Our Services

Summary of services

I’m a teacher, an editor, an author, a presenter, a writer and an artist. Please see my CV, projects and testimonials.

Editorial Training Services

Since 1995, I’ve been providing public and private group training and one-on-one tuition in grammar and punctuation, writing, editing, and proofreading. My clients include companies, government and business entities, and individuals.

I regularly teach short courses in grammar and editing at:

  • the Centre for Continuing Education (Sydney University), in Newtown
  • the Australian Writers’ Centre in Sydney, at Milsons Point.

I strive to make my courses and presentations entertaining and interactive, and evaluations of them are overwhelmingly positive.

I also deliver presentations to writers’ and editors’ groups.

Living Proof – Book Editing

I’ve been a self-employed editor since 1989. My services include:

  • copy editing: preventing embarrassing errors from occurring in the finished document and bringing it to an acceptable standard for publication
  • preparing editorial reviews: reading a printout of the typescript, annotating it to suggest improvements and raise major ‘author queries’, and composing a detailed itemised report
  • structural editing: reordering sections of the text to maximise the navigability and flow
  • writing: creating copy that’s pleasant, effective, alive, clear and enduring (‘making peace with the reader’) rather than waffly, ambiguous and ridiculous (‘making war with the reader’)
  • rewriting: helping create as many drafts as necessary to maximise the impact on the reader
  • proofreading: eliminating any major typographical errors and layout problems.

I collaborate with a range of companies, government and business entities, and self-publishing authors in order to produce the best-possible product. Whatever the project, my imperative is editorial excellence.

Grey Areas and Gremlins: A grammar and punctuation refresher

Since 2003, I’ve been self-publishing my text-workbook Grey Areas and Gremlins: A grammar and punctuation refresher and developing various supplementary course notes and colour-coded explanatory handouts. Grey Areas and Gremlins is a simple, easy-to-use reference and workbook for anyone who wants to discover and apply ways to solve the common problems that writers and editors encounter.

The cost of the printed book and its 10 accompanying handouts is $60 (no GST), including shipping within Australia, and the cost of the PDF version and handouts is $35. Order your copy HERE.

Writing

I write copy such as synopses and blurbs for a wide range of clients. For example, for two years, I wrote the ‘Language FAQs’ column for Government News and the ‘Editor’s Corner’ column for Newswrite, the magazine of the NSW Writers’ Centre, in Rozelle.

As an ethical vegan, I contributed two articles to Vegan Voice – ‘And So This Is Christmas’ and ‘Talking Turkey’, wrote the short story ‘Minnie and Me’ for the anthology Cat Tales: The Meaning of Cats in Women’s Lives, published by Spinifex Press in 2002; and write letters and e-mails to organisations and individuals associated with animal rights and animal protection.

Draw On

I’m a long-time working artist who creates black and white line drawings and cartoons as well as colourful illustrations and posters. A collection of my archival artwork, articles, music recordings and ephemera is housed at Sydney’s Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (the Powerhouse Museum) under the title The Deb Doyle Music Archive. To view samples and a catalogue of the archive, go HERE.

In 2015, I created a colourful animal-rights poster I captioned ‘Give pigs a chance’, which is available in both A1 size, for $20, and A2 size, for $10. To view the poster or order a copy, go HERE.