Project snapshot

A 16-month employed communications role with the Diocese of Gloucester – producing weekly publications, writing faith stories, supporting a national campaign and representing the diocese in the media.

I joined the diocese on a 12-month contract, later extended, as Communications Officer – an employed, embedded member of the team working closely with colleagues across the diocese.

Challenge
The Diocese of Gloucester's Communications and Engagement Team is a small, busy team responsible for communicating the work, life and mission of the Church of England across Gloucestershire – to over 2,500 clergy, church workers and lay members, as well as the wider public. The team needed a Communications Officer who could hit the ground running, manage a demanding weekly publication schedule, write compelling stories and support public campaigns (#EcoChurchInAnHour, #liedentity) with real reach and impact.

What I did

At the heart of the role was The Bulletin – the diocese's flagship weekly newsletter. I managed the full production cycle each week: gathering content, writing and editing copy, coordinating contributors across departments and distributing via Mailchimp. Over 16 months I produced more than 60 issues, maintaining consistency, accuracy and tone throughout.

Alongside the weekly publication cycle I interviewed clergy, congregations and diocesan staff to find and write compelling stories about faith, community and church life across the county – content that appeared in The Bulletin, The Messenger and on the diocesan website.

Outcome

The diocese had a reliable, consistent communications presence throughout my time in post. The Bulletin reached its audience every week without interruption.

When I left the role, the diocese asked me to continue on a freelance basis for a further two months to cover the position while they recruited my replacement – a reflection of the trust the team placed in my work. I also continue to work with them as a client on an ad-hoc basis.

Project snapshot

Six months of editorial coordination and proofreading support for a London-based Early Years charity during a full website rebrand, ensuring content was accurate, consistent and publication-ready at every stage.

Challenge
The London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) is one of the UK's leading social enterprise nursery groups, providing childcare and early years education to families across London. During a major website rebrand, their team needed experienced editorial support to manage content across a large number of pages – ensuring that copy was accurate, on-brand and ready for design and publication at each stage of the process, without adding pressure to an already busy internal team.

What I did

I joined the project at an early stage, attending online planning and review meetings to understand the scope, timeline and content requirements. My role was to provide editorial oversight and coordination throughout the six-month process – helping to ensure content was developed, reviewed and delivered in a timely way across all sections of the site.

As the project progressed through design and layout, I carried out thorough proofreading of all pages at two stages – pre-design, to catch any issues in the copy before it went to the designer, and post-design, to check for any errors introduced during layout. This two-stage approach ensured the final published site was accurate, consistent and polished.

Outcome

LEYF's website launched with clean, accurate, well-edited content across all pages. By joining the project early and staying involved throughout, I was able to flag issues before they became expensive to fix and provide the team with confidence that their editorial standards were being maintained at every stage – not just at the end.

Home - LEYF Nurseries

"Hi Kelly 

Thanks for your support with the new website - we are very close to launch which all being well should be this afternoon! 

Best Sally"

Head of Marketing & Comms

London Early Years Foundation (LEYF)

Project snapshot

• 30 8-page annual newsletters
• Church of England dioceses aligned with Ecclesiastical Insurance
• Final pre-publication proofreading and editing

Challenge
As part of Ecclesiastical Insurance's offering to dioceses, they fund the production and printing of annual newsletters for Archdeacons' Visitations. The content is often produced by busy comms teams, so my role is to proof the PDFs, providing editorial oversight and ensuring consistency and accuracy that aligns to each diocese's preferred style and Ecclesiastical's brand guidelines.

What I do

Working closely with the project manager and designer, I proofread and markup each newsletter over a period of two to three months, applying UK English style conventions. I check alt text, captions, web links and formatting as well as grammar and typos.

"I know they’re stunned when they see your mark-ups – yesterday one diocese said they were 'very embarrassed' when they’d only spotted two small amends! Well done!" Rawlings Design

Outcome

I've worked on this contract for around ten years and have always received positive and thankful feedback on my work. Many of the Comms Teams are small and time pressured so collating the editorial is often hurried. They value the oversight I provide at the final stage.

"A thorough job!!! Thanks to your proof reader, couldn’t have done it better!!"
Gill, Diocese of Blackburn

Project snapshot

A nine-year proofreading and editorial management partnership supporting Arden University's content development team, delivering consistent, high-quality editing across hundreds of course modules.

Challenge
Arden University's content development team produces complex, specialist academic course modules – each containing 10 lessons and averaging 50,000 words – across a wide range of subject areas. With around 20 modules per quarter requiring careful, accurate editing to a consistent standard, they needed a reliable editorial partner who could handle significant volume, manage multiple subject specialisms and make the process as straightforward as possible for their internal team.

What I do

I built and managed a pool of specialist freelance editors, each selected for their expertise in specific subject areas, ensuring every module was matched to an editor with the right background knowledge. I acted as the sole point of contact for Arden's content development team throughout – meaning they dealt with one person, not a roster of individuals – while I managed all briefing, quality control, scheduling and delivery behind the scenes.

At peak periods the team was editing approximately 20 modules per quarter, representing around one million words of specialist academic content every three months. I oversaw consistency of editorial standards across the whole pool, reviewed work where needed and ensured every module was returned accurately edited and on time.

Outcome

The partnership ran for nine years, from 2016 to 2025 – a testament to the reliability and quality of the service. Arden's content development team had a single, trusted point of contact who handled all the complexity of managing a specialist editorial team, leaving them free to focus on content development.

The arrangement concluded in 2025 following an internal review of Arden's contracting processes, rather than any issue with the service provided.

Project snapshot

• Three 50-page financial market reports
• UK and US English house styles
• Data cross-checking with tables and figures
• Final pre-publication proofreading

Challenge
A busy publishing team needed detailed proofreading of three M&A reports to ensure spelling, grammar, formatting and data were accurate before publication.

What I did

I proofread each report against the house style, applying UK English style conventions to one report and US English to the other two. I checked headings, references, names and page numbering, and verified that figures in the text aligned with tables and charts.

Outcome

The reports were delivered to final pre-print stage ahead of schedule.

“We have a small, busy publishing team so being able to outsource our final stage proofing to Ultimate Proof is a perfect fit for our workflow.”
David, Head of Production, Publishing, Mergermarket / Acuris Studios / ION Analytics

Project snapshot

• 80-page undergraduate prospectus
• Multiple stakeholder contributors
• Five rounds of proofreading
• Tight production schedule

Challenge
The university needed a full proofread of a complex prospectus, checking tone of voice, style guidelines, course information and hundreds of stakeholder comments across multiple proof stages.

What I did
I proofread the document across five rounds, checking references, course lists, indexes and style guidelines. To ensure maximum accuracy and meet the tight timeline, I collaborated with a second proofreader to split the workload across sections.

Outcome
The prospectus was delivered to final pre-print stage ahead of schedule, giving the communications team confidence that the document was clear, accurate and ready for publication.

“Ultimate Proof has proven to be an invaluable resource to us.”
Rebecca, Corporate Communications, University of Portsmouth

Project snapshot

• 72-page insurance policy
• 50,000 words
• Technical like-for-like comparison
• Pre-publication verification
  

Challenge
A newly designed insurance policy needed to be checked against the previously approved version to ensure the technical wording matched exactly and that all earlier amendments had been implemented correctly.

What I did
I carried out a detailed word-for-word comparison of the two documents, verifying that all approved mark-ups had been applied. I also checked formatting consistency and flagged any typos or discrepancies using Adobe Acrobat mark-up tools.

Outcome
The client received a fully verified policy document with clear mark-ups, ensuring the updated version was accurate, consistent and ready for release.

“Kelly is not only thorough but also easy to work with – always responsive and respectful of deadlines.”
Name withheld, Marketing Services Manager, Ecclesiastical

Project snapshot

• 69,000 words
• Line editing, proofreading and style guide creation
• Self-published business book by an internationally recognised change leadership expert
• Taking a manuscript compiled from voiceover transcripts and workshop materials and preparing it for print publication and digital distribution
  

Challenge
Campbell Macpherson is an award-winning author, speaker and change leadership expert whose programme Leading with Influence has been delivered to cohorts, masterclasses and audiences around the world. Having previously published with Hachette, Campbell wanted to self-publish a print version of the book – compiled from the voiceover transcripts of nine online learning modules – to use as a marketing tool at speaking engagements and as a companion resource for programme delegates.

The challenge was that the manuscript had been assembled from spoken material rather than written from scratch. While the content was rich and authoritative, the transition from transcript to published book required careful line editing to unify the voice and structure across nine distinct modules, alongside thorough proofreading to ensure the finished manuscript was accurate, consistent and print-ready.

What I did
I worked through the full manuscript at line editing stage – refining language, smoothing transitions, adjusting rhythm and register where the spoken origins of the material were showing, and ensuring each chapter read as part of a coherent whole rather than a series of standalone talks.

Alongside the line edit, I created a bespoke editorial style guide for the book, documenting decisions about terminology, capitalisation, formatting conventions and tone of voice. This gave Campbell a reference document he could use for future editions as the content continues to evolve – an important consideration given his intention to update the material over time.

I then carried out a thorough proofread of the full manuscript, checking for consistency throughout and preparing the text for self-publication.

Outcome
Campbell's book was published and is available both as a printed volume for use at speaking engagements and masterclasses, and as a free PDF download for programme delegates. The editorial style guide ensures future editions can be updated consistently.

Campbell, who has previously published with Hachette, Kogan Page and Wiley, had high standards for the finished product – and was delighted with the end result.

"Gosh, you are so wonderfully thorough. Thank you! And I thought it was in good shape. Ha. The importance of a professional editor! You are adding so much value. Goodness. Thank you so much for your help."

– Campbell Macpherson, change leadership expert, speaker and author