Pamela Smith

Professional Member
Location Belfast
Mobile +44 (0)752 352 9959
Email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Website http://www.psproofreading.com
LinkedIn Pamela Smith
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/psproofreading/
Twitter @psproofreading

Skills

Proofreading, copy-editing, on-screen proofreading, on-screen copy-editing, music scores

Media

Books, magazines, marketing materials, corporate documents, grant proposals, theses and dissertations, multi-author books, newsletters

Experience

Freelance since 2016; Concerts Manager, Belfast Music Society, 2008–2021; Conference Administrator, Queen's University Belfast, 2007–2008; Music Officer, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, 1995–2003

Training

Plain English Editing (CIEP) 2020, Editing Fiction (PTC) 2020, Editing Illustrations (PTC) 2019, Advanced Copy-Editing (PTC) 2019, PerfectIt: Introduction and Advanced (Cadman Training) 2019, Copyediting Headway (CIEP) 2018, Grammar at Work (PTC) 2018, Progress in editorial skills (PTC) 2017, Editing in Word (CIEP) 2016, Proofreading Progress (CIEP) 2016, Basic Proofreading by Distance Learning (PTC) 2015

Clients

Cambridge University Press, Taylor & Francis, Routledge, Colourpoint Books, Newgen Publishing UK (formerly Out of House), Full Media, Acis Productions, Queen's University Belfast, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, Open College Network Northern Ireland, Fire Station Artists' Studios, Radius Housing, Belfast Music Society, individual academics and postgraduate students

Subjects

Music and the arts – practice, funding and policy 

Humanities and social sciences

Management

Governance

Voluntary sector

Local government

Qualifications

BA Music, PhD Music, Diploma in Management

Testimonials

Pam is an experienced and meticulous proofreader, and ensures that all our print materials have been produced to an extremely high standard. ... She also prepares all BMS policy documents, and writes our corporate and business plans. ... She is always thorough and demonstrates excellent attention to detail.

Dr Ciara Burnell, former Chair, Belfast Music Society

Pam was regularly called upon to produce papers and public reports which could clearly identify issues that were pertinent to the policies of the Arts Council. Her ability to produce concise and comprehensible papers was completely reliable – so much so that other organisations also engaged her separately to undertake major reports for them. ... Clear thinking, strategic intelligence, verbal concision – those would be three important attributes which I would associate with Pam’s capabilities.

Dr Philip Hammond, former Director of Performing Arts, Arts Council of Northern Ireland

Pam proofread my PhD thesis. She came highly recommended and from the outset was professional and personable. She worked hard and very closely with me to ensure that the grammar and references were consistent and correct. When I submitted my thesis my supervisor could not find any grammatical errors. I recommend Pam unreservedly.

Neale, PhD student

We have used Pam Smith’s proofreading and editing services for a wide range of our clients and have always been pleased with her work. She is diligent, thorough and reliable. We highly recommend you try Pam’s services.

Nick Jones, Full Proof

I met Pam Smith seven weeks before the deadly deadline of a PhD submission. I was demented, driven daft by my own run-on sentences, unruly punctuation, fecked-up formatting and a bewildering bibliography.

Pam was an editor extraordinaire. She tackled my verbosity and made sure every word pulled its weight, every sentence was a unit of sense and every paragraph contained an idea expressed in a syntax to rock the box of an examiner.

After putting manners on my bibliography, Pam tic-tacked between my in-text references and works cited to double check for inconsistencies. She even pointed out errors in the spellings of French sociologists and Russian culture theorists!

I am delighted to recommend the proofreading services of Pam Smith. Her craftwomanship and attention to detail helped me finish my final draft and walk into my viva like I owned the room. Pam is a gift.

Dr Rachael Hegarty

I’m a concert pianist and campaigner for music by women. After writing a book about Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, I saw I needed professional help to firm up the shape. I found Pam through the internet; she stated a fair fee and time plan. On her advice, I added in some cultural background and we ended up with a 23,500-word book. Not only did she copy-edit, she sorted out overlaps between chapters, pointed out factual inaccuracies, and formatted the references and footnotes. Her advice was always clearly expressed. I think it became a better balanced and grounded book; her clarity and detailed observations helped give it a professional feel, and me the confidence to publish.

Diana Ambache

I am so relieved to see some of your comments...you’ve nailed a few sentences that I’ve always felt were incredibly awkward, but I was stuck on how to fix them. Not only have your corrected things, but I love how you pointed out why the writing was strange. It’s like a masterclass in writing, and I think it will really help me to avoid pitfalls in the future. ...What you have done so far has truly been so helpful! ...I can’t thank you enough.

Jessica Cawley