Denise Cowle | Non-fiction editor
- [email protected]
- Organisation
- Denise Cowle Editorial
- Job title
- Editor and proofreader
- Membership Grade
- Advanced Professional Member
About Denise
||| COPYEDITING AND PROOFREADING FOR EDUCATION PUBLISHERS, BUSINESSES, ORGANISATIONS, AND INDEPENDENT AUTHORS
I specialise in editing and proofreading non-fiction work – mainly business and education titles – but I also work with narrative non-fiction, such as memoir, and academic authors in the humanities.
I am highly skilled in on-screen proofreading and copy-editing and provide a quality service on time to your agreed budget.
I have a particular interest in digital educational materials, whether ebooks, apps or blended learning.
My clients include global education publishers, think tanks, comms agencies, entrepreneurs, NGOs and SMEs.
||| FOR EDUCATION PUBLISHERS
If you’re a publishing house, large or small, in need of outsourced copyediting and proofreading, I can help.
Focusing on non-fiction, particularly education, business and the humanities, I have wide-ranging experience with global publishing houses.
Consider me a safe pair of hands!
- English language teaching • ELT • EFL • EAP • Teacher's books • Student's books • Skills books • Exam preparation and practice • IELTS • TOEIC • iGCSE • Professional development titles • readers
- Digital materials • Ebooks • Classroom presentation tools • Digital learning materials • Apps • LMS • CMS
- Multi-component courses • Asset management • Fact checking • Answer key checking • Audio scripts • Video scripts
>> Read more about how I can help you
||| FOR BUSINESSES AND ORGANISATIONS
Reports, educational materials, marketing copy, digital content – you need to be confident they reflect well on your business.
Give your public-facing content the professional finish your clients expect, and reflect your organisation’s high standards in your internal documents.
Whether that’s a copyedit of your reports, or a final quality assurance review of an online training programme, make sure you aren’t let down by awkward phrasing or embarrassing errors.
I can bring clarity and consistency to your writing, ensuring that it’s accurate and fit for purpose.
Meanwhile, you can focus on what you do best. Doesn’t that sound good?
- Annual reports • White papers • Website copy • Marketing and promotional materials • Training materials • Presentations • Blogs • Newsletters
- Application of house style • Developing a house style guide • Clarity and consistency of suitable style and tone for your audience
||| FOR INDEPENDENT AUTHORS OF NON-FICTION
You've written a non-fiction book? Congratulations on getting it finished!
Perhaps it’s a ‘how-to’ for potential clients that explains a new approach you’ve developed, or an academic monograph on an aspect of your specialist field. Or maybe it’s a memoir of your experiences travelling or navigating a major life event. You’re happy that it’s structured well, but now you need to focus on the language.
Whether you’re planning to self-publish or looking for a traditional publisher, it’s time to really get that language polished and refined. Let’s get your writing ready for your readers to enjoy.
- Copyediting and proofreading smooths and polishes your writing to prepare your text for publication. The result is a clear message with no awkward phrasing or embarrassing errors to distract your reader.
- I can improve the language and presentation of your book without removing what makes it yours – your voice. Good editing is invisible, so it will still be your message and your writing, but better!
- And if we sometimes have to bend or ignore a grammar rule then I’m OK with that!
||| AREAS I WORK ON
Business • Marketing • Content marketing • Memoir • Biography • English • Social sciences • History • Self-help • Popular psychology • Travel • Sports • Sports medicine • Allied health • Physiotherapy • Occupational therapy • Speech and Language therapy • Nursing • Midwifery • Patient information • Complementary and alternative medicine • Media studies • Film and television • Music • Food and cookery • Wellness • Home and leisure activities
And much more! If the subject of your book isn't listed here, please get in touch with me and we'll see if I'm a good fit for your work.
||| RECENT CLIENTS
The British Council • Cambridge University Press • Cengage / National Geographic Learning • Collins ELT • The Commonwealth Secretariat • CUP Mexico • LearnJam • EtonX • GL Assessment • Integra • Macmillan Education • Oxford University Press • Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism • Richmond ELT • Scholastic / Mary Glasgow Magazines • Noodle Juice • The First Word • Newgen • Historic England • Difusion • EMC Design • Pavilion • QBS • York Press
||| WHY I MIGHT NOT BE THE RIGHT EDITOR FOR YOU
Not every editor or proofreader will be the right fit for you, and you might not be the right client for me!
Want to know why I might not be right for you? Take a look at my blog article 8 reasons you shouldn't hire me to edit your writing to find out.
||| THE EDITING PODCAST
I co-host the Editing Podcast with my friend and colleague Louise Harnby. The Editing Podcast is a fortnightly exploration of practical tips and guidance for editors and proofreaders who want to improve their practice and grow their businesses.
>> Explore The Editing Podcast and listen to episodes
||| WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY ABOUT ME
** I was so glad to have the benefit of Denise’s careful eye over my writing. My non-fiction book contains quotations, footnotes and references to facts and figures, so it was reassuring to have these technical aspects dealt with professionally and systematically, in addition to her fine tooth comb over grammar and punctuation. I look forward to working with her on Volume 2. Liza Mulholland, author, Inside Folk Volume 1: Notes from a Scottish musician's year
** Denise was thorough, fast and effective. She proofed my two self-publishing projects, Through Sand and Snow and On Roads That Echo, and turned both jobs around against tight deadlines. Her thoughts on the stories were also interesting and useful. A pleasure to work with! Charlie Walker, adventurer, writer and speaker
** Denise is a thorough and mindful editor whose experience pops off the page with every revision. Her careful attention to detail ensured that any small typos and grammatical slips were taken care of. Then she moved beyond the technical and put herself in my reader’s shoes. By the times she was done, my message was sharper and the sentence flow smoother. I can’t recommend her highly enough and won’t hesitate to commission her for future projects. Louise Harnby, author, Making Sense of ‘Show, Don’t Tell’
** I thoroughly enjoyed working with Denise on a project for Mexico this year. I was the project manager of the Teacher's Edition and she was the proofreader on all four levels. She proved herself to be an accurate, a quick, and a flexible proofreader who was a pleasure to work with. Emma Wyman, Freelance Editor, ELT
** Denise proofread the activities, transcripts and subsequent units on the CMS for an online business English course. She worked efficiently and accurately, asked pertinent questions, and got to grips with new systems with ease. I look forward to working with her again. Delphine Phinn, freelance ELT project manager
** It was a great pleasure working with Denise. Her professionalism is outstanding. We worked on school textbooks and her work was very thorough and always consistent.We worked on tight deadlines and everything was done on time. As well as proofreading content, she spotted design errors and always cross-checked everything across all the books. I recommend working with Denise and hope to collaborate with her again on future projects. Sophie Jankowski, Éditions Maison des Langues
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Disclaimer note
The CIEP Directory of Editorial Services should be considered a point of first contact and prospective clients must satisfy themselves that members are capable of the work on offer. The Institute cannot be held responsible for the quality of work provided by any member listed in the directory. The members themselves are responsible for the maintenance and accuracy of their entries in the Directory and the CIEP has not made any attempt to vet them. The institute cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies in the Directory. Inclusion in the Directory as a freelance does not necessarily mean that the member is self-employed as defined by HM Revenue and Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions.