Kate Haigh

Editing and proofreading services for publishers, businesses, organisations, independent authors and academics. 

I have more than 14 years’ freelance experience working to ensure you get an accurate, high-quality and professional end product. 

When you choose me to work with, that's exactly who you get: I don't subcontract and I don't use AI. I do use macros as they enhance efficiency but this is all done on my desktop. Your work is not shared with any third-party websites or put through any online text checks. 

For corporate and third-sector clients:

Get in touch to find out how I can help ensure your publications reflect your company in the best way possible. Whether it's a report, web copy, training material or internal comms, I can help with clarity, consistency and suitability of the text. I offer proofreading and editing, and lots in between. If you're not sure what service you want or need, send me a sample and we can discuss the best way forward for your text, taking into account budget and schedule. 

I can also help create or edit style sheets/house style for consistency in future work. 

For academics and postgraduates:

I proofread and copy-edit papers, articles, books and PhD theses. 

For work to be submitted for assessment, such as theses, I edit the language but do not comment on the content, structure or arguments due to plagiarism/collusion rules. 

I have worked on a variety of PhD thesis topics, including architecture and design, art and art history, business and management studies, economics, education, English literature, history, philosophy and politics. I am happy to work on most thesis topics so do get in touch to discuss further.

For independent fiction authors:

I proofread all genres of fiction but have particular experience in romance and science fiction (sometimes romantic science fiction!). 

I don't edit fiction though if I spot issues with the plot or character inconsistencies while proofreading, I will flag this. 

For memoirs and autobiographies, due to the legal nuances of this genre, I only proofread these if they have been professionally edited or checked by a publishing lawyer. 

Some recent corporate clients:

AEP Media • AMDIS • Birmingham City University • Blue Goose • Carmel Books • Cowater International • Energy and Utility Skills • ESF-COST Office asbl • Germanwatch e.V. • Henry Stewart Publications • Hodder & Stoughton • ID Enterprise Risk Ltd • Intersentia • Lantra • Macmillan Cancer Support • Morgan Sindall • Publicis Conseil • Radley Yeldar • sBooks, an imprint of SilverWood Books • Sprachenfabrik GmbH • Stork Press• The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists • University of Derby Online Learning • WIK GmbH.

What some of my clients have said about me and my work:

"Kate did a fantastic job. I like the way she harmonised my writing style with professional UK English. Sometimes I hear opinions that the editor did a great job, yet the author can’t recognise their work. They lose the sense of being actual authors as the changes are massive. In my case, I can feel my thoughts and style, but the narrative is much smoother and more natural. Thank you for that."

Michal A. Piegzik, PhD in Japanese private law, lecturer at Edinburgh Napier University

"What I particularly liked about Kate's service was that she fully understood my needs and gave me the right kind and amount of editorial intervention. She is responsive and highly professional, and I recommend her service to any academic author who is looking for a reliable proof-reader with an eye for detail."
Academic author for book published by Princeton University Press

"Kate's work has always been extremely thorough, highly efficient and very important for improving the work. That's why I have consistently gone back to her with my various writing projects."
Academic author published by Harvard University Press, OUP, Basic Books Atlantic Books; copy-editing work done on numerous projects since 2017

"I really wanted to thank you for your work on my thesis. I really think that you have done an outstanding job and that your engagement with my work has been far more precise and thorough than I expected. You helped me at all the levels that make a text better: not only with grammar, spelling, choice of words and phrasing. You have considered my text both as an expert who knows everything about academic writing norms and policies, and as a non specialist reader engaged with the meaning of my text, trying to make sense of my ideas and honestly highlighting passages that necessitated development. You have even checked foreign languages and googled some film titles, references... You have also helped me to improve my English by highlighting errors and providing explanations. Furthermore, your feedback made me a better academic writer, you have spotted errors, explained the rules and suggested corrections that taught me many things I did not know when writing this thesis. Your help has been invaluable in the short term, with this precise text, but I will benefit from your help each time I will write academic texts from now on. I will without hesitation work with you again."

Fred, Film Studies PhD student

"We have been working with Kate for a relatively short period but have already found her to be reliable, efficient and effective. We are a small start-up publisher and we rely heavily on our freelancers for their support as we get our business going, and as well as being a pleasure to work with, Kate has also been a great supporter of ours. I would have no hesitation recommending her."

Nancy Roberts, Stork Press 

"Kate offers a reliable and meticulous proofreading service. It’s always a pleasure to work with her, and to see how manuscripts benefit from her professional accuracy. She offers thoughtful suggestions where needed, and is always a friendly, cheerful person to work with. I would highly recommend Kate to other publishers and authors – in fact anybody who works with text. Conscientious, methodical and an extremely capable pair of hands!"

Helen Hart, Publishing Director, SilverWood Books

"Kate has handled all of the work on my novels, always on time and usually embarrassingly thoroughly. She has handled science fiction, fantasy, and horror with equal ease, going out of her way to make sure I get a quality product at the end of the process. I have thrown everything from weird demonic languages to quantum mechanics at her, and she has managed to point out faults in my logic or facts which slipped past me when writing. She takes the time to understand what she’s being asked to review, rather than just treating it as an error correction process. I have learned a huge amount just by working with Kate, and not simply about the English language. My writing processes have become far more organised, which has improved my writing. I would have no qualms about recommending her services to anyone."

Niall Teasdale, self-published author

"Kate is extremely friendly and professional, she spent considerable time and effort discussing my preferences with me and ensuring she knew exactly what I wanted before starting. She went through my manuscript (a novel) twice, once in a normal version which was then sent back to me for my approval of her changes (which were excellent), then again after it had been typeset. She found far more errors than I would have thought could possibly remain in it, and I am now 100% confident in it as it goes to print. Her rates were extremely good, and I will definitely be using her services again. Top marks, couldn’t recommend more highly."

Aiyana, self-published author

"It was a great day when we found Kate through her listing on the SfEP website. Our Annual General Meetings documentation is a complex and lengthy document. It has to be produced in a relatively short time and to a high standard. Kate is personable, friendly and very professional. Kate is meticulous, her work is very high quality and her attention to detail is second-to-none. I highly recommend her to anyone."

Miss Helena Basarab-Horwath, Assistant Company Secretary, The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists

"Kate has proof-read our last two prospectuses, our largest and most important publication, with contributions from many different sources, making consistency a key issue. She has consistently carried out a thorough job, on time and on schedule, and has always been friendly and helpful in all communications with us."

David Aust, Senior Copywriter, Marketing and Communications Department, Birmingham City University

Qualifications and training:

University degree:

BA (Hons) 2:1 German and Politics from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne

Proofreading and editing courses:

Basic proofreading by distance learning – merit

Book publishing: An introduction (two-day course in London)

Grammar at work (online course)

Successful editorial freelancing (distance course)

Barbara Horn's Copy-editing (home study)

How to write effective copy for your website (one-day course in Coventry)

Macro training (one-day course in Birmingham)

• Editor
• Proofreader