About me

My name is Etty Payne. I have more than 30 years’ experience of working with words, in translation (French to English), proofreading, copy-editing and medical and medico-legal proofreading.

After a two-year spell in Portugal teaching English and learning Portuguese, I was an in-house translator for 14 years, including 10 years at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. I am now UK-based and have been full-time freelance since 2010.

That was the potted version. See Why choose me? for a more long-winded approach.

 

Training and qualifications:

  • Medical Editing (Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading) (in progress) 2022
  • Writing Medico-Legal Reports in Civil Claims (self-study) 2015
  • Onscreen Editing 1 (Society for Editors and Proofreaders, 2014)
  • Introduction to Web Editorial Skills (Society for Editors and Proofreaders, 2014)
  • InDesign CS6 (Certitec, 2013)
  • Proofreading Distance Learning Course, High Merit (88.6%) (Publishing Training Centre, 2012)
  • Copy-editing self-study, 2012–present: Basic Editing, A Practical Course: Text and Exercises (Nicola Harris); Copy-editing: With Exercises and Model Answers (Barbara Horn); The Copy-editor’s Handbook, A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications : With Exercises and Answer Keys (Amy Einsohn)
  • Professional complementary medicine qualifications (including Metamorphic Technique, BodyTalk System, Advanced BodyTalk, 2004–2008)
  • Level 3 Anatomy & Physiology (2004)
  • Traditional Chinese Medicine (3-year part-time course in Acupuncture, Nutrition, Chinese Pharmacology and Tui Na massage, 1989–1992)
  • TEFL certification (1982)
  • BA Hons in French, 2.1 (University of Wales, 1978–1982)


Recent clients include:

Royal College of Psychiatrists, Association for Science Education, SSR (School Science Review), BACPR (British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabitition), SKIRA, Social Development Direct, Chemonics, Medify, King Edward VI School, Sopherco, Sharp Agency, Ashgate, Taylor & Francis, Itad, Cardno, Genesis Housing, Livewire Medical Communications, Pain Expert Ltd, FMS, Elwin Street, Edward Elgar Publishing, Routledge, Focal Press, Kaplan International, Pressparty, General Osteopathic Council, Rotovision, Marshall Editions, Hodder & Stoughton, Quarto, Quintet Publishing, schools, medical doctors, expert witnesses, self-publishing authors, students and private individuals.

 

A selection of titles I have worked on:

  • More than 3000 medico-legal / expert witness reports (various medical / psychology / pain management experts)
  • Several thousand practice questions for students preparing for medical school entrance examinations
  • Over 250 reports (ranging from 30 to 300 pages) on international development for consultancies and organisations such as Itad, Chemonics, Social Development Direct, IFAD, Landell Mills, Commonwealth Secretariat and Cardno
  • Numerous student dissertations and PhD theses (autism, ADHD/ADD, cardiac rehabilitation, sleep deprivation, diabetes, management, BTEC literacy skills, Islamophobia, French and English literature, cinema, nursing, child psychology, play pedagogy, apprenticeships, anthropology, early years maths, health anxiety, teleoperation, clinical perfusion and haemofiltration, enuresis in children, whiplash associated disorder, etc.)
  • More than 2500 school reports
  • About 180 course units for distance learning courses on management and journalism (Open Professional School)
  • More than 40 magazine issues for a publisher of luxury magazines aimed at high-net-worth individuals
  • Regular quarterly newsletter for Royal College of Psychiatrists
  • Proofreading/editing numerous websites
  • Numerous art books and exhibition catalogues for SKIRA (Leonardo da Vinci, Picasso, Calder, Adrian Burns, Andre Marfaing, Unism, Farid Belkahia, Subodh Gupta, Jaume Plensa, Jean-Baptiste Hyunh and children's book on artists and their studios)
  • Textbook of Psychiatry - A Concise Guide to Psychiatry in The Netherlands (Boom)
  • Psychomotor interventions for mental health – Children & adolescents: A movement- and body-oriented developmental approach (Boom)
  • Effect of acupuncture on physiological response to exercise: A systematic review (Steve Bailey)
  • Effects of acupuncture on enhancing muscle strength (Steve Bailey)
  • The 8th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles, East Belfast, and the Great War - PhD thesis (Gareth Lyle)
  • Unplanned – The Snakes and Ladders of Life in the City of Westminster (Non-fiction, autobiography: SPP)
  • About War (non-fiction: SPP)
  • Specialist Cardiac Exercise Instructor Manual (BACPR)
  • Say No To Food Waste (Educational resources) (Groundwork)
  • Making Space for Nature (Educational resources) (Groundwork)
  • Urban Nature Challenge (Educational resources) (Groundwork)
  • The Health Instinct - Re-discovering the Pleasure within Innate Healing (David Nassim)
  • Historical Analysis of the Olympic Games in St Moritz 1928 (Gregory Quin)
  • Introducing Modern Licencing in Swiss Professional Football (Gregory Quin)
  • Olympia Bob Run - Bobsleigh in St Moritz (Gregory Quin)
  • Numerous journal articles on the history of football, winter sports, the Olympics, etc. (Gregory Quin)
  • Adapted Reflextherapy to Relieve Chronic Headaches after Whiplash Injury: A Case Report (Gunnel Berry)
  • Numerous journal articles on relieving chronic pain after whiplash injury (Gunnel Berry)
  • MSc on Diabetes: How can blood glucose monitoring to improve diabetes management for people with diabetes in prison: A systematic review (MSc student, University of Leicester)
  • Improving access to digital ulcer care through nurse-led clinic: A service evaluation (Tanaka Ngcozana)
  • A5 Resource Book: Physical Activity and exercise in the Management of Cardiovascular Disease (BACPR - British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation)
  • Travel Guide to Venice (Stephen Bishop)
  • Better Than You (Fiction: L K-B)
  • Starting a Dog Home Boarding Business (Tamsin Stone)
  • Understanding Your Rabbit's Habits (Tamsin Stone)
  • Your Perfect Dog: The Ultimate Breed-by-Breed Guide to Choosing a Dog that's Your Ideal Match (David Alderton)
  • The Good Dog Diet (Anna Patfield)
  • Cani-Fit Guide to Canicross (Nicola Cameron)
  • Airy Cages and Other Stories (Fiction: Amanda Larkman)
  • Cancer - A Magical Quest (Non-fiction, autobiography: Patricia Walsh)
  • The Day After (Fiction: NP)
  • The Camera Assistant’s Manual, 6th edn (David E. Elkins, S.O.C.)
  • Focus On Photoshop Lightroom (Dave Stevenson and Nik Rawlinson)
  • How to Cheat in Photoshop CC: The art of creating realistic photomontages, 8th edn (Steve Caplin)
  • Adobe Photoshop CC for Photographers: A professional image editor’s guide to the creative use of Photoshop for the Macintosh and PC (Martin Evening)
  • Transformational Imagemaking: Handmade Photographs since 1960 (Robert Hirsch)
  • Photography Beyond Technique: Essays from F295 on the Informed Use of Alternative and Historical Photographic Processes (Tom Persinger)
  • Close-Up Photography in Nature (John and Barbara Gerlach)
  • No Plastic Sleeves: The Complete Portfolio Guide for Photographers and Designers, 2nd edn (Danielle Currier, Larry Volk)
  • The VES Handbook of Visual Effects: Industry Standard VFX Practices and Procedures, 2nd edn (Jeffrey A. Okun and Susan Zwerman)
  • Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Grant Scott)
  • Adobe Photoshop CC for Photographers (Martin Evening)
  • Light: Science & Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting (Hunter, Biver & Fuqua)
  • Digital Nature Photography (John & Barbara Gerlach)
  • Adobe Photoshop CC for Photographers 2015 release (Martin Evening)
  • Adobe Photoshop CC for Photographers 2016 release (Martin Evening)
  • The Osteopath – Official journal of the General Osteopathic Council (regular issues)
  • Annual reports (The General Osteopathic Council)
  • Embodying the Dead: Writing, Playing, Performing (Claire Hind)
  • Integrity of Love (Non-fiction, autobiography: Carmen O'Connor)
  • Born to Shine (Non-fiction, self-help: Catherine Raincock)
  • The Cossack (Fiction: Kerry Lawrence)
  • Amacus (Fiction: R.J. Gillespie)
  • The Vavuniya Diaries
  • Artists of Health: Complementary Therapy and Alternative Medicine through the eyes of its practitioners and innovators (Tash Mitch)
  • Living a More Passionate Life (Non-fiction, self-help: Susanna Halonen)
  • Sick-note Britain: How Social Problems Became Medical Issues (Adrian Massey)
  • Adapted Reflextherapy: An Approach to Pain (Gunnel Berry)
  • Various journal articles on reflexology and reflextherapy (Gunnel Berry)
  • BACPR Level 4 Cardiac Exercise Instructor Training Manual (British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation)
  • Picaro – The Online English Adventure (Kaplan International Colleges)
  • Edexcel GCSE French Revision Workbook (Pearson)
  • 'Get Talking English' for Portuguese speakers (Hodder & Stoughton)
  • ‘Keep Talking English’ for Portuguese speakers (Hodder & Stoughton)
  • Food – Little Books on Big Issues (John Coveney)
  • Perfect Patisserie: Mastering Macarons, Madeleines and More (Dr Tim Kinnaird)
  • 500 jams and preserves (Clippy McKenna)
  • Beer: What to Drink Next (Michael Larson)
  • Everyday Vegetarian: 365 Days of Healthy Seasonal Recipes (Jane Hughes)
  • We Love Kale: Fresh and Healthy Inspiring Recipes (Kristen Beddard, Karen S Burns-Booth, Carolyn Cope, Jassy Davis, Kristina Sloggett)
  • Quiltessential: A Visual Directory of Contemporary Patterns, Fabrics and Colours (Erin Harris)
  • 500 Quilt Blocks (Lynne Goldsworthy and Kerry Green)
  • Trouble in the Middle: American-Chinese Business Relations, Culture, Conflict and Ethics (Steven P. Feldman)
  • Cities and Nature (Lisa Benton-Short and John Rennie Short)
  • Importance of play pedagogy in curriculum delivery and play provision for young children’s learning and development (dissertation by student at the Institute of Education at the University of London)
  • The Ethics of Tourism: Critical and Applied Perspectives (Brent Lovelock and Kirsten M. Lovelock)
  • The Geography of Transport Systems, 3rd edn (Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Claude Comtois and Brian Slack)
  • Isabella d'Este and Francesco Gonzaga: Power Sharing at the Italian Renaissance Court (Sarah D.P. Cockram)
  • Audio Power Amplifier Design, 6th edn (Douglas Self)
  • The Age of Thomas Nashe: Texts, Bodies, and Trespasses of Authorship in Early Modern England (Stephen Guy-Bray, Joan Pong Linton and Steve Mentz)
  • Pressparty website (global press release hosting platform for music and entertainment industry)
  • The Arma Christi in Medieval and Early Modern Material Culture (Lisa H. Cooper, Andrea Denny-Brown)
  • Teaching Science in Elementary and Middle School: A Project-Based approach , 4th edn (Joseph S. Krajcik, Charlene M. Czerniak)
  • Professional Services Proposal for Standard Bank Mozambique (Portuguese/English proofreading)
  • Um Percurso de Sucesso (Grupo Arena – Portuguese/English proofreading)
  • The Ashgate Research Companion to Byzantine Hagiography, Volume II: Genres and Contexts (Stephanos Efthymiadis)
  • Routledge Handbook of Social and Cultural Theory (Anthony Elliott)
  • Proceedings for the Postal Union for the Mediterranean General Assembly and Conference (French/English)
  • Unity 4 Fundamentals: Get Started at Making Games with Unity (Alan Thorn)
  • Taming China's Wilderness: Immigration, Settlement and the Shaping of the Heilongjiang Frontier, 1900–1931 (Patrick Fuliang Shan)
  • The Student Actor Prepares: Acting for Life (Gai Jones)
  • Special Forces Survival Techniques (Alexander Stilwell)
  • Hearings for CNEDIMTS, the French National Commission of Evaluation of Medical Devices and Health Technologies (French/English)
  • The Essential Guide to Game Audio: The Theory and Practice of Sound for Games (Steve Horowitz, Scott Looney)
  • The Assistant Lighting Designer’s Toolkit (Anne E. McMills)
  • The impact of sleep disruption on the older population whilst admitted onto the acute hospital ward (student dissertation for final year of nursing degree)
  • Full content for SysValue website (English/Portuguese proofreading)
  • Introduction to Gender, 2nd edn (Jennifer Marchbank, Gayle Letherby)
  • The Sasanian World through Georgian Eyes: The Iranian Commonwealth in Late Antique Georgian Literature (Stephen H Rapp Jr)
  • England's Fortress: New Perspectives on Thomas, 3rd Lord Fairfax (Andrew Hopper and Philip Major)
  • Complementarity in Finland’s Development Policy and Cooperation in the Western Balkans (Itad)
  • A Splendid Torch - Interviews with Environmental Funders (Environmental Funders Network - JMG Foundation)
  • Restaurant menus; housing brochures (Fresh Milk Design)
  • Film Genre for the Screenwriter (Jule Selbo)
  • Coughing and Clapping: Investigating Audience Experience (Karen Burland and Stephanie Pitts)
  • Evaluation of Forest Policy and Economics Education and Research (Itad)
  • Evaluation Of Education for Sustainable Development in the Western Balkans (ESD) Project (Itad)
  • Socratic Seminars in High School (Moeller & Moeller)
  • Sanitation, Latrines and Intestinal Parasites in Past Populations (Piers D. Mitchell)
  • Terms of Reference for Serbia, Annex to Assessment Report on Rural Development and Food Security, European Commission (Cardno)
  • Money Machines: Electronic Financial Technologies, Distancing, and Responsibility in Global Finance (Mark Coeckelbergh)
  • Inception report on the Evaluation of DFID-CHAI Market-shaping for Access to Safe, Effective and Affordable Health Commodities (Itad)
  • Country Notes (Nicaragua, Bolivia, Armenia, Afghanistan) for the Evaluation of EU Support to Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) (Itad)
  • Evidence Review and Inception Report for DFID's BCURE programme (Itad)
  • DFID WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Monitoring, Verification and Evaluation - SAWRP (South Asia WASH Results Programme), Various reports (Itad)
  • Evaluation of DFID Tanzania’s Growth Programmes, Evaluation Design Report (Itad)
  • West Africa Food Markets Pilot Programme: Evaluation Management Unit, Inception Report (Itad)
  • Evaluation of EC Support to Gender Equality and Women Empowerment in Partner Countries, Various reports (Itad)
  • Macro Evaluation of DFID’s Strategic Vision for Girls and Women and Policy Frame for Empowerment and Accountability, Various reports (Itad)
  • Evaluation of EU Cooperation with Yemen 2002-12, Annual Technical Report 2015 (Itad)
  • Numerous other reports for Itad relating to international development aid
  • Recruitment packs for volunteers and managers (Genesis Housing Association)
  • Templeton World Charity Foundation website
  • The Adventures of Angelina (Fiction: Lee Bennett)
  • Evaluation of DFID’s Performance Management Funding of International Agriculture (Landell Mills)
  • How football is becoming European: The role of the transport in the development of European football (Paul Dietschy)
  • Living Happy, Living Hidden: The Relationship between UEFA and the European Union (1970 to 1980) (Manuel Schotté)
  • A European Turning Point in African football. The Case of Cameroon (1970s to 1990s) (Jérôme Berthoud, Stanislas Frenkiel)
  • Welcome to My World and Other Stories (Fiction: BB)
  • Long-term Development Cooperation Between the UK and Vietnam (Landell Mills)
  • Global Youth Development Report 2016 (Commonwealth Secretariat)
  • Grenada Hurricane Clause - Policy Brief (Commonwealth Secretariat)

 
Etty Payne
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"Discovering the limitations of your own literacy is mildly disconcerting. However, throughout the editing of an entire novel, Etty never once made me feel foolish."
RJG, Author

"She does not hesitate to raise issues that have not been previously covered, ask pertinent questions and work collaboratively with the in-house editor. I find that this discursive and open style leads to a more thorough overall job, and because of this she is my go-to proofreader for most projects."
LK, Marshall Editions