Freelance history – Key projects

Ongoing Academic editing

Copyediting, proofreading
I edit master’s theses and PhDs for university students on an ongoing basis. I follow university guidelines and the IPEd guidelines for thesis editing by third party editors. Recent projects include:

• editing a 24,000 word master’s thesis about COVID-19 misinformation. This thesis included screenshots that needed to be formatted to follow APA 7 style.
• editing two 100,000 word PhD theses in theology. One thesis followed CMOS 17, the other CMOS 18. Both projects provided a great opportunity to make sure their many references to biblical books and Latin words and phrases were formatted correctly.
• editing a 43,000 word PhD thesis on hand therapy following surgery. This thesis had many figures and images that needed to be formatted to follow APA 7 style.
• editing a 42,000 word PhD thesis about sex education for teens. This thesis required special treatment for formatting participant quotes.

2025 Jessica Mudditt, Hembury Books – My Summer of Cricket, by Nikhil Kulkarni

I copyedited Nikhil’s cricket memoir, offering suggestions to tighten loose sentences and be more specific with descriptions. I included cricket-specific terms on the style sheet.

2025 Jessica Mudditt, Hembury Books – When the Smoke Clears, by Rick Wall and Cameron Caine OAM

Jess commissioned me to copyedit an updated edition of Rick and Cam’s account of the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Australia. This edit required a sensitive touch to retain interviewees’ words and experiences.

2025 Jessica Mudditt, Hembury Books – Talking of Michelangelo, by John Harry

I copyedited John’s autobiography, offering suggestions to tighten up wordy phrasing and untangle tricky sentences.

2025 Matthew Tolzmann – Feces Navidad

Yes – that’s the title! I proofread Feces Navidad for Matthew, marking up Word doc and offering subtle editorial suggestions for his comedy memoir that recounted his childhood Christmas of 1986.

2024 Alice Clarke, Hurst – Comrades Beyond the Cold War, by Tycho van der Hoog

I proofread Comrades, marking up the typeset PDF, working with Tycho to update missing references, and following Hurst’s style guide.

2024 Alice Clarke, Hurst – Cádiz: The Story of Europe’s Oldest City, by Helen Crisp & Jules Stewart

Alice contracted me to copyedit Cádiz. I worked with the authors, Helen and Jules, to resolve queries and work in changes. I followed Hurst’s in-house style guide for the manuscript’s body and reference list.

2019–2025 Justin Warren – www.justinwarren.org

Copyediting – crime fiction
I have copyedited four of Justin’s crime novels, Dead Ground, The Lewis Pass, The Night Belongs to Her, and The Moth Orchid. These are contemporary crime novels set in New Zealand’s West Coast. Justin has a journalism background and Dead Ground was his first novel, so as well as copyediting, I provided coaching for adapting Justin’s journalistic writing to the fiction context. 

2020–2023 Stu Tripney – www.stusflyshop.com

Developmental editing and copyediting – travel memoir
I worked on three of Stu’s travel narratives: Chasing Tigers, Out Come the Dogs, and Trout Love. I also managed the subcontracting process for proofreading the PDFs, and I liaised with Stu’s designers to work in proofreading changes.

2020–2025 Current editor: Liam Hansen – Debate magazine

Proofreading – magazine
I proofread Auckland University of Technology’s student magazine, Debate, on a fortnightly basis. I mark up PDFs and provide advice around inclusive language and grammar. I am also developing a style guide specific to the magazine that can be shared with the editors and contributors.

2023 Alice Clarke, Hurst – The Bosniaks: Nationhood after Genocide, by Jasmin Mujanović

Copyediting – nonfiction
Alice contracted me to copyedit The Bosniaks. I communicated directly with the author, Jasmin, to resolve queries, and. I followed Hurst’s in-house style guide for the manuscript’s body and reference list.

2016–2023 Ian Austin – www.ianaustinauthor.com 

Copyediting and design – crime fiction
I have worked with Ian on five books: The Agency, The Second Grave, Frozen Summer, Bonded, and Man. Made. I copyedited the manuscripts and laid them out in InDesign. For Bonded, I managed the subcontracting process for proofreading.

2020–2024 Charles Williams – www.vialegio.com

Developmental editing and copyediting – historical fiction
I have worked with Charles on four historical novels set in the Rome empire. My work with Charles has included developmental editing and copyediting, and I have managed the subcontracting process for proofreading. 

2021 Hannah Powell – The Cactus Surgeon

Copyediting – memoir
I copyedited Hannah’s memoir about recovering from a neurological illness. This was an extensive copyedit that involved discussing memoir conventions and storytelling techniques with Hannah, which included changing the tense from present to past throughout the manuscript. The Cactus Surgeon won The Selfies 2022 autobiography/memoir award.

2018–2023 Thomas Mooney – The Wizard’s Harvest Table, The Book of Simnem, Straya, and Andro

Copyediting – fantasy
I worked with Tom on his fantasy trilogy. These manuscripts ranged from 42,000 to 145,000 words. I created a comprehensive style sheet to accompany the edits. This was a wonderfully collaborative project and saw Tom strengthen his style as the trilogy progressed.

December 2019 James Kalmakoff – The Inside Story

Proofreading – memoir
I proofread James’s memoir from his time at the microbiology department at the University of Otago. I marked up the PDF and provided light copyediting suggestions.

October 2019 Andrew Smith – Dunedin is a Ghost Town

Copyediting – nonfiction
Andrew is a Dunedin tour guide specialising in local ghost stories. I edited his collection of ghost stories that complements his tours.

August 2015 Ian Dougherty – More Than Just a Place of Work 

Proofreading – nonfiction
Ian contacted me after the initial proofreader had failed to spot a number of errors. I marked up the PDF proofs in Adobe Reader. Since the book was in the final stages of production, I needed to use my judgement to assess whether certain changes were necessary or whether the text could be left alone.

November 2014–February 2015 Dunedin City Council

Content editing
I worked with staff from the Dunedin City Council and the Department of Conservation to create a joint agency walking tracks brochure, Dunedin Walks (PDF download). I also updated and revised the track descriptions for the popular Peninsula Walking Tracks brochure.

Professional affiliations

Branch president – Institute of Professional Editors

Editors Aotearoa New Zealand branch president since December 2023.

I help IPEd advocate for Aotearoa editors and organise events centred around New Zealand-specific topics.

Education

2022 – IPEd Accreditation

Passing the IPEd accreditation exam required that I demonstrate my competence in three areas: editing knowledge, language skills, and manuscript editing.

2013 – Whitireia Community Polytechnic, Wellington

Diploma in Publishing (Online) – Graduated March, 2014

This was a full-time diploma covering four core aspects of the publishing industry: editorial, book design and e-publishing, project management, and marketing and trade knowledge.

I gained a great deal of practical understanding about how the publishing industry works and how books (both print and electronic) are made and marketed.

2003–2006 – University of Otago, Dunedin

BA(Hons) First Class, Philosophy
Dissertation outline: I presented and defended a theory of knowledge that developed feminist thought and current research in psychology. This was a full year project of 15,000 words.