Welcome

Welcome to Dr John Hall’s Editing Service

My passion for editing evolved from my studies (BA at UWA; MA and PhD at University of Calgary, Canada) and my earlier careers as a schoolteacher in Western Australia and Canada (15 years) and as an academic at Curtin University (Perth, Western Australia) who taught research methods, supervised postgraduate researchers, and gave writing support to international students (22 years). Upon early retirement from Curtin University, I took a part-time position at Edith Cowan University (ECU), Perth, as a writing consultant for both staff and postgraduate researchers in education, humanities, arts, and business; in conjunction with this university editing, I was a freelance editor who supported authors of history of sport in WA, family history, local history, theology, and memoirs (I would be glad to show samples of my editing and co-authoring). Now I am semi-retired, continuing as a freelance editor.

How I Approach Editing

My editing

I encourage and support writers: encourage by reading your work carefully and acknowledging your accomplishment; and support by providing you with useful feedback. As to what counts as “useful feedback”, you have the last word on that. 

    I can be as picky as you like; and I can ‘fix’ technical, surface stuff like typos, spelling, and punctuation. But I will probably be most useful as a ‘partner’ who can be called upon to discuss and advise on the substantive aspects of your written material.

    To sum up my editing approach: I will listen carefully to what you want before proceeding with your chosen basic function, such as:
•    At an early stage, I can provide you with structural editing advice on ‘big picture’ items such as purpose, approach, and structure.
•    After a couple of drafts, I can offer you copy editing advice on all aspects of your writing that affect its clarity, coherence, and readability.
•    On near completion, I can proofread your document to identify (and, if asked, correct) any typos, layout issues, and small blemishes.