Home - Matthew Sidebotham Editing Services

PROFESSIONAL EDITING SERVICES

Accredited Editor, Institute of Professional Editors

Certified Life Sciences Editor, Board of Editing in the Life Sciences

Professional Member, Council of Science Editors

Professional Member, Australasian Medical Writers Association

Professional Member, Australian Society for Technical Communications

Professional Communication for Research, Business and Government

Whether you’re writing your thesis or research report, managing an annual report, review findings or policy paper, or drafting a novel or non-fiction book, I can ensure your content is clear, concise and consistent, that your writing meets industry, academic or professional standards and that your communications are accurate and professional – ready to submit, print or publish.

As an accredited and certified editor with over thirty-five years of experience in writing, editing and publishing across academia, the public service and the private sector, I have have helped hundreds of academics and researchers, government departments and agencies, businesses and not-for-profits, and fiction and non-fiction authors, both aspiring and established.

I offer expert support encompassing developmental editing for early drafts, copyediting to enhance style and ensure consistency, accessibility checking and plain language editing, and proofreading to correct typos and layout errors in your final document. As a former researcher and academic I also specialise in thesis editing, addressing the specific requirements of scholarly writing.

As a member of the Institute for Professional Editors, all my services comply with the Australian Standard for Editing Practice and the IPEd Code of Conduct. I am also a professional member of the Board of Editing in the Life Sciences, the Council of Science Editors, Editors NSW, the Canberra Society of Editors, the Australasian Medical Writers Association, the Australian Society for Technical Communication, the Australia and New Zealand Society of Indexers, and the Plain Language Association International.

MY SERVICES

Editing and Proofreading

Thesis Editing

Thesis editing includes comprehensive copyediting to ensure a professional academic style and writing that is clear, consistent and complies with university style requirements and word limits. In addition to copyediting and proofreading, I will format your thesis in compliance with university or faculty submission guidelines; create your preliminary pages; ensure tables and figures are properly presented and consistent; edit and format bibliographies and appendices; and ensure referencing is complete, accurate and complies with the required citation style.

I provide thesis editing for Word, PDF and LaTex/Overleaf files. All thesis editing complies with university policy and the Institute for Professional Editing’s Guidelines for Editing Research Theses to ensure your thesis or dissertation meets the highest standards of academic integrity and is ready for submission.

Annual Reports

Manuscript Assessment and Developmental Editing

Writing and Content Development

Technical Writing and Editing

Indexing

MY CLIENTS

Thesis, Research and Academic

Professional thesis editing and academic editing provided by a former postgraduate researcher, academic, and book reviewer for scholarly journals.

As a former academic and university-approved editor with over thirty years’ experience in writing, grading and editing research, I have helped hundreds of PhD candidates and scholarly authors from more than 100 universities, research institutes, journals and publishers worldwide. Contact me to ask about professional, affordable thesis editing and support for planning, drafting and polishing journal articles, books and book chapters, research reports, conference papers and presentations, research and grant proposals and more. Read more

Matthew has been my editor of choice for my PhD thesis and subsequent academic papers for the last two years. Matthew’s work is professional, intelligent and shows scrupulous attention to detail. It has been wonderful to work with an editor so committed to producing work to the highest standards… There are plenty of good editors to be found, but excellent ones like Matthew are hard to find. (Claire Hill, PhD)

Government and Corporate

High-quality, cost-effective professional editing and drafting services tailored to the needs of government and corporate writers

With a Baseline security clearance and more than twenty years working in and with the public sector – Commonwealth, State/Territory and local – I have managed annual reports, drafted strategic and corporate plans, designed communications strategies, developed agency style guides, written information sheets and web content, edited review submissions and inquiry findings, and taught effective communication. Contact me for expert, cost-effective professional support – from planning and drafting to copyediting and layout – for publications that comply with legislative and style requirements, Plain English guidelines, easy reading needs and accessibility standards. Read more

The team were really happy with your edits and we’ve progressed the document on to the next stage. Thank you for your work on this project. You’ve been great to work with and really accommodating with the changing timeframes – which has enabled us to meet our project deadlines. We really appreciate it! (Keirena Cornish, Department of Home Affairs)

Industry and Not-for-Profit

Fiction and Non-Fiction Authors

Publishers and Designers

I acknowledge the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples as the traditional custodians of the Canberra area, and pay respect to the Elders, past and present, of all Australia’s Indigenous peoples, recognising their continuing connection to land, waters and culture.