This is probably the most radical blog post I’ve written in a very long time.

I have decided to expand my editing services into commercial websites and retail catalogs.

Don’t be alarmed. I am still going to edit scientific manuscripts, grant proposals, and capstone papers. I love science and I could never leave it.

It’s just that scientists, in the last year and a half, have not had the money to do their research, much less hire editors for their written work. (We all know why this is, but I will keep the rest of my political opinions to myself for now.) And without clients, I cannot make money. I am trusting that this will get better a few years from now, but I cannot wait a few years.

Editing commercial websites and retail catalogs is not new to me. I have been editing the web pages for a furniture company for which a good friend of mine works. In 2019, she introduced me to her company and I began editing the retail and trade catalogs that it mails to its customers every spring. I have edited the catalogs every year since then.

At first, I was unfamiliar with Acrobat, so I compiled a list of issues for every section and page on a Word document. Now, however, I have basic Acrobat skills, and I can edit directly on the PDF of the catalogs. (I can thank a wonderful EFA webinar for teaching me this valuable skill.)

For the webpages, I still compile a list of issues for each section, but I believe that makes it easier for everyone involved.

When I edit a word or sentence, I use the word “Please” liberally. (“Please delete the comma after ‘and.’”) (“Please avoid using the passive voice.”) Using “please” makes me sound like I am working with the client rather than being the client’s ninth-grade English teacher.

If you work for a company that could use its webpages or catalogs edited by an outstanding copyeditor, please find me on LinkedIn and drop me a message.