Hello! I’m Clare Gathercole and from my base in Shrewsbury, Shropshire (UK), I run SpotFind Proofreading, which I established in 2014. I’m a native UK English speaker and an experienced freelance proofreader and copyeditor, with a background in professional archaeology, local government and retail.
Career background
For twenty years I was a professional archaeologist, first in the field (working on excavations for many organisations, including English Heritage and the Museum of London) and later in local government archaeology, dealing with technical archaeological reports and historic environment information management (with the English Heritage Extensive Urban Survey for Somerset, the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record and the Shropshire Environmental Record).
After a spell in retail (I worked for Asda for seven years), I completely retrained and set up my own proofreading and copyediting business.
You can see fuller details of my career background on LinkedIn.
Academic qualifications and subject specialisms
I proofread and copyedit subjects across the humanities and social sciences, but I do have specialist knowledge in certain areas. My main specialism is of course archaeology and I have an MA in Archaeological Practice from the University of York (awarded with distinction). Other special subjects include theology and comparative religion (I have a first class BA Hons in Theology from the University of Kent at Canterbury) and music (I have a Diploma in Music from the Open University).
I also have valuable experience in the use of maps, which comes in part from my years working with GIS (geographic information systems) in archaeological information services and in part from over twenty years as a volunteer walk leader.
Professional training and standards
I have industry-recognised proofreading and copyediting training from the most respected UK providers, including the Publishing Training Centre and the Society for Editors and Proofreaders (which has since become the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading). You can see details on LinkedIn.
I am a Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading and I operate according to its code of practice at all times. You will always find me businesslike and sympathetic to your needs, and you can rely on me to do what we agreed, to honour deadlines, and to preserve confidentiality.