra editing capacity to cover overflows, short deadlines, staff holidays or special issues. Or if your production process lacks an editing phase, we can become your editing service.

Word count reduction

A skilful professional editor can reduce the word count of a document without sacrificing content or clarity. If you feel a document’s length has blunted its message or effectiveness, or your document must meet required word limits, let a professional editor check it for excess wordage, repetition, overwriting and superfluous material.

We are Melbourne based, but through the resources of the internet and modern communications options we work with clients Australia wide.

Is there an editing service you need that is not covered here? Please email or call to discuss your need. If we can’t help you, then there is a good chance we will know another specialist professional editor who can.

English has no greater enemy than officialese.

Sir Harold Evans

1928-2020, British-born journalist, writer and editor

If you can’t see why all the apostrophes in this shop sign are incorrect, read ‘Simple rules for using possessive apostrophes’ in The Library.