Debbie Emmitt

About me

If you need a skilled proofreader, copyeditor and line editor with many years of experience, I’m here to help.

As a writer myself, I understand the need to find a trustworthy, dependable editor, someone who will give your work the same level of care and attention that you have given it.

I graduated from the University of Oxford in 2001. Since then, I’ve clocked up 20 years of experience with fiction and non-fiction. I’m a Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and a Partner Member of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi).

I’m preparing my own novel for submission to agents. It’s a mystery set in the south of France, so I have knowledge of character arcs, plot points, dialogue and more.

I’ll begin by gathering your full requirements to ensure I deliver exactly what you need. I will communicate with you throughout the project and will deliver high-quality work on time, with tracked changes and comments if applicable.

Please contact me if I sound like a good fit for your project or if you would like to find out more. I look forward to working with you.

Services

• Proofreading web content, including looking out for SEO, accessibility and user-experience issues
• Line editing, copyediting and proofreading fiction, non-fiction and children’s books
• Specialist arm to my business of editing books set in France

Experience

• Freelance copyeditor and proofreader (2018–present)
• Senior digital content production officer, Cardiff University (2007–2020)
• Website manager, International Baccalaureate (2004–2007)
• Webmaster and project assistant, University of Oxford’s Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine (2001–2004)

Qualifications, awards and memberships

• Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) – Professional Member
• CIEP courses – Copyediting 1, Copyediting 2, Copyediting 3
• Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) – Partner Member
• Oxford University – BA Hons in French and Portuguese

My books and resources for authors and editors

Improve Your Author Website – a comprehensive guide

Improve Your Editor Website – a comprehensive guide

Recent clients

Organisations and publishers

• The Royal Mint (copyediting and proofreading)
• University of Cambridge (Institute for Sustainability Leadership) (proofreading)
• Hermitage Editions (proofreading)
• SLC Tuition Publishing (copyediting)
• Quill Club Writers (editing and proofreading compilations of short stories)

Self-published authors

• Charlotte Eriksson, author and songwriter (copyediting)
• Phillip L Wray, author of historical fiction set in France (proof-editing)
• Mandy M Barnett, non-fiction author and clinical educator (copyediting and proofreading)
• SL Dooley, author of the Portal Slayer series (copyediting)
• Kaden Hogan, author of Humans of Climate Change (line editing and copyediting)
• TE Anyansi, author of Nigerians, Unshackle Yourselves (copyediting and proofreading)
• Ann-Elizabeth Wittke, fiction author (line editing, copyediting and proofreading trilogy of novels)
• Kaan Sensoy, director, photographer and CGI artist (copyediting and proofreading of photo-guidebook)
• Hoi T Pham, fiction author (copyediting)

Web text editing and website proofreading

• HealthMatch, organization that helps match patients to clinical trials, with in-depth medical information on their website across a broad range of fields (editing blog articles)
• Lentiamo, online international seller of glasses and contact lenses (proofreading website)
• Wikijob, extensive website covering all things employment, recruitment and finances (editing blog articles)
• GreenTEG, provider of CORE technology (editing blog content and email marketing copy)
• INLEAD, provider of online courses (proofreading website and online course content)
• Sophie Jian, global leader and creative entrepreneur (line editing and copyediting web copy)
• Ginette Gagnon, leadership coach, speaker and author (editing and proofreading business course content)
• Jérrard Wayne, branding organisation (editing web copy for their clients)
• NTG Ltd, precision engineering (proofreading website and marketing copy)
• Griffiths Evans, mechanical, electrical and ICT consulting and design services (proofreading website)
• Cephalgo, provider of innovative mood tracking software (proofreading website)
• Aspaara, artificial intelligence solutions (proofreading website)
• BICERO, provider of lifelong-learning courses for professionals (extensive content editing for website and course copy)

Testimonials

Debbie is a world-class editor, so professional and thorough in her work. Our book was all over the place in voice, tone, and development. After she finished, our book was…well…an actual book.

We hired her for line editing but she did way more than that. She even gave us tips and tricks to help our book come together. She made this book come to life. She was always on time for the completion of each milestone, and super responsive. We will definitely hire her for our next book.

Jaslin and Yusuf Varzideh, non-fiction co-authors

Debbie was a gift to me as a first time self-publishing author. I was lucky that she’d just had a big project put back by the author, so was able to fit me in. She is professional and efficient, but also very friendly and helpful. Her editing was straightforward to follow and made sense to me. She explained any style choices or points that I needed to consider. She was also great about jumping onto video calls to clarify anything I didn’t understand or needed to discuss. I would be very happy to work with her again.

M Barnett, non-fiction author

I would give Debbie 6 stars if it was possible. She made this ordeal easy for me especially since it was my first book. She respectfully corrected without being condescending, which made it easier for me to work with her. Letting someone read and edit one’s book can put authors in a place of vulnerability. The entire experience was well worth it because of her professionalism. I can’t recommend her highly enough.

TE Anyansi, non-fiction author

Debbie has been really pleasant to work with, responds really quickly to messages, used the tools we requested, delivered the work a day before the due date, supplied us with a writing style sheet, didn’t just edit but put in useful suggestions and notes on different writing styles. Amazing!

Davies BDM, B2B sales and marketing consultants

It was an absolute pleasure to work with Debbie. She is an excellent editor and she goes well beyond basic proofreading. Debbie also worked extra hours in order for us to meet a tight deadline. She is commutative and friendly. I hope that we can work together again in the near future.

Kaden Hogan, non-fiction author

We have worked together with Debbie on my first book project. She did editorial correction as well as proofreading on this project. I can honestly say that she added a lot of value to my book. She is very professional and punctual also sincerely involving the project and works on details that I have overlooked a lot. So I am very happy to work with her. Thanks again, Debbie!

Kaan Sensoy, photographer and author

Debbie always listens very carefully and is professional in both her communication and delivery. I’ve always been very satisfied with her work 🙂 It’s of great value for me that I can give Debbie a task and be sure that she will deliver a top result. I never have to worry and it saves me a bunch of time!

Nadine M, regular client

Debbie is great. Can’t recommend her enough. Such a nice person, pleasant to work with, super professional with great attention to detail. I will 100% ask her help again in the near future.

Gal A, Danidean Ltd

Debbie has helped us to improve localisation of the UK version of our website. Our initial concern was mostly only with proofreading of the English language, but Debbie went beyond the expectations and also proactively suggested changes to the overall content / UX. She clearly understood the bigger picture here and went beyond the task expectations to help us. In addition to that, Debbie communicated consistently, provided us with regular updates, suggested changes to our approach, etc. 110% satisfaction with the job she did, would highly recommend to anyone.

David D, Lentiamo s.r.o.

Debbie did an excellent job editing my manuscript for a children’s book. She offered suggestions to make my writing better and was very knowledgeable and friendly. I would highly recommend Debbie for any editing and proofreading services that you need.

Melissa Clarke, children’s author

Debbie went above and beyond expectations. A project of this magnitude was a first for me and I was looking for a professional editor with years of experience to learn from. Debbie is exactly that, a professional who takes her time to explain, guide and listen. With her high-quality edits and suggestions, she brought the story to life and delivered a fantastic manuscript. She was easy to work with, highly approachable, accommodating and she even delivered a few of our milestones ahead of schedule. I’m looking forward to our next project in the near future!

Ann-Elizabeth Wittke, fiction author

Debbie is the best proofreader we have worked with, thorough, responsive and fair pricing. Will definitely be working with her for future tasks.

Mark Whittle, Virtual Reality Experiences (VRE) Ltd

Debbie produced fantastic work for us and managed to do it in a quick turnaround. We will definitely be working with her again for any future editing or writing tasks.

Sonia Kaur, Creative Operations Manager, Jérrard Wayne

Fast and accurate work, flexible to work any time. She is awesome. I will keep working with her.

Tattiana Kifile, children’s author

Debbie’s work conforms to the highest standards of editing and proofreading…We’ve been working with her for a few years and rely on her for well-edited work, on time, all the time.

Hemant Kumar, author and founding editor of Quill Club Writers

Debbie was responsive to the many queries I had. Particularly helpful was her feedback as to why she suggested her changes, instead of simply making the changes. The edits were provided on time and Debbie kept me updated throughout the project. Prior to being award the contract, Debbie also generously provided a free sample edit so we could both assess whether our working styles were compatible. She was also available to speak via video conference instead of solely relying on chat. If you’re looking for an editor, I recommend Debbie.

Hoi T Pham, fiction author

Debbie delivered excellent work, going above and beyond my expectations, and completing a day before the deadline. It is clear that she put her heart into the work, not just her mind. The editing and proof-reading is spotless. And on top, she made suggestions to revise some parts based on how it made her feel as a reader, which I find very valuable. She even caught a mistake I made in a mathematical calculation! She kept me posted throughout the process, and reached out for clarification when needed. I would definitely work with her if there is another opportunity.

Meltem Kusku, non-fiction author