To help you choose what you might need, here are some quick definitions of the services I offer. Please email me at hello@heathersills.com for more info and rates.

Translation

You have a text in Dutch, French or German and you’d like an English version that’s faithful, fluent and fitting for your English-speaking audience. As I’m reading your source text, I’ll also let you know if I spot any areas that could be improved in all languages.

Revision

You have a translation of a text and now you’d like a native English speaker to check it against the original language (Dutch/French/German), and ensure it’s faithful, fluent and fitting for your English-speaking audience.

I can also copy-edit a translated text without looking at the original, but this has its pros and cons, which I’ll happily discuss with you.

Copy-editing

You already have a text in English, but it needs a proper polish. I’ll take care of that, from spelling and grammar to making it consistent and concise. Copy-editing also includes editing for inclusivity, a topic that’s becoming increasingly important. There are also many other aspects to copy-editing, which I’ll be happy to share more info on.

Copy-writing: Clients often confuse copy-writing and copy-editing, so let’s clear this one up. Simply remove the ‘copy-’ part and there you have it! Copy-writing is essentially writing and copy-editing is editing. I don’t think content creation is my strong suit, so this isn’t something I offer. But I do have a whole network of writers at my fingertips, and am happy to pass on a recommendation if you’re looking for someone to create content for you.

Development editing

I also offer development editing. This might be needed when you’ve written a first draft, but you could use some candid feedback before you continue. I’ll make suggestions, and ask for more of this and less of that. Especially recommended for non-fiction books.

Proofreading

Your English-language text has already been edited to remove errors and apply consistency and conciseness. It might now be in a staging environment, PDF or PowerPoint. I’ll catch any mistakes that others have missed or that may have crept in during typesetting and styling.

Project lead

With years of in-house experience managing editorial projects for international clients, I’ll also happily oversee your content creation/update project. To help the project team deliver successfully, I always apply Agile best practices.

Types of content

I’ll consider working on any type or format of content, but I have the most experience with:

websites, non-fiction books (print and ebooks), internal and external comms, software documentation, product descriptions, B2B testimonials, onboarding and relocation guides, HR & staffing materials, user guides, press releases, digital newsletters, articles, thought leadership content, blogs/social media, educational courses/assessments, branding guidelines, video subtitles and scripts, user interface text, survey templates, research reports and analysis, proposals, PowerPoint presentations, white papers, brochures, leaflets…