Katherine Stephen

Katherine Stephen – Editor

Quick and efficient proofreader with experience of all genres, lengths and budgets. Likes whisky.

Overview

I'm a freelance proofreader with several years of experience, working with large publishing houses such as HarperCollins as well as independent authors and small businesses. My non-proofreading background is music, boats and business/hospitality, and I'm currently working on an Information Science PhD. I love working on full length novels and memoirs, but there's no job too big or small - I've previously written and proofread copy for websites, white papers, articles and blogs, and can offer fast turnarounds and flexible pricing.

When I'm working with clients, I like to be as flexible as they need with regards to number of passes and style of queries; for example, when proofreading I will put all of my queries as comments in the document itself, but I'm more than happy to answer or discuss questions either in the document or separately by message in Reedsy. If working with Word I will return two copies: one with tracked changes still on, so all my edits can be seen, and a 'clean' version with all changes accepted. I also enjoy working on PDFs and make good use of Adobe's own comment and highlight functions, and will return this document plus an exported list of the changes. If you prefer, I can also work on Markdown.
Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Fiction
Fantasy Mystery & Crime Science Fiction Thriller & Suspense Women's Fiction Young Adult
Languages
English (UK) English (US)
Certifications
  • Proofreading (distance learning) - Publishing Training Centre

Work experience

Self-employed

Jan, 2011 — Present

Providing proofreading and copy editing services for numerous publishers, author services agencies and independent authors and small businesses, including HarperCollins, Authoright and BubbleCow.

Mainly longform fiction and memoirs, but also plenty of non-fiction articles and books, many student dissertations and theses, company website content and extra material such as white papers.

Portfolio

There is a lot of sadness in Jeff. Jeff and Hazel are in love. Life should be so simple, but an incident in Jeff's past haunts him to the point that he becomes a recluse. As his band prepares to release its first album after the tragedy, Hazel watches as Jeff'... read more
NEW SPIES. NEW RULES.Brigitte Sharp is a brilliant but haunted young MI6 hacker. When she decodes encrypted online messages, which she believes are connected to her best friend's murder, Bridge uncovers evidence of a mole inside a top secret Anglo-French milit... read more
The most fucked up memoir you’ll ever read.A foul-mouthed memoir about a dysfunctional life.Each chapter recounts a key moment in the author’s life through the books she was reading at the time including:• Howard’s End, the only text she had read whilst engagi... read more
Driving a cab for more than 30 years Gene Salomon has collected a remarkable selection of stories. He shares the very best in this unforgettable memoir.Gene has had everyone in the back of his cab……Lauren Bacall, Leonardo di Caprio, John McEnroe, Sean Penn and... read more
A Lord of the Rings for the 21st century. Only a lot shorter. And funnier. And completely different.The thrilling final part of the Shadowmagic trilogy.
A ribald tale from Britain's best-love Science Fiction writer. The Cretan Teat is a bawdy novel, telling the extraordinary tale a Byzantine painting of the Virgin Mary breastfeeding the infant Jesus. This false icon gets adopted by the people - and so becomes ... read more
Stones

Polly Johnson

A vivid, compelling and intensely moving novel from an exciting new voice in young adult fiction.Coo is trying to cope with the hand that life has dealt her. At sixteen, she feels she’s too young to have lost her older brother, Sam, to alcoholism. She’s skippi... read more
‘Laugh-out-loud fun with a real romantic heart’ MIRANDA DICKINSON“Try not to wheel any dead bodies across the pavement when the bride’s outside, OK?”When Marla Jacobs discovers that the vacant shop next to her Little White Wedding Chapel is to become a funeral... read more
Sororal: adjective 1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a sister or sisters; sisterly. 2. sororal twins: (informal) non-identical twin sisters. Vivian cannot believe that her sororal twin, Lilian, committed suicide. What can she do? A. Blame herself for be... read more
The Miner

Natsume Soseki

"It makes me very happy that I can read this novel written over a hundred years ago as if it were contemporary and be deeply affected by it. It cannot and should not be overlooked. It is one of my favorites."—Haruki MurakamiThe Miner is the most daringly exper... read more
Under the Channel

Gilles Petel

When the body of a Scotsman turns up on board a Channel Tunnel train at the Gare du Nord, Parisian detective Roland Desfeuillères finds himself in charge of a murder investigation. This inter-city tale of changing identities is no ordinary crime novel.
A saga based in the 19th century. The Standish family are poor but the eldest boy, Tommy, desires wealth and position and will do anything in pursuit of his dream regardless of the misery he causes anyone who dares to step in his way. His ambitions realised, a... read more
In a major publishing project, all of Brian Aldiss' 300+ short stories are being collected together for the first time. In a major publishing project, all of Brian Aldiss' 300+ short stories are being collected together for the first time. Volume one takes us ... read more

Katherine has 64 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Jim W.

Jim W.

Aug, 2024

I have worked with Kat many times and her work is always excellent.
J. A. M.

J. A. M.

Jun, 2024

I love working with Katherine, and basically need her for my proofreading needs! She's professional, responsive, and provides quality service, through and through. I can't recommend her highly enough to the community, and I'm very happy with her work each time.
J. A. M.

J. A. M.

Dec, 2023

Once again, Katherine did an amazing job on my manuscript. She's always professional and efficient and I can rely on her when I need a proofread done.
Gwen B.

Gwen B.

Nov, 2023

Katherine did a great job proofreading my novel. She picked up things that were missed after many read-throughs. I highly recommend her.
Michael T.

Michael T.

Oct, 2023

Katherine was willing and able to jump in on my project on short notice, and turned it around quickly. She caught several things I missed in my own proofread. And I was glad to get another set of eyes on my manuscript before it goes to print.

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