Ms Catherine Dunn |

Featured

I’m an editor and proofreader working across both fiction and non-fiction. My core specialisms are line and copyediting, but I've also trained in developmental editing and proofreading and enjoy varying my workload with different kinds of projects.

In fiction, I specialise in fantasy, science fiction, YA, crime/thriller, horror, and literary fiction. I particularly enjoy working on things that are surreal, unconventional, or 'weird' in any way! I have a strong stomach and am comfortable with themes and topics that some people may find triggering. If your piece is unusual, quirky, or challenging, we could be a good fit.

In non-fiction, I specialise in memoir, the arts, humanities, social sciences, self-help, and lifestyle. I also have experience of using Overleaf to edit projects in LaTEX.

I have a lot of experience working with self-publishing authors as well as directly with publishers. I have also worked on essays, dissertations, theses, and business content (web pages, promotional material, and so on).

‘Communication, clarity and consistency’ is my motto. I’ll ensure your spelling, punctuation and grammar are correct and your work is accurate and consistent. At the same time, I’ll make sure that your authorial voice and writing style shine through to make your work stand out.

I enjoy working with self-publishing and first-time authors. If you don’t have previous experience of being edited, don’t worry! I aim to make it a helpful and enjoyable experience for you.

About me:

Before training as a copyeditor and proofreader, I spent 15 years working in the not-for-profit sector. I have experience of editing websites, blog posts and corporate documents. I then spent 4 years running Help For Writers Ltd, a company that specialised in ebook conversion and distribution.

I have a BA in Fine Art (Painting) from Loughborough University. I currently draw, paint, and create digital art using ProCreate (I've even sold a few pieces of work!), and I also enjoy knitting, crocheting, drop spindle spinning, and geocaching.

Media

Books, illustrated books, multi-author books, websites/blogs, online materials, company literature, theses and dissertations, essays, government reports.

Experience

Director, Help For Writers Ltd, 2016 to 2019; freelance, 2019 to present.

Training

Editing Young Adult Fiction (Editorial Freelancers Association) 2023, Developmental Editing: Fiction Theory (Liminal Pages) 2020, Introduction to Fiction Editing (CIEP - then SfEP) 2018, Copyediting Progress (CIEP) 2015, Proofreading Progress (CIEP) 2015.

Clients

A wide range of self-publishing authors from the UK
Out of House Publishing (for Taylor & Francis, Cambridge University Press, Routledge and Arc Humanities Press)
Sea Otter Publishing
Biteback Publishing
Michael O'Mara Books
Cornerstones Literary Consultancy
Morgan Lawrence
Moreniche Ltd

Subjects

Fiction (science fiction, fantasy, urban, dystopian, speculative, horror, literary, crime, thriller, mystery, popular, contemporary, YA, romantic, vampire, humour, satire, historical, short stories)
Children's fiction (Middle Grade, fantasy, science fiction, thriller)
Art (contemporary, visual, art history, fine art, performance, installation, theatre)
Biography/autobiography/memoirs (personal, sporting, political, trauma)
Fitness/health
History (political, European, literature, art, culture, religion, engineering, Pakistani)
Media studies (video/audio)
Politics (international relations)
Social sciences/studies (social/cultural anthropology, social policy, social psychology, sociology, gay/lesbian issues, queer studies, lgbt+ issues)

Qualifications

BA Fine Art (Painting)

Specialised software

Overleaf for LaTEX

Testimonials

"There is no doubt in my mind that you have the skill to develop a story line and take it somewhere that was not visible to the author. [...] You've opened up a new world to me. I feel and sense you have gone over and above what an editor should do. [...] Your style sheet is magnificent. I can’t praise you highly enough, you have held my hand throughout and I’ve always felt in safe hands."
--Fondley Palmer, self-published author

“Catherine was very clear about the copyediting process – and also how she could help with the entire process from writing, editing, through to distribution and marketing. I particularly value Catherine’s approach to outlining the process, meeting agreed deadlines and working with me to develop a finished product. It’s important to me that she gets my humour and understands my characters. I am delighted to be able to continue working with Catherine and we’re about to embark on my fourth novel together.”
--Lisa Stewart, self-published author

“We love working with Catherine! She provides consistently high quality work and her keen eye has truly elevated the quality and level of polish of our manuscripts. In an ever-changing, very competitive industry, it’s important for us to have a reliable, highly responsive copyeditor who can deliver a final manuscript in a timely manner. We are very pleased with the results and will continue to use Help For Writers for our editing needs.”
--Andrew Wilson, Sea Otter Publishing

“Catherine Dunn is a skilled, diligent and exceptional proof editor. I would highly recommend her for your writing projects.”
--Jo Walker, self-published author

“Big thanks to you Catherine for being my editor when I urgently needed one and for not only all your time, thoroughness and dedication, but for your consistent correspondence, your approachability and, last but never least – your fantastic encouragement throughout when I was genuinely afraid nobody would like the manuscript. It’s done me a world of good. Very likely I’d never have managed to finally publish my book without you; you’ve helped make a dream come true. Looking forward to working with you again very soon!”
--RH Hale, self-published author

"It was my great fortune that Catherine Dunn was hired to edit the proofs of a linguistics textbook that I and my co-author recently finished. Given very little time, Catherine edited our proofs with remarkable care, assiduousness, exactitude and linguistic savvy – even flagging areas where the linguistic argumentation didn’t work. She brought the work into conformity with the publisher’s style and formatting requirements. This was a most tedious job, which involved thousands of little notes to the typesetter about capitalisation, word breaks and the like. Let it be known to all authors that using the right LaTeX package is no substitute for a human editor of this calibre. (I won’t even mention the horrifically mangled BibTeX entries she salvaged.) Catherine’s author queries are a model of organisation, editorial acuity and respectful communication. While remaining true to the work and its voice, she found multiple ways to improve it. This was a book produced by distant collaboration, so it suffered from more than its share of gaffes, garbled sentences and formatting problems. Catherine’s energy, even when faced with these editorial irritants, never flagged. She is a true intellectual collaborator. I strongly recommend her for academic works. Her versatility, keen eye, outstanding professional communication, efficiency and verve are assets that will elevate, improve and enhance the work of any academic author."
--Laura A. Michaelis, author, Cambridge University Press

“Working with [Catherine] has been a great experience. I needed an editor to do the copyediting of the four volumes of a long science-fiction novel. Her professionalism and dedication are remarkable. I particularly enjoyed her explanations about punctuation and our exchanges about other matters concerning the novels. I can’t wait to ask her help for future work.”
--Jennie Dorny, self-published author

• Editor
• Proofreader

• Action & adventure
• Anthologies
• Art & culture
• Biography, autobiography & memoir
• Children & young adult
• Crafts & hobbies
• Crime, mystery & thriller
• Dystopian fiction
• Psychology & psychiatry
• Horror
• Humanities
• Humour & satire
• Social sciences
• Science fiction & fantasy
• Romance
• Paranormal
• Speculative fiction
• History
• Religion & theology
• Literary fiction

• Self-publishing