About me

Early days

Growing up bilingual was the spark that ignited my curiosity about words, their meanings, applications and power. No surprise, then, that I went on to study Linguistics at university but it wasn’t until a chance call to a printing workshop that my real vocation took shape.

Expat wife… turned proofreader

It was in 1991, during my husband’s two-year posting to Malaysia (one of nine moves in 11 years), that I paid a casual visit to a typesetting house. Back in pre-digital days, printshops were like ant colonies: runners scurried about the workshop, carrying messages or fetching racks from towering wall-to-wall cases of metal typeface sets in Western, Asian and Middle Eastern alphabets, while revered Compositors placed each letter in its galley position under the watchful eye of a print supervisor. The heady smell of fresh paper, ink, sweat and lubricating oil – alongside the clatter of hot machinery and the tension of ever-present print deadlines – lit the touch paper that would blast my humdrum daily existence as an expat wife to smithereens and open the door to something new and exciting. With words.

“I’d like to volunteer as a proofreader. Is there a vacancy?”

Chequered career path

Several moves later, I’d been a secretary, picture-framer, journalist, helpline listener, school exchange programme liaison, internal comms executive, ad hoc writer, part-time teacher and full-time mum. But I longed to return to editorial or publishing circles.

I had to wait until 2002 before an opportunity came from an unlikely source: commercial tendering.

The advert on the noticeboard of the company where I was a contractor said: ‘Are you an eloquent engineer?’ It had been there for six whole months. I wasn’t an engineer, and therein lay the snag; but I knew the business and had more than a smattering of the vocab through dealing with case studies, procurement procedures and exposure to academic papers about building dams, nuclear pipe stress and power generation. I was delighted to pitch my case for an interview, delighted to hear I’d passed the writing/proofing tests (where others had stumbled), and delighted to get the job. A whole new editorial adventure began.

Bidding specialism

Fifteen years on, I’ve worked alongside experts in many fields — from construction to healthcare, logistics, chemical engineering, environmental consultancy and IT — and managed to convert a number of sceptics along the way. Successful tendering (aka bidding) relies on a marriage of skills: together, a skilful writer/editor and a subject matter expert will produce clear and crisp bid responses that impress.

Wider interests

The launch of Scribery & Redaction brings an opportunity to reconnect with other editorial professionals in academia, advertising and publishing circles. I’m also offering some of my services free-of-charge to causes close to my heart. In my downtime, I’ll most likely be found trying out a new recipe either in my own kitchen or someone else’s (I’m not picky!), banging an unmelodious tune on my ancient piano, or researching some historical detail for one of many novels I’ve been incubating for years.