FAQ

Brontë takes customer satisfaction very seriously. You can provide feedback directly to us via the feedback link on your invoice or on the website here. Or you can get in touch with us using the Brontë Contact page or by calling us on (+44) 07723 392942, and we can discuss and address your concerns immediately.

Brontë specialises in editing and proofreading a wide variety of document types, providing personal, business, organisation and author services. I am a qualified professional proofreader and editor bound by the standards and code of practice from the Chartered Institute of Editors and Proofreaders (CIEP), so rest assured that I follow rigorous processes.  If you’re not sure what service is the most appropriate for your needs, please feel free to contact Brontë to enquire and I'll get back to you within 24 hours to discuss your requirements.

Your documents are only stored within my personal vault onedrive which is password protected. Please see Brontë's Privacy Policy for further information. Please be assured that Brontë never sells your personal information.

There is no minimum project size.

Brontë's website is open for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I aim to respond to all enquiries within 24 hours, if not sooner. Brontë is happy to negotiate on the hours and times necessary to fulfil the client's needs. Make an enquiry here.

Brontë stands by its work and guarantees that the work will meet the company’s high standards. If you are not happy with Brontë's work, please tell me; you can use the contact form or complete the feedback form on your invoice. I will investigate your concerns immediately; if there is an issue with the work that has been completed, I will take all appropriate measures to address the concern.

If you still have a question after reading the FAQs, please see our contact page for details on how to get in touch.

Brontë's preferred method of payment is via BACs or bank transfer. Brontë also accepts payment via PayPal and operates within the UK government's Prompt Payment Code. Please also see Brontë's Terms & Conditions for further information on booking and payments.

Absolutely not. Brontë makes no claim on your copyright, and don't require credit, acknowledgment, or anything else beyond the fees for the services rendered.

Brontë can apply any style guide to your work. The most popular style guides are the American Psychological Association (APA), Modern Language Association (MLA), Turabian, Chicago Manual of Style and the Guardian Style Guide. Brontë can also apply your own style guide (just send the details) or a corporate/internal style guide.

Yes! Brontë all you need is a valid PayPal account and you can use my services.

For MS Word files (.doc and .docx), I use the Track Changes and the Comments features. You can access the Track Changes and Comments tools by clicking on the Review tab.
You can use the tools on the Review tab to Accept or Reject changes one by one, or you can Accept or Reject the changes all at once.
You can also right-click on individual changes in the document to access the Accept/Reject functions.
You can also delete the comments with the Review tab.
Right-clicking on a comment balloon also brings up a Delete Comment function in the fly-out menu.

Absolutely. Loyalty from my clients is obviously welcomed and encouraged. Brontë offers loyalty discounts for repeat business and a loyalty bonus if you stick with Brontë for more than 12 months. Happy to discuss these each time you contract Brontë to work with you.

Every project is unique and I would need to see a sample in order to determine the current quality of the piece. I do have basic hourly pricing available to give you some idea of what it might cost (depending on the service you choose) and the final cost can be negotiated.
Note that: 

• You will save money if you allow longer for a project to be completed. 
• You will save money if you have a very large document, such as a book manuscript.
• You will save money if you choose to have documents edited during the week rather than on the weekend.

If you want to convert a webpage to a Word file, you can follow these simple steps:

1. Open the webpage that you want to convert, and then open the menu in your browser; click Save as; select the .htm or .html file format, select where you want to save the document on your computer (for example, in your Documents folder), and click Save.
2. In Word, click File > Open; navigate to the saved .htm or .html file and select it; click Open.
3. The webpage will open in Word; click File > Save As; select where you want to save the document (for example, in your Documents folder); in the dropdown menu for Save as type, select Word Document; click Save.

Your webpage has now been saved as a Word document (.doc or .docx), and you now have a file that can be edited. If you’re ready to place an order, just pick the most appropriate service from the Options page to get started with a free quote.

You can post your document to Brontë or you can mail me a USB with your files for editing. Just contact me for details on how to get in touch via post.

It may be that you have the "Show Markup" feature turned off. If you are using MS Word 2010, 2013, or 2016, click on the "Review" tab. In the section named "Tracking," there are three drop-down menus—they're to the right of the button named "Tracked Changes." Click on the top one. Choose All Markup.
Then, click the Show Markup menu to make sure all the markup options are checked, including "Insertions and Deletions."
If you still don't see any changes, please feel free to contact me.

Personal documents include letters, emails, online posts, personal ads, short bios, public notices, posters, diaries, thank you notes, and all manner of personal correspondence.
Perception is important, and you want to come off the right way to the people you’re writing to. If you need your writing to present you in the best light possible, you can have your personal document edited at Brontë. You can get a free quote on our Individual Personal services page.

Every project, regardless of size and complexity is unique. However, Brontë will work with you to understand your requirements and determine priority based on that discussion. You will know when to expect your completed document/project to be returned to you following that discussion.

Brontë will do its best to revamp your resume in a way that presents your qualifications as favourably as possible; however, I cannot, under any circumstances, provide a fictitious employment record.

Of course! Brontë is here to help. I will be especially careful when working with your personal documents to ensure that your intended meaning and individual voice shine through. I'll also correct any spelling errors so that the recipient won't be distracted from your message.

Your documents are never stored online. Only Brontë has the password access to our system. If you require a specific nondisclosure agreement, please contact us and we'll send one to you. Please see Brontë's Privacy Policy for further information. Please be assured that we never sell your personal information.

Brontë is a relatively new business in this field, however, the editor and proofreader has 34 years experience working in a FTSE 250 corporate organisation. In addition she holds qualifications in editing and proofreading from Chapterhouse Publishing and the College of Media and Publishing and works within the standards and code of practice from the Chartered Institute of Editors and Proofreaders (CIEP). She will never take on any work that is beyond her capabilities as this would severely damage the brand and her personal reputation. All projects are unique and would require honest conversation prior to accepting a piece of work. See what our customers, peers and ex-colleagues have to say about her capabilities on the Testimonials page. If you would like consider using Brontë services or understand whether Brontë would be a good fit, please feel free to contact me; Brontë is happy to discuss this in more detail.

I'm always happy to work with companies or institutions to find a solution to specific editing or language needs. If you are interested in potential options for a customised service, please consider contacting me directly. I can provide an adaptable editing service to meet the unique requirements of your business.

Yes, I can apply your internal style guide when editing. Just send me all the necessary information and I will make sure that the style guidelines are carefully applied throughout your document. In addition, I can also apply any of the standard academic or professional style guides.

That depends on the service you order. All projects are unique, but you can rest assured that once we have discussed your requirements and I have seen a sample, I will provide a completion date. If you need it back in less time, we can discuss whether I can achieve it or not and how that will affect the cost.

Yes, I know all about colour/color, metres/meters, humour/humor, personalise/personalize, boot/trunk and spanners/wrenches. Just specify what type of English you want us to use in the personalised style sheet we send to you after you have decided to work with Brontë.

Even if a manuscript has the potential to be a bestseller or a major film/movie/motion picture, it may be a while before you can attract the attention of an agent and a publisher. Because of this, Brontë cannot accept such proposals, and only require you to pay the fees we have agreed upon for the work I undertake for you. If your book or screenplay does become a bestseller, the profits should go to you alone—you are the author, and it’s your work.

No, I'm used to seeing all sorts of styles, dialects, idioms, colloquialisms, formatting, and other creative approaches. If I'm not sure, I'll ask you. If there's something you don't want me to touch, just add this to the "Personalised Style Sheet" I send you after you have agreed to work with Brontë.

Absolutely! You can take advantage of the free 1,000-word sample edit that I offer to every new fiction author/client. If you haven't placed an order with Brontë before and would like a free sample, just contact me with the sample attached. There are no strings attached. It’s as easy as that. I know your manuscript is important to you and that it's good to be able to "try before you buy" if you're thinking about sending me your work.

Unfortunately, because of my strict confidentiality policies, I cannot release the names of authors who have used Brontë's services or the titles of volumes I have edited.
However, you can visit my Testimonials page to see what clients, peers and colleagues are saying about me.

Yes and yes! You can send in your work in as many sections as you like.

I'm thrilled and touched that you'd like to do such a thing. It's your manuscript, and I want you to feel confident that the copyright is all yours. You may acknowledge Brontë in your publication if you wish, but I don't require anything for my work apart from the fees for services rendered.

Unfortunately, very few word processing programs have anything similar to MS Word's Track Changes feature, which allows me to highlight changes in red so you can see them more easily. I will however, have detailed my changes in the standard report sent back to you and you can easily find the changes made from that. It includes:
General queries like this:
G10. Transcription table headings are capitalised inconsistently and should be capitalised to match the census or other records. Identified on pages 12, 21, 26, 29, 31, 36, 96 and 98. Action taken: Edited heading(s) to capitalise ‘head’ to ‘Head’ and ‘status’ to ‘Status’ where required to ensure consistency.

And specific queries/comments like this:
Query/Comment: 8
Location: Page 10, line 16
Line starts with: When reading Census records …
Grammar Query: The statement being made on this line is in relation to older census records, so would read better by adding this distinction in, which would support the ‘literacy’ claim. You may also want to explain what you mean by ‘transcription’ in this context for the reader who will not necessarily understand some of the language used in ancestry work?
Action Taken: Inserted ‘early’ before ‘Census records’, inserted ‘that’ before ‘adult’ and edited ‘is’ to ‘was’ to correct the tense as poorer literacy was in the past not present.

Of course you can. As part of the engagement process, you will be given my direct contact details. If I don't pick up immediately, please leave a brief message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Unfortunately, I have to say no to this. The feedback you receive from me is strictly for the purpose of improving your manuscript; it is not intended for redistribution, endorsement or promotion activities. Please also see the FAQ on "acknowledgements".

Brontë can provide the professional editing needed to improve your work and get it ready for publication. I will eliminate typos, ensure grammatical correctness, and smooth out the writing so that it is clear and expressive. I will make the required revisions to ensure consistency throughout the document, and I will apply the style guide of your choice, including specific journal guidelines, to your citations and references. I can also provide critical commentary, pointing out where issues remain, where arguments are flawed or incomplete, and where improvements can be made.
You’ve done the hard work, and you don’t want your work to be rejected because it lacked a final polish. Have Brontë shine up your work for submission.

Brontë can ensure the consistent formatting of formulas and can revise the language that introduces such formulas and calculations to ensure that the work is presented clearly, but unfortunately reviewing the correctness of the actual formulas is beyond the scope of the service. If there is any uncertainty about your calculations, they should be checked by top experts and peers in your chosen field. At this point, I can then revise your writing to ensure clarity and precision of expression throughout to ensure that your results are properly communicated and can be published to contribute to the topical literature.

If you’ve had a project completed by Brontë, the Brontë invoice can be used as proof of editing, as it has been designed to provide the necessary information for proof of editing. However, if you require something more specific, I can provide you with a certificate indicating that your work has been edited by Brontë. Just contact me and let me know what you require; always happy to help.