Simon E

Peebles, UK

“The best writing reads less like writing and more like tapping directly into another person's train of thought.”

Specialist subjects:

Creative Writing English Fiction Food Science Language & Literature Mental Health Music

Editing formats:

Education:

MLitt in Creative Writing (with distinction)

University of Stirling

2012–2013

BA Hons in English Studies (first class)

University of Stirling

2008–2012

Favorite referencing style

APA is my favorite referencing style. Much like corduroy as a trouser material and salt in caramel, it just works!

Why I became an editor

From age 8 to 16, I spent most of my spare time trying to write a series of epic fantasy novels. Since then, I completed a first class Honours in English Literature and a Master’s in Creative Writing while running the Opinion section of the student newspaper. I worked as a closed caption subtitler for all sorts of TV shows, established a successful tutoring business, and have published several short stories. I became a proofreader to use my skills and enthusiasm to help others.

Background and experience

While studying for my Bachelor's, I wrote a regular column for the university’s student newspaper, and for my final year, I was elected Opinion editor. I also worked as a tutor for pupils of all levels of secondary school English. In most cases, my students usually knew the answers to the questions posed by the curriculum; they just struggled to get their thoughts down on paper. As a result, the biggest and most exciting challenge of this role was in helping them with their writing.

Why I love proofreading and editing

I know how difficult it can be to arrange your thoughts on the page in a way that does justice to how you "see" them in your head. For reference, it took me about 5 attempts to write that last sentence. Often, it's in the editing and proofreading stages where the fireworks happen, and that's why I find them so satisfying. You start with an imperfect, slightly messy early draft, and once you've sprinkled some punctuation here and reworded a few wonky phrases there, the whole thing just sings.

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Favorite book:

I love War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy. There's a part where they handcuff a police officer. To a bear. And then push them in a canal. Now that's literature. The rest of the book is pretty good too.

Hobbies:

I love cooking (mostly vegetables), reading (mostly novels and nature writing) and taking walks in the countryside. I recently got into birdwatching, though I've still got a lot to learn.

Editing tips:

I find it helps to give each sentence its own paragraph and increase the font size to something ridiculously large. This helps me to see where a sentence is too long or a word is out of place.

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