Freelance editing and proofreading for magazines, books and websites

I’m Rob Buckley, an award-winning freelance editor and journalist with 25 years’ experience of writing, designing, proofreading and subbing magazines, newspapers, books and websites. I’ve managed content, online and offline, from writing and commissioning through to final preflight and upload.

I’ve worked on dailies, weeklies and monthlies, and I’ve in-depth experience of many different subject areas, particularly media, finance, healthcare, transport, education, technology and retail.

Whether you’re a consumer, B2B or contract publisher, I’ve the skills you need.

Contact me if you’d like to know more.

Layouts and production

Layout sub-editor and production editor

Need a skilled, flexible layout sub-editor or production editor? Look no further.

I’m an experienced, trained sub based in London and available for in-house shifts throughout the capital, as well as for remote work from my own office. I can rewrite articles from scratch, check for accuracy and legal problems, liaise with authors for clarification and corrections, or simply scan pieces for literals and sense.

I can design and lay out pages using

  • Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator
  • QuarkXPress

for Mac and Windows, then proof, amend, preflight and send pages to print.

I’m fast, since I’ve worked on daily newspapers, and I know the programs inside out – I used to be a QuarkXPress instructor.

If you need that little bit more, I can source pictures, page-plan whole magazines, deal with ad production and printers, and check pages on online pre-press systems.

I’m available for short bookings of only a few hours or longer-term, regular and part-time shifts. Call or email me if you’d like to know more.

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Online

Online sub-editor

I’m a highly experienced freelance online sub-editor, with skills in SEO and web development. I can edit a story to include keywords with the right density and placement. I can write meta-descriptions suitable for Google and headlines that will get clicks.

Social Media Marketing Basics

In 1996, I helped to create one of the first UK newspaper web sites. I was editor of Information-Age.com for four years and did considerable development work for the site and its email newsletter system. I was a regular contribution of tutorials to Practical Web Design and wrote a column in M-iD called ‘Making the Most of Your Web Site’. Other magazines I have written for include .Net and Useful Social MediaI was also the technical editor for Flame Tree Publishing’s Social Media Marketing Basics.

I’ve been blogging for more than a decade, for which I have won awards, and my site has been featured in The Guardian. I use WordPress daily, and also have considerable experience of Movable Type, as well coding, design, theme-development, taxonomies and back-end MySQL work.

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Proofreading

Freelance proofreader

I’m a trained and experienced freelance book and magazine proofreader and copy-editor. I can mark up proofs, scan them and return to you, or I can digitally comment Word and PDF documents, either remotely or in-house.

I am certified to use BS 5261C proof marks and can use old-style British proof marks as well. I can work quickly, accurately and on specialised publications where necessary: comparison, legal, bibliographic and even biblical proofing have been among the requirements of past clients.

I’ve worked with both small and large publishers, as well as individuals, and can offer easy payment options using credit card or PayPal.

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Testimonials

“Rob is a highly accomplished sub-editor and along with a forensic eye for detail, he is an expert problem solver in magazine editorial. He is never flustered by a surprise challenge in a schedule and will happily go the extra mile to meet a deadline. I can write without hesitation that he has been a pleasure to work with and the best sub I can think of.”

Jon Heal, designer, Environmental Health News

“Another top-notch article. Excellently researched and, more importantly, terrific writing.”

Keir Thomas, PC Extreme

“I thought it was the best no-nonsense build a Web site piece I’ve ever seen, and I’ve published two magazines and a book on the program!”

Paul Newman, Computer Arts

“Thanks for the piece on colour scanning. It was not only bang on time, but it was well written, a pleasure to read and therefore very easy to edit too – if only every freelance could be so diligent.”

Graeme Burton, The Ark Group

“It’s a bloody good review and couldn’t agree more with what you have said.”

Andrew Screen, Action TV

“Production editor Rob Buckley amazes us with his speed and skill in producing layouts; without him, Transport Times would certainly not look as good as it does”

David Fowler, Editor, Transport Times

“Rob is a phenomenal sub-editor. He has a fantastic eye for detail, is totally unflappable and always goes to extreme lengths to make sure that something is right. It was a total pleasure to work with him. He has a lot of other strings to his bow, too, including his great knowledge of IT, his range of interests and his calmness under pressure, and all of these would make him a great asset to any editorial team. Thoroughly recommended.”

Will Hatchett, editor