Sara Donaldson | Specialising in history and the arts

Editing, proofreading, writing and historical services for authors and businesses who have a story to tell.

I specialise in history, heritage, and the arts, and help authors and independent businesses  communicate effectively.

Do you need editing or writing services, but don’t know where to start?  Are you an author of historical fiction or non-fiction, or the arts, who needs some help? Does your business have an interesting history that you’re keen to tell, but you don’t know how? 

You don’t need to leave it until you’re overwhelmed before you seek professional help – it’s really not as complicated or scary as you think.

I’ll make your documents (or websites) clear and consistent without losing your author’s voice. I’ll also ensure your writing is appropriate for its intended audience.

Freelance since 2001 (I was previously an academic librarian), I work with a variety of clients (traditional publishers, self-publishing authors, academics and businesses) to help get their message across while keeping their author's voice intact. I am also a professional genealogist with a knack for (and trained in) transcribing old documents.

Subjects

I work mainly in history and the arts, but am happy to work on the following subjects.

• historical fiction and historical non-fiction (history, heritage, genealogy / family history, local history, archaeology, folklore, mythology)
• maritime history
• modern maritime subjects (specialising in ferries and cruise ships)
• art history and visual culture
• antiques and collectables
• theatre / film
• crime fiction and crime non-fiction
• cosy crime
• biography

Services

• copyediting
• proofreading
• manuscript assessment / critique
• developmental editing
• copywriting
• rewriting
• historical research
• historical document transcription

Qualifications, training and experience

• BA (Hons) English Literature & Creative Writing - First Class
• BA (Hons) Librarianship & Information Studies - 2:1
• Advanced Professional Member of the CIEP
• CIEP tutor
• Copy-editing by distance learning – Merit (Publishing Training Centre)
• InDesign CC Training (Certitec)
• Introduction to Fiction Editing – one-day workshop & full online course (SfEP)
• Design Thinking U101 (OU)
• Society of Indexers Accreditation
• DigitalMarketer Search Marketing Specialist
• DigitalMarketer Direct-Response Copywriting Specialist
• Graduate of the Andy Maslen Copywriting Academy (Breakthrough Copywriting)
• professional genealogist since 2001
• historical transcriber (palaeographical transcription services)

I'm proficient in:

• Microsoft Word
• Adobe CC (inc. InDesign, Photoshop & Illustrator)
• Affinity
• Scrivener
• Excel
• PowerPoint

Clients

Over the years I've worked with publishers and self-publishing authors, as well as businesses. Some of my clients include:

• Lily Publications (including editing/writing their popular 'All Round Guide' and cookery books)
• Ferry Publications (working with leading worldwide clients, including Cunard, Isle of Man Government, Brittany Ferries and P&O)
• Whitefox
• Sandstone Press
• Whittles Publishing
• Dunnet Bay Distillers (Rock Rose Gin, Holy Grass Vodka)
• Bookmachine
• self-publishing authors
• small publishers

Testimonials

We have found Sara very professional, with all our work requirements meeting the required deadlines for our leading worldwide clients, which include Cunard, Isle of Man Government, Brittany Ferries and P&O.

Miles Cowsill, Managing Director, Lily Publications, Isle of Man

Sara has been invaluable to our company on this project and other projects. The work is completed to a very high standard. Sara has been a great resource for our business. She gives us the confidence in the quality of our message on our labels.

Martin Murray, Dunnet Bay Distillers

(Rock Rose Gin & Holy Grass Vodka)

Sara Donaldson’s edit was thorough, professional, and illuminating. She spotted logic flaws missed by all other readers. She called out timeline errors and flagged colloquialisms that readers outside of California might not understand. Further, her edits were always in the spirit of clarifying the author’s voice, and she provided just the right amount of explanation for all her suggestions. Sara made it easy to accept the obvious edits and fairly painless to contemplate and repair the harder things (timeline problems!). There were no problems with our “shared language” (English from either side of the pond), and she is just straight up fun to talk to and work with. Oh, and did I mention she provided me with a style sheet and other helpful content?

Honestly, I couldn’t be happier.

                                                                                Mysti Berry, Technical writer and award-winning author

We were very glad of your work and thoroughness. I will certainly be using you again

Isobel Montgomery Campbell. 'Sebastian Shaw: The Man Beneath the Mask'

Sara was wonderful both in helping me understand which type of editing I needed and then in the editing process itself. Her feedback was easy to follow, insightful, and concise. I felt I had a great quality critique which clearly showed me what was working and what needed improvement. I will definitely use her again for any future critiques I need.

Carys Mainprize, Author

After drafting my novel umpteen times I could not shake off a niggling feeling that something wasn’t quite right – a hunch which went beyond the familiar doubt writers can experience. By good fortune I found Northern Editorial - Sara Donaldson’s crisp and clear website. After initial consultation it became apparent that my novel would benefit from a manuscript assessment.

Sara sent me a detailed account of what I could expect from her report. Well within the allocated time schedule a concise and very professional twenty-three page report returned.

My concerns with P.O.V. and a saggy middle were reinforced and Sara made constructive suggestions of how I might rectify this i.e. develop a sub-plot through the p.o.v. of a significant character to balance and add credibility to my plot. Her critique of a few of my descriptions of sex was embarrassing, but oh, so right!

Greatly encouraged by Sara’s professional support and adhering to the salient points made, I am writing with a lot more care and more confidence.

Jo Elvery, Author

Sara was recommended to us by another satisfied customer. She provided us with copy-editing and proofreading our novel. She helped us transcend the cultural barriers of language by providing us with expert insight into subtle dialogue differences between the US and the UK. She recommended style improvements, caught a lot of punctuation errors, and helped us improve our grammar. Beyond all that, we could tell she actually read the book. She provided feedback on fact-checking and potential copyright issues.

Overall, we felt her professionalism was outstanding, and she exceeded all of our expectations. Thank you, Sara. We look forward to working with you on our next novel.

John and Lottie Christian, Authors

• Editor
• Proofreader

• Art history
• Non-fiction
• Antiques & collectibles
• Art & culture
• Crime, mystery & thriller
• Design
• Historical fiction
• History
• Paranormal
• Performing arts
• Travel & tourism
• True crime

• Academics
• Book publishers
• Indie authors
• Charities
• Businesses

• Editorial training
• Transcription
• Copywriting
• Business writing