Note: if you’re looking for a non-fiction book editor, head this way…
If you already have copy written for your project, but it’s not quite doing the job, you don’t necessarily need to scrap it and start all over again.
Every copywriting job involves copyediting. Even when a professional writes copy from scratch, it will still take around the same amount of time and effort (if not more) again to finesse to the point of perfection.
Luckily, copyediting is my favourite part of the writing process. The copy you have in front of you may be 99% there and just needs a quick tweak, or it could be on its last legs and needs an editing defibrillation to bring it back to life.
CopyDoc is my copyediting first aid service for organisations who need to make their words work harder. I can transform almost anything into hard-working, task-specific messaging that says what you want it to, to who you want to.
If any of the following scenarios look familiar, you need some copy first aid.
REPURPOSE: it’s tech copy – but it needs to be sales copy
If you’re used to writing academic, legal or technical copy, you probably write in a precise, informative and structured way that explains everything clearly and in great depth.
But that probably won’t work on a website or in a sales email that’s geared at getting the reader to take action
I can help find the sales points and benefits in your text and bring them to the fore, as well as cut out some of the more technical stuff that’s not immediately relevant in a sales or marketing piece.
HUMANISE: AI wrote it
Generative AI models like Chat GPT or Claude can write very credible copy and can be a good starting point if you’re writing blogs or web pages. But it’s usually still very generic and personality-lite.
I can edit your AI-generated copy to make it sound more like you, ensure it’s focusing on what the reader needs to know, and checking the references the AI used are correct.
A heads-up: don’t imagine that editing AI copy is necessarily quicker or cheaper than rewriting it from scratch. Occasionally it is – but AI copy can be a right mess, to be honest.
STRUCTURE: you need to get to the point
You’ve started with a great idea, then written a stream of consciousness that runs like a river flowing around fields, hills and pathways, taking ages to get to its final destination because you have so much you want to say along the way.
Maybe you’re not really sure where you need to finish.
I’ll structure your copy so that it takes a logical route that’s easy to follow and arrives at its conclusion faster.
VERBOSITY: you use too many boring words
We all do it. I often read back what I’ve written and find I’ve said ‘really’ three times in the same paragraph.
If you find yourself using words like ‘nice’, ‘good’, ‘furthermore’, ‘whereas’ or ‘in addition’ more than once, give me a call.
Your copy could do with an injection of expressive, active words that wow the reader and encourage them to do what you want them to.
CLARITY: it’s been written by a committee
You’ll be familiar with this if you work in a big organisation. You write something that’s perfectly presentable, then ping it off to colleagues asking for their comments and input.
A few days later it comes back to you, unrecognisable, with additional stuff you really need to include but which just doesn’t ‘flow’ like your original, decent draft.
I can take it and shake it up so that it looks like one person wrote it all.
ACCENT: it’s not in British English
If you work in the UK for an international company you may have to send out information that’s been written for an audience in a different country.
On the face of it, that’s not too much of a problem, but different terminology in different jurisdictions can confuse.
I also know when to use license or licence, practice or practise and many other weird British ‘rules’.
LENGTH: you have to fit a word count
You’ve been offered some free editorial space in a magazine and the editor wants 500 words by Friday. The boss wants you to use a 1500 word piece that’s already been written and just “chop it to fit”
Easier said than done – unless you pass it over to me. I can trim off the surplus and leave the key points intact, without losing the flow.
What is the difference between a copyedit and a copy restyle?
- A copyedit checks for accuracy and consistency, spotting typos, missing words, adding in paragraph breaks, re-ordering sentences, checking formatting and references. It does not change the purpose of the original text.
- A copy restyle is almost a rewrite. It’s taking original text and making it work for a different purpose or audience.
Get in touch if you have a copyediting project you’d like to discuss.