Repeat Clients

One of my favourite things about proofreading is that I meet a lot of different clients from all walks of life, wanting different works to be proofread. Even though most of them have academic work, that still has a variety of subjects. I’ve proofread theses based on maths, history, medical studies, social studies, literature and sciences. Some align more with my interests than others, but I always come away with more knowledge than I had before I started the project. It’s been especially pleasing to learn more about my own country’s heritage, since I’ve had a couple of theses based around Maori culture.

However, I get a lot of joy out of clients who enjoyed my services enough to return to me. This isn’t common, but I’ve had a few people who have returned and asked me to help them again, or they have been recommended by a previous client (thank you to anyone who has recommended me to friends). Over the last year, I’ve had a repeat client who I won’t name for anonymity, but suffice it to say that they have sent me a range of manuals for a fantasy/mystery game. Even though the manuals are in the same format (and often make the same mistakes), I very much enjoy knowing that I’ve pleased this client so much that even after a year, they still remember the work I did for them and happily continue to use my services. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that I’ve helped someone enough that they want to come back and request me again.

So, have you been a client of mine before? Would you like to join the ranks of repeat clients? Send me some work today and let’s get to work!

Writing Numbers - The Double-Digit Rule

This is probably one of the lesser-known rules in writing. Mainly formal writing - news articles, journal articles, theses and essays. This is the “Number Rule”. Do you write the numbers as a word, or do you just put the digits down?

Well, the rule is actually very simple. Write single number like, “one”, “two”, etc, as words, all the way up to nine. Once you go into double digits, though, then it’s time to switch to digits, like “10”, “11”, etc. This is really important for reporting statistics, where you’re probably going to have percentages, means, modes, ranges and many other numerical findings.

That brings me to the exception of the rule. Usually, if you’re using statistics, chances are you won’t have any single numbers to write out. But if you do, you need to put consistency over correction and put those in digits, too. You can check with a supervisor, publisher or tutor if you’re not sure about this. But, when in doubt, make them all the same.

But, if you’re writing fiction, theses, essays or news, remember the double-digit rule. Singles are words, doubles are digits.