Overview
I'm a multi-award winning editor, with extensive experience in editing and publishing for books, magazines and journals in both fiction and non-fiction, in the UK and US.
I've been fortunate to edit manuscripts on a variety of subjects including management and leadership, finance, marketing, strategy, advertising, story-telling, work/life balance, green business and sustainability, ethics, technology, creativity, innovation, and networking.
I'm a former marketing and communications director at the Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association (AMBA & BGA), where I edited AMBA's monthly magazine Ambition, having been at the helm of more than 50 editions of the publication.
This has given me experience in editing features and papers exploring business from almost every angle you can imagine, but it also afforded me opportunity to work with hundreds of authors – and I am as comfortable editing the work of a business school dean, as I am editing that of a first year student. (This might just involve a degree of ghostwriting on my part, but the readers have never noticed).
More recently, I've been working on editing fiction, and have collaborated on several books over the past three years: including black comedies; tragic love stories; sci-fi satires; novellas exposing the 'underbelly' of our society; and an anthology of visceral, suburban horror stories.
In short, there are few topics from which I would shy away.
In terms of the services I can offer, my expertise lies in assessment and developmental editing for books. As Editorial Director at LID Publishing, I was responsible for commissioning the majority of business and management books on our lists for the UK and US so can sniff out a stellar manuscript a mile away.
For more developed manuscripts, I am adept at copywriting – reworking syntax, amending style, checking facts and stats, and making the key sentences and phrases 'pop', in a clear and concise way.
Finally, I believe proofreading and line editing is an art form and am skilled at making the final touches to typeset texts, that can make all the difference to the reader in terms of clarity. This work ranges from spotting spelling or grammar errors, suggesting final enhancements, correcting lengthy reference lists, or thoroughly interrogating those all-important contents pages, running heads and appendices. I'm comfortable creating style guides to support authors, as well as working from any style sheet of their choosing.
I love working with new and aspiring authors as well as more established and prolific writers, to craft stunning scripts, and I enjoy structurally reworking text, to make the copy sparkle. My mantra is that the topics of books should always be challenging and groundbreaking, while the finished product should never be a challenge to read.
I am collaborative, creative, confident, and curious, and I like to conduct myself like a critical friend, who will be an author's biggest cheerleader, but won't be frightened to give honest feedback.
Services
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Languages
Certifications
- Post Graduate Diploma in Publishing with Journalism
- Master of Arts in History and Divinity
Work experience
Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association
Strategic direction of marketing, publications and reports, media relations, stakeholder communications, content strategy and association magazines, research and insight, and conference production, as well as policy and public affairs.
Direction of the Association of MBAs's member magazine Ambition, which was named Digital Magazine of the Year in the Memcom Awards (2017) and a finalist for The Association Excellence Awards Magazine of the Year (2017) within one year of launch.
Direction of the Business Graduates Association's magazine, Business Impact.
Direction and execution PR strategy.
Responsible for editorial direction of AMBA and BGA's online thought leadership schedules; webinar contributors; special publications and white papers; content marketing; and annual reports.
Responsible for oversight and direction of AMBA and BGA's global research strategy.
Humm Media
Humm Media is a strategic communications company which helps individuals and businesses cut through the noise.
Myself and my business partner were responsible for devising and executing PR, social media and intelligent content strategies for global brands including Foster Denovo, OC Tanner and Dorchester Collection, across the healthcare, not-for-profit, hospitality, HR, pensions and academic arenas.
Heading up editorial strategy, I was tasked with with ghost-writing and editing speeches, blogs, articles, award entries and books for a variety of academic and business leaders and corporate worldwide.
During my time with Humm Media, we launched a book publishing division, Humm Publishing, with three books published in the space of three months.
LID Publishing
I managed all book lists and eBooks for the UK and North America and was responsible for the people management of series editors, copy editors and designers as well as social media, marketing and PR teams in offices in London and New York.
I had responsibility for sourcing and acquiring authors in the English language and carrying out structural and developmental edits on manuscripts.
The role involved devising and executing editorial, PR and marketing strategies as well as planning budgets and P&L forecasts for each project.
I was a key decision maker on new business development and devised and executed strategies for online learning and a journals division within the company.
I have also personally edited and published further high-charting books including It’s Never OK to Kiss the Interviewer, the multi award-winning Not Knowing, In the Shower with Picasso and The Impact Code.
Mark Allen Group
As editor of the British Journal of Community Nursing, I commissioned, edited or wrote all the content and managed eight annual supplements as well as chairing the editorial board. I also had involvement in creating commercial special projects and pushing up subscription numbers.
I was deputy editor of the fortnightly news magazine Independent Nurse.
As deputy editor of HR magazine, I oversaw the print and online editorial features as well as five annual supplements. I managed two rebrands of the website.
I liaised with advertising teams to devise creative commercial solutions and launched an award-winning campaign to change employment law in the UK.
In 2012 I was ranked the world’s number one online influencer the subject of employment law, I was awarded HR Journalist of the Year and Career Development Journalist of the Year at the Towers Watson Media Awards, and I was a finalist at both the DLA Piper Media Awards for Business Journalist of the Year and MHP ‘30 to Watch’.
The Mark Allen Group presented me with the accolade of Employee of the Year in 2012.
Portfolio
David has 30 reviews
Professionalism
Quality
Value
Responsiveness
Donna K.
Mar, 2024
Pinned
Gregory C.
Feb, 2024
Pinned
Jeremiah F.
Jan, 2023
Pinned
Ali Q.
Jul, 2024
Peter C.
Jun, 2024
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