Editing – Short Stories Anthology

Portfolio Categories: Editor and Proofreader.

Last year, I worked as part of an editorial team of three to edit and format short stories for the anthology, Chasing Our Tales. This was an ongoing, very involved project.

The initial stage was contacting authors for short story submissions and, after the deadline, the lengthy task of proofreading and editing began. It was important to be in regular contact with the co-editors to compare formatting decisions and double-proofread the stories.

Each story was sent back to the author for final sign-off and we determined the best order and layout for the book.

This was a fun project with a real variety of content. It was time consuming, but rewarding and the finished book was very popular.

Marketing Copy – Media Pack

Portfolio Categories: Copywriter, Magazines and Marketing.

Ahead of the first edition of the magazine itself, the publishing company behind Weddings in The South needed to attract suppliers to purchase advertorial pages.

I was asked to create the content for a media pack, both selling the magazine as an excellent platform to market business and informing the potential client of advertisement options.

This comparatively short copywriting commission needed to convey the opulence of the wedding venue and associated magazine in a limited word count. It was handed out at a supplier event and successfully attracted advertisers to purchase page-space in the magazine.

Corporate Correspondence – Letter of Recommendation

Portfolio Categories: Copywriter and Corporate Correspondence.

Mr Bailey is the head of marketing at Oswald Bailey. A particular member of his team was working towards a marketing certificate in 2013. In order to qualify, she required an official letter confirming that she had met certain criteria.

Mr Bailey contacted me to write this letter. I was able to save him time, while ensuring that the letter was both grammatically correct and suitably formal.

He supplied me with a bullet-point list of tasks she had completed and I matched this to the requirements of the certificate. In this way, the letter proved each criteria was met and the member of staff received her award.

Alice saves our company so much time! We now use Alice for almost all our letter writing, we tend to do a quick draft or bullet points and send it over to be polished and refined into something far better than we could ever produce. Worth every penny.

Corporate Correspondence – Letter of Congratulations

Portfolio Categories: Copywriter and Corporate Correspondence.

Many companies use competitions as marketing tools. A particular competition in 2013, run by Oswald Bailey, was a draw to win a holiday to Scotland and a pair of high-end walking boots. I was asked to pen a short letter of congratulations to accompany the boots when they were delivered.

The winner had already been informed by telephone and the letter I wrote adopted a friendly, personal tone.

It is projects such as this that really free up time for my clients. By handing over small copywriting tasks, their working day is not interrupted and they are confident that I will complete the task quickly and professionally.

Well written, quick, accurate letter writing is a true skill. Alice has it in abundance.

Corporate Correspondence – Responding to Complaints

Portfolio Categories: Copywriter and Corporate Correspondence.

It is an unfortunate fact that businesses will receive letters of complaint from time-to-time. Often, staff are too busy running the company to respond to these letters and I am asked to step in.

Whenever I represent a company, it is my role as a copywriter to adopt an appropriate tone and style, clearly and concisely conveying information on behalf of the client. Responses to complaints require a delicate touch, ensuring that the customer feels they have been listened to and their views appreciated.

I always view these commissions as an opportunity to change the customer’s opinion – to leave them feeling appreciated and, most importantly, likely to use the business again.

Clients comment that handing the task of replying to letters over to me frees them to concentrate on their work. They are always confident that I will tailor the reply sensitively and professionally.

Alice is great at connecting with customers in letters. She manages to convey real emotion in her writing which really can turn a disappointed customer into happy one.

Magazine Editorial – BSO, The Sound of Music

Portfolio Categories: Copywriter, Editor and Magazines.

I really enjoy collaborating with a publishing team on magazines. In August 2012 I wrote a feature-length editorial about the world-renowned Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) for the luxury magazine New Forest Exclusive.

After interviewing Dougie Scarfe, CEO of The BSO, I crafted an editorial that would both entertain the reader and promote the orchestra.

The piece illustrates the orchestra’s international presence as well its dedication to reaching out to the local community. It was clear when interviewing Mr Scarfe, that he is passionate about the latter as much as the former and I made sure this was highlighted in the editorial.

Just a quick mail to say a big thanks to you for the wonderful article on the BSO in New Forest Exclusive! It is really fabulous for our brand to be so positively displayed in this sort of publication and I am most grateful.

Website Copy – Handwarmer Product Review

Portfolio Categories: Copywriter, Marketing and Websites.

A recent project was to write a report on a product test for OutdoorGear, an online camping and outdoors store. I was supplied data on the performance of two different disposable hand warmers and asked to present the findings to the customer. The intention was to inform as well as advertise the handwarmers, while boosting online content for SEO.

The data was raw, so I had to consider the best methods of displaying it logically to the consumer. I liaised closely with the marketing team at OutdoorGear to make sure I highlighted important details and they were really pleased with the end result.

The report is still live. Why not have a look?

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Alice can always be relied upon for great copy, perfectly in keeping with Outdoorgear's tone. Whenever we need anything written, we know she will deliver fantastic results.