My name is Magda. I am an editor, indexer and lifelong lover of literature. Thank you for visiting my website.
I have a PhD in literary history, and I am a Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP). I am also training with the Society of Indexers to become an accredited indexer.
Outside of work, you will usually see me with a book in my hand or walking my two spaniels.
Experience
In my editorial career, I have worked with self-publishers and authors publishing with indie and traditional presses. I also work with academic publishers. I have edited and proofread memoirs, biographies, self-help/self-improvement books, reference works, as well as publications about a wide range of topics in humanities and social sciences, including architecture, politics, economics, history and technology. I also have experience creating book indexes. You can see some of these projects in my portfolio.
My areas of particular interest and knowledge include literature, literary criticism, history, East Asian studies and women and gender studies.
Although I often work with writers and businesses publishing in UK or US English, I am also comfortable with other English localisations, including Australia and Canada. I can help with the language localisation and adopting the most appropriate variety for your text and its intended market.
I also have extensive experience working on website content, reports, marketing materials and white papers. I was first exposed to this type of work when, before my PhD, I worked as an executive assistant in the City of London. Since then, I have worked with businesses in fintech, software, healthcare, recruitment, legal and retail services and other industries. I have listed some of my recent clients in my portfolio.
Qualifications
I undertake editing courses with the CIEP and other professional organisations for editors and attend their conferences, which allows me to keep my skill set up-to-date. Here are some of the courses I have completed recently:
- Essential grammar, Publishing Training Centre (2024)
- Proofreading and copyediting with the CMOS, EFA (2024)
- Non-fiction developmental editing, CIEP (2023)
- Copyediting Progress, CIEP (2022)
- Copyediting Headway, CIEP (2022)
- Copyediting Introduction, CIEP (2022)
I am also taking the fifth edition of the Society of Indexers course called ‘Training in Indexing’ that leads to the indexing accreditation.
My educational background includes the following qualifications:
- PhD China and Inner Asia, SOAS, University of London
- MA Sinology, SOAS, University of London
- BA Chinese Modern & Classical, SOAS, University of London, and Beijing Normal University (China).
Background in Chinese studies
Because of my background in Chinese studies, I often work with Chinese-speaking authors from mainland China, Hong Kong or Taiwan, publishing in English. This specialised service, called translation editing, involves working with the original text alongside the translated version. (On the contrary, conventional copyediting would only involve working with the translated text in isolation.) My knowledge of the Chinese language allows me to improve the accuracy of editing and reflect the meaning of the original text while adjusting the cultural and language references for the benefit of the target reader receiving the text in English.
Approach
In my work, I ensure the grammatical correctness, consistency and clarity of the text. At the same time, I strive for editorial intervention in line with my principles:
- preserve the author’s voice as much as possible,
- approach the text and the author without making any assumptions about them,
- be able to justify every change you make,
- understand the target reader of every text I edit.
I am also passionate about the power language has. In my work, I aspire to prevent it from being used to hurt, create bias, dehumanise or perpetuate stereotypes, even unintentionally. I strongly support the use and raising of awareness of inclusive, specific, respectful and bias-free language.
What clients say about me
Magda has been a godsend — her professionalism and competence, paired with her scholarly thoroughness, resourcefulness, and willingness to go the extra mile, made her an invaluable ally in bringing an extremely challenging project to a milestone in record time. She is also extremely pleasant to work with, thanks to her kind and flexible approach. I could not recommend her more heartily!
Magda went above and beyond the call of duty. I sent her a complicated medical book, a task that required extensive research and understanding. Magda, you understood it and translated it into a simple description of these physiological processes. You also made it entertaining, so much so that readers have reported they cannot stop reading it. At its launch, the book reached 1st place sales in new books from Amazon. Thank you, Magda, for such excellent work!
Magda consistently exceeds expectations. She is friendly, fast, thorough, and proactive. She not only completes tasks efficiently but also anticipates needs and proposes solutions before issues arise. Her attention to detail and dedication make a significant impact. It truly doesn’t get any better than that!
Magda was an excellent communicator about the timeline for getting work back to me and completed all proofreading with a quick turnaround. Her work was thorough and saved me many hours of searching for errors myself.
