Copyediting for the public sector

We provide fast, high-quality editing for high-stakes projects worldwide
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Quality-assured editing tailored to your needs

Writing in a clear and concise way is surprisingly difficult, especially when you’re communicating complex ideas and working with multiple authors on a single document. It’s all too easy to end up with convoluted language and an inconsistent tone of voice – diluting your message.

Our experienced editors will sharpen your copy so it has a real impact on your audience. We’ll work on all aspects of your language, from sentence structure and readability to word choice and tone of voice. We’ve edited hundreds of documents written by non-native authors, and we know how to turn jargon-heavy copy into natural, accessible English.

For complex briefs, we set up specific editing checklists, use coordination tools to ensure consistency and train our team in your specific requirements. We’re used to absorbing complex style guides in a flash.

Tate & Clayburn regularly partners with local and national government and international organisations such as EU institutions to complement their in-house expertise.

We also provide copyediting in conjunction with proofreading, copywriting, translation and design for clients in search of a one-stop shop.

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Some examples of documents we edit:

  • websites and apps
  • external reports
  • working documents
  • magazines
  • press releases
  • training material
  • blog posts
  • infographics
  • brochures
  • tendering bids
  • white papers
  • presentations

Why choose Tate & Clayburn?

01.

Certified quality

We’ve achieved the globally recognised ISO 9001:2015 quality management certification.
02.

Exceptional team

Our hand-picked experts are trusted by hundreds of discerning clients worldwide.
03.

Trust and confidentiality

We treat our clients’ data and intellectual property with the utmost care.
04.

Customer service

Our customers give great feedback – because we don’t rest until they’re thrilled with our work.
05.

Capacity and speed

We draw on all the resources we need to fit in with your schedule.

What is copyediting?

Copyediting is a more hands-on review of your document than proofreading, which is about ironing out the final creases before a document is published. A copyeditor usually works on the raw material before a document has gone to a designer, typesetter or publisher. This allows the changes to be implemented before the text is laid out, avoiding time-consuming adjustments later on. For many of our clients, we work in two phases: copyediting first, then proofreading once the document is in its final form.

Copyediting page logo

Alongside copyediting, we offer a reference-checking service, which ensures that your bibliography or reference list is consistent, complete and formatted in line with your chosen referencing style. We can also provide a specialist indexing service.

If your document has already been edited and you’re simply looking for a final polish, check out our proofreading services. For many projects, we provide both copyediting and proofreading, with or without a design stage in between.

Our copyediting service involves:

  • reworking the language to enhance readability, improve style and use of vocabulary, and ensure correct spelling, grammar and punctuation
  • making sure the author’s argument and ideas are clearly and logically expressed
  • improving the structure of the text and removing repetition
  • ensuring the consistency of text, images and layout, both within the document and with any guidelines you send us
  • fact-checking.
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‘I’m delighted with our long-term cooperation with Tate & Clayburn. Their experts have supported my editorial team on several large editing and proofreading projects. They follow our quality assurance process to the letter, which means I can rely on them to deliver impeccable work. Collaborating with Peter, Rosie and the team gives me the flexible capacity I need at times of peak demand.’
— Rob ConatyEditorial Team Leader, Ecorys
‘Peter and his team at Tate & Clayburn were easy to work with and so accommodating in the multiple short-lead requests that I sent to them for a client of Hemsley Fraser’s. They delivered all of the documents back to me on time or early with clear and concise feedback on what their proofreaders had changed or had suggested to change to ensure all documents were accurate and cohesive across the project. I would not hesitate to use Tate & Clayburn again, nor would I hesitate to recommend them to any of my colleagues or outside organisations. I look forward to our next project together!’
— Yvey CollinsHemsley Fraser Group
‘We have been working with Tate & Clayburn for several years and can only recommend the company’s high-quality services.’
— Raphaël DelessertChief Operating Officer, Pilet & Renaud, Geneva, Switzerland
‘Excellent: fast, responsive and great price–quality ratio. Would recommend!’
— Emmanuelle ReynaudDirector, Research Master's and Strategy Department, Aix-Marseille Graduate School of Management
‘This team is wonderful and helped us finalize our book for Cambridge University Press. Highly recommend!’
— Banu Ozkazanc-Pan, Ph.D.Academic Director, IE Brown Executive MBA and Director of Venture Capital Inclusion Lab
‘Tate & Clayburn’s work is of exceptional quality: their translations are precise, elegant and faithful. And it is such a pleasure to recognise your own style in another language thanks to the translator’s ingenuity! Their approach to deadlines is another plus: Peter always seeks to arrange the work based on our needs, and deadlines are always respected.’
— Bénédicte VidailletProfessor at University Paris-Est Créteil
‘Knowing that we have a reliable partner at hand to proofread, copyedit and translate in a fast and accurate way is a huge asset for L’OCCITANE in this constantly shifting landscape. Moving quickly without compromising quality and confidentiality is what we value most at Tate & Clayburn.’
— Marianna FellmannHead of Group Corporate Communications at the L'OCCITANE Group
‘Tate & Clayburn is an exceptional group of professionals who are the very best at what they do. They never fail to deliver excellent work, often meeting last-minute or tight deadlines – a highly valued partner to our organization.’
— Anna NoetzelGlobal Director of Communications, Mintel
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Services for the public sector

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Frequently asked questions

We place quality at the heart of everything we do, and we’re proud to be certified for compliance with ISO 9001:2015, the globally recognised quality standard. We only work with experienced and fully vetted editors and proofreaders, and our strict in-house quality-checking processes make sure nothing slips through the cracks. Read more about our approach to quality.

The work and personal data you share with us are treated as strictly confidential. All our team members are fully vetted and have signed a contract and non-disclosure agreement. We never share your details or documents with third parties, and we delete data once they are no longer needed. To find out more, please see our privacy policy.

We can usually edit or proofread short documents in as little as 24 hours. Let us know your deadline and we’ll do our absolute best to meet it.
All varieties! We most commonly work in British, American, Canadian and Australian English, but we’ll adapt to whatever preferences you have.
We work with all kinds of files. We most commonly edit and proofread in MS Word as changes can be easily tracked, but we also work in Google Docs, PDFs, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, LaTeX, InDesign and most other file types that are sent our way.

Once we’ve finished editing or proofreading your document, we’ll send it back in the format of your choice. If it’s a file type that supports tracked changes (such as MS Word or Google Docs), our suggestions and comments will be clearly marked up in the document.

Of course, if you have any questions after we’ve sent you the final document, we’re more than happy to answer them.

We do everything we possibly can to correct all errors in a document. We hire only experienced editors and proofreaders with a keen eye for detail, and we have a strict quality assurance policy in place. We’re also certified for compliance with globally recognised quality management standard ISO 9001:2015, which means we place customer satisfaction and quality at the heart of everything we do. Despite all of this, human error is still possible and we can’t guarantee 100% accuracy.
We calculate the cost of copyediting and proofreading based on the number of words in your document and the amount of work involved (for example, a heavy copyedit will cost more than a light proofread as more work is involved in reworking the document). Send us your document and deadline (or a sample of your text and the total word count) and we’ll get back to you with a free, speedy and precise quote.

We accept payment via bank transfer and PayPal, which includes card payments via the PayPal interface.

For individual clients, we ask that you pay up front the first time we work together; after that, we’ll switch to 30-day invoicing. For businesses, universities and other organisations, we understand that you would most likely prefer an invoice on completion. We’ll ask for your business address, and our payment terms are 30 days from the date of invoicing.

Don’t worry in the least! For most of our academic clients, we liaise directly with the finance department to sort out the admin, so you can focus on the research side of things. If you put us in touch with the relevant team, we’ll work through the supplier registration, quoting and invoicing process with them. Just let us know how you prefer to work and we’ll fit in with you.
Yes, as long as you can provide us with a full business address. For individual clients, we ask that you pay up front the first time we work together; after that, we’ll switch to 30-day invoicing.

How can we help?

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