Mary Davis | non-fiction editor | clarity, accuracy, impact
- [email protected]
- Website
- https://marydavisediting.com
- Organisation
- Mary Davis Editing
- Job title
- Editing and proofreading for clarity, accuracy and impact
- Membership Grade
- Advanced Professional Member
About Mary
My aim is that your words should speak with clarity, accuracy and impact. I can help you with:
- Copy-editing
- Proofreading
- Substantive rewrites
- Indexing
I particularly enjoy the challenge of adapting complex, scholarly material for the non-specialist. Maybe your material needs greater clarity, or maybe it needs tailoring to suit a different audience.
I work with both publishers and independent authors. Sometimes my clients know exactly what they want; at other times, we'll work it out as we talk it through. Please do contact me and we can discuss what's needed.
Media
- Books
- Reports
- Online materials
- Educational materials
- Illustrated books
- Theses and dissertations
- Web editing
Experience
Freelance since 2005 – but editing for much longer than that.
Training/Qualifications
- Saïd Business School, Oxford University: Oxford Artificial Intelligence Programme: 2024
- Editorial Project Management: 2022
- CIEP Annual Conference Year: 2021
- Introduction to Editorial Skills: Copy-editing and Proofreading (Publishing Training Company) Year: 2015
- MA Economics, Cambridge University
Clients
- Brill
- SPCK, IVP, Lion Publishing
- Hendrickson
- 10 Publishing
- Good Book Company
- Oriel Square
- Jenny Brown Associates
- Picture Hooks
- Write Now!
- Independent authors
Subjects
- artificial intelligence
- biography/autobiography/memoirs (personal, religious)
- business (corporate security, coaching, entrepreneur, small businesses, solopreneurship, wellness)
- children's/teenage publishing (educational/informative, fiction, illustration, picture books, Primary/KS1, young adult/YA)
- economics (popular)
- education (e-learning, primary, resources)
- environment/energy (climate change, popular)
- fiction (adult, Christian, children’s)
- fitness/health (wellbeing)
- history (18th century, 19th century, 20th century, British church, early modern, religious, World War II)
- language (American English, English language, grammar/syntax)
- personal development (bereavement)
- Plain English
- religious studies/theology (academic, Bible, Catholicism, charismatic renewal, Christianity, comparative, devotional, evangelical, inspirational, persecuted minorities)
Interests
Music – playing piano/keyboard, singing; recording/editing music videos with multiple musicians; composing/editing music using MuseScore software
Driving – Advanced Driving Licence (Institute of Advanced Motoring, 2015); Official Driver at Wimbledon Tennis Championships (2019)
Volunteering – regular reading volunteer at local primary school; helping at GP surgery during Covid-19 (2021); community/church – counselling, managing volunteers, safeguarding, leading groups, etc.
Technology– Ability to learn new technologies quickly and proficient in, for example:
- Zotero citation software
- WordPress (website management)
- MuseScore (musical notation) software
- EMIS (electronic patient records)
- DaVinci Resolve and iMovie (video editing)
- GarageBand (music creation and editing)
Testimonials
"An outstandingly gifted editor, combining intellectual incisiveness with painstaking precision."
–Christopher Ash, author and Writer-in-Residence at Tyndale House, Cambridge
"A superb eye for detail and invariably improves both the grammar and style."
–Professor Bob White, Dept of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge
"Experienced, knowledgeable, flexible to our needs and very reliable."
–Jonathan Carswell, Managing Director, Ten of Those Ltd
"Impressive attention to accuracy and detail."
–Denis Alexander, author and Emeritus Director, Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, Cambridge
"Mary, there would be no books without you. You have an incredible gift!"
–Adrian Adger, author
"You have smashed it with the old editing. I deeply appreciate it. You're an editorial ninja!"
–Mez McConnell, author and Director of 20 Schemes
"A thoughtful and thorough editor with a flair for producing crisp copy with clear and engaging language."
–Tim Thornborough, Publishing Director, The Good Book Company
More details on my website. Or do email me at [email protected].
Service
Specialisms
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.