Pilcrow Writing Services

For most of my working career, I have been employed in communications. More often than not, I have been the sole writer, marketer, and designer aboard my employer’s ship. I have always enjoyed the independence and range of work this has allowed me.

When not working, I am likely pottering about in my garden, cooking something, sewing something, or accompanying my dog on her adventures.

Susan Winterton, Writer, Editor & Designer.

I specialise in well-researched written pieces and purpose-driven document design.

Content Writing

Pilcrow Writing Services can rewrite, refine, or develop engaging copy from scratch. I will learn about your brand voice and your audience to make sure the right message gets through.  Using modern search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques, I can ensure your online presence accurately reflects your business voice and goals.

I can write website copy, blogs, social media posts, fact sheets, presentations, and marketing documents. If you have the background information and research ready to go then that speeds things up. If not, no stress – I can do the research for you.

Formatting

We’ve all come up against a malfunctioning Word document in our time. There’s a whole range of things that can go wrong – margins, spacing, fonts, styles, footers, links… etc. I can fix errors, tidy up, and style a Word document so it looks great and functions well.

Closely related to this service is ‘Custom Templates’ and ‘Document Design’, which involve building a document from scratch in line with your brand requirements and content goals.

Custom Templates

Custom Word templates ensure consistent design for internal and external documents through clearly designated styles for headings, body text, text boxes and tables. They often include markers such as headers, footers and page numbers.

Document Design

A well-designed document has a clear structure, functioning interactive elements, brand clarity, and relevant images. It should be visually appealing, but also functional in terms of interactive elements and acheiving its goal.  

I can design documents with Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Adobe InDesign – this includes recreating an existing document if you need changes made but no longer have the editable file.

Presentations

Like Microsoft Word, PowerPoint can be both very useful and very frustrating. I am able to create or edit templates, fix formatting or timing issues, or create a presentation from scratch using your pre-prepared content. Since I work in PowerPoint and not InDesign, you will be able to edit the presentation or copy it in the future.

Proofreading & Editing

Whether you are so familiar with your content you can’t see errors anymore, you aren’t sure of your English, or you just don’t have the time to proofread, it’s always useful to have another set of eyes check written content for typos, grammatical mistakes, and weird formatting. I use Track Changes to ensure no permanent changes are made to your document before it is approved.

Proofreading is a check for spelling, grammar and obvious formatting issues. Editing is a check of spelling, grammar and formatting, but also includes sense and fact checking, structure consideration, and suggestions for improved clarity and messaging.

If the original writer was not 100% fluent in English, please let me know as this can affect the time it takes me to proofread the text. This is especially true if the text is a translated work.