Testimonials

When I wrote my first book, ‘A Better Decision: Market Research in the Real World’, I asked Melanie Cotton 🔎 of Argentum Proofreading to do what she does best, which is to proofread it. This she did, and I was extremely happy with the result, and with the process.

So, when I came to write my 2nd book, ‘This Should Help: 50 Learnings from Running a Micro-business’ it was pretty obvious who I’d ask to proofread that one too.

You can get anyone to proofread your novel, thesis, memoir or business book. Perhaps a friend, your spouse, or even some random bloke down the pub, who reckons it’s dead easy to just read over your work. It’s not “dead easy” it requires skill, knowledge, and professionalism. That’s why I asked Melanie. A proofreader is like another pair of eyes to review your words, but not just that, no. It’s someone who picks up grammar errors, punctuation slips, and inconsistencies in your writing style. They may even advise on more appropriate words, phrasing, or sentence construction.

In summary, if you need a professional proofreader I’d thoroughly recommend that you consider using Melanie.

I should add that with all the things on your plate, when you are writing your book, you want to know there is one less thing for you to worry about. Need I say more?

Melanie carried out an excellent job proofreading my eBook, entitled ‘Transforming Your Under Performing Sales Team’ she was extremely professional throughout the process and completed the work well within the tight deadlines. I have absolutely no hesitation whatsoever in recommend Melanie.

Geoff Hobbs,Global heating, hot water and renewables market expert .

Melanie is deservedly one of my go-to proofreaders and I have recommended her to many of my clients. Every project that she has worked on has been delivered on schedule, clearly marked up and this makes my job a whole lot easier. Her eye for detail is extraordinarily good. I have no hesitation in recommending Melanie for editing or proofreading work.

Catherine Williams, Chapter One Book Production – Making books beautifully easy to read 📖 Design + production for book coaches and indie authors

Writing a book, like doing anything for the first time, is always both an adventure and a trip into the unknown. Much you can do for yourself however having someone to proofread your efforts is probably one of the most important parts of the process. Melanie was highly efficient and was easy to work with. I have no hesitation recommending her, and should I write further books myself, I will surely work with her again.

Just when you think you’ve caught every punctuation, spelling and grammar glitch, Melanie provides the keen set of eyes we all need to capture those errors that have evaded our best efforts! Working efficiently, quickly and professionally, Melanie has been my invaluable literary safety net and has given me the confidence I needed before sending my manuscript to the printers. Highly recommended!

Peter Docker, Author Leading From The Jumpseat and co-author Find Your Why.

Melanie is brilliant.  She was a real joy to work with and I can’t sing her praises enough. Her attention to detail is phenomenal and she went above and beyond the brief in being so thorough.  Writing a book is a whole new adventure for me and I learned so much just reading through her edits.  I will be back next time (hopefully with less errors!) and cannot recommend her more highly. Nothing was too much trouble and the turnaround happened in the blink of a fresh pair of eyes! Thank you so much. 

   Dede Gold, Artist, Author of The Creative, Covered

It’s been a real pleasure to work with Melanie, and what a worthwhile exercise – she spotted over 300 amends that normal spell/grammar check had missed in a 7000 word document intended for customers. Also managed to respond to my very tight timescales. Highly recommend Melanie and Argentum!

https://www.theempathycoach.co.uk/

Neil Lewis, The Empathy Coach                                    

During a networking meeting, Melanie suggested that everybody’s website would benefit from a professional proofread I was curious to see what she would find on mine. I wouldn’t say I was complacent, but I was reasonably confident that there wasn’t much wrong with it. So, I put it in her hands – or should I say, under her eyes. The result was a surprise. I wasn’t expecting over 50 amendments, but that is what was found. Including, embarrassingly, one slap bang in the middle of the landing page. It felt a little bit like getting my homework back, but a chat with Melanie about what she had found reassured me that my website was about average for mistakes and a lot of them are very common. She even gave me a quick grammar lesson about capitalisation and en rules to help me out on my next piece of writing. (who knew what an en rule was?) It was certainly a worthwhile exercise from my point of view. I can’t think why I hadn’t done it sooner, and I will certainly always get anything new that I put into the public domain proofread – by Melanie, obviously. You should too. She’s very approachable, highly professional, totally non-judgemental, and astonishingly good value for money.

  Stuart Naylor, Bids Partner  http://www.bidspartner.co.uk

Melanie proof read our website for us recently. Our business is websites so we take pride in both our own and any of our clients. Melanie delivered the document swiftly and in an easy to use format to enable us to make any corrections quickly. I would highly recommend Melanie for proof reading any document and will be using her again in the future for both ourselves and our clients.

Jill Ashton, J-Lau Associates  http://www.jlauassociates.com

Melanie went through my copywriting course before it went to the printers. I’m amazed by how many mistakes and typos she uncovered that I’d missed. She’s also quick, communicative and a pleasure to work with. If you need a proofreader – Melanie’s the one.

   Martin Sayers, MS Copy

Honestly, not sure how I functioned before I stumbled across Melanie’s services.

Here’s why:

– As a busy copywriter with content going out to clients most days, proofreading my own work was an extra annoying hurdle. After four or five hours of writing, all your words start to look the same – whether you do it for a living or not. With Melanie, no more desperate, last-minute, zombie-eyed proofing where you’re praying you’ve not missed anything (yeah, you will have.)

– Melanie is thorough, prompt, flexible and very fun to work with. Her rates are incredibly reasonable for the quality of work and service she provides. She’s also excellent craic.

– I retain a few hours of Melanie’s time each week, where she proofreads my latest bundle and sends it all back lightning fast. This has helped with my own scheduling and accountability. It’s like having a boss again, except she’s really nice and just wants to help you hit deadlines with top quality work and she can’t fire you (bonus!).

– The level of confidence I know feel sending my clients their latest proof has sky-rocketed because I know at the very least, it all reads beautifully. Plus, your clients will appreciate adding to the value of their material. This is my first time outsourcing any element of my work to someone else and I must say, Melanie’s made it all a total dream. For any copywriters/content creators/anyone who has to write more than 100 words at a time, USE MELANIE AS YOUR PROOFREADER.

Genevieve Lowles, Writer – Editor – Creative   www.genevievelowles.com

  Trisha Lewis  Coach – Speaker – Author – Podcast Host.