Meet our members: Helen Bradford
Helen Bradford is an editor and plain-language specialist. Originally from the UK, she has lived in Wellington, New Zealand, since 2010. From 1996 to 2016 she worked for Voluntary Service Overseas, the United Nations and New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific and New Zealand. She launched her writing and editing consultancy Capire in 2018. Helen has a postgraduate editing and proofreading qualification from Whitireia, New Zealand. In 2018, she became an accredited editor of the Institute of Professional Editors. She is also an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Professional Editors.
Chapter 1. How it all began
Q: How did your career begin and what led you into the world of editorial work?
A: In my mid 20s I volunteered in Cambodia with Voluntary Service Overseas. This led to a long career in international development, mostly managing health programmes in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. I relocated to New Zealand in 2010, to work for the New Zealand Aid Programme. After several reorganisations at work, I was looking for a change. My career had involved lots of writing and editing. As this was an aspect of work I enjoyed, I wondered if I could make a second career out of it.
Q: What early experiences or interests set you on this path?
A: At work, I had to approve my team’s documents. Team members would get frustrated with me, as I’d question unclear sentences, illogical structure and inconsistencies. I tried to modify my ‘pedantry’ and accept a lower standard of work. So, when I was thinking about new career options, I wondered if these pedantic traits could be worthwhile. This led me to discover an editing and proofreading course at a New Zealand technical college, which I took while I was still working part time.
Chapter 2. What I do now
Q: What does your work look like today, and what do you enjoy most about it?
A: I now run my own freelance writing and editing consultancy called Capire. About half of my work is technical writing, and the rest is developmental editing and copyediting. I also run a few writing courses and provide some one-to-one coaching.
Most of my clients are New Zealand government departments and international development organisations. I really enjoy the variety of my work – every project is different. I also like that I now work on discrete projects and – mostly – get to stay out of office politics.
Q: How would you describe your niche or specialism – or are you happily broad?
My work is reasonably broad, but I describe myself as a specialist in plain language. My contacts in the international development sector mean I also pick up work in this area, which I enjoy.
Q: Is there a particular project or collaboration that has shaped your approach?
A: A few years ago, I researched and wrote Agricultural Activity Insights for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It was a huge undertaking that involved synthesising thousands of pages of reporting into insights about what makes agriculture projects succeed or fail. Instead of sitting on a shelf like many documents do, the report has been well used by the ministry. It also helped me win the 2023 Best Plain Language Technical Communicator in the Australia and New Zealand plain language awards.
Chapter 3. My biggest challenges
Q: Self-promotion can sometimes feel tricky. How have you found ways to talk about your work that feel authentic and comfortable for you?
A: When I set up my own business in my late 40s, I had to learn various business skills. Marketing and self-promotion don’t come naturally to me. A friend and business coach gave me some advice in this area, which has worked well for me. He told me to always offer clients something in my communication with them. So, I make sure my emails give clients something useful, like links to articles related to work we’ve discussed or aspects of writing they find challenging. This makes it easier for me to contact clients than sending those ‘begging’ emails asking for work. It also keeps me in people’s minds, which is important when a job comes up.
If I’m trying to sell my skills, I draw on client feedback. I’m more comfortable describing what a client has said about my work and how it was useful for them than talking up my expertise.
Chapter 4. My proudest moments
Q: Which achievements, publications or collaborations stand out as particularly meaningful to you?
A: Attending the launch of the Creative Collaborations website stands out as a highlight. I worked on the content for this website for almost a year. I drafted over 100 webpages, drawing on material a research team gained from interviews and online research. The range of topics was vast and fascinating, from a Mexican food festival in New Zealand through to a New Zealand-designed virtual reality app that teaches Chileans about sustainable fishing.
It was a fascinating project, and it was fabulous to see the website published. It was even more special that the launch took place at the Embassy Theatre, which hosted the world premieres of The Return of the King and The Hobbit.
Q: Are there quieter wins or behind-the-scenes moments that feel just as important as big achievements?
A: I have a weekly volunteer slot as an adviser at the Citizens Advice Bureau. Each week my colleague and I work with people facing housing, consumer, immigration, relationship, legal, property, income, employment and other issues. I really enjoy the chance to switch off from my life for three hours and help people find practical ways to overcome their problems. Most weeks I walk away knowing I’ve helped someone achieve something that will make a big difference to their life.
Chapter 5. How I stay connected
Q: Editorial work can be quite solitary. How do you create connection and community alongside your work – formally or informally?
A: For the past six years I’ve been lucky to be part of an online group of nine freelance editors that work in five different countries. As well as helping each other with technical editing points, the group shares and discusses all manner of things about our professional and personal lives. We empathise with each other’s problems, encourage each other and hold each other accountable. The group is probably the best team I’ve ever worked in. We are so close that one of the group is coming from New York to dog sit for me for two months!
Chapter 6. My life beyond the desk
Q: What brings you joy outside of your editorial work?
A: I got into sport relatively late, but it’s now a huge part of my life. I enjoy trail running, mountain biking, open water swimming and triathlon. I’ve competed in events all around New Zealand and overseas. Almost every holiday involves a sporty adventure. In recent years my partner and I have bike-packed in Spain, Slovenia and Croatia. I train every day, which is sometimes a juggling act with work deadlines.
Q: If you weren’t doing this, what other path or passion do you think you’d be exploring?
A: At school my careers adviser told me I was suited to being a landscape gardener. It’s only in the last couple of years that I’ve started to enjoy gardening, but perhaps she was right after all!
Chapter 7. Desert island desk
Q: If you had to run your editorial life from a desert island, what three items would you take with you?
A: My two big screens, my editing assistant (Nelly the dog) and an unlimited supply of English breakfast tea.
Chapter 8: My advice for others
Q: What’s one myth about editorial work you’d like to gently debunk?
A: There are so many! One of the most common myths I experience is the idea that I can do a thorough structural edit and copyedit of a long technical document in a couple of days, when it took a team of people months, if not longer, to write it. Editing is more than just a spell check!!