Deborah Harmes PhD

Writer – Editor – Researcher

WHAT I DO

Expert writer, editor, researcher, or ghostwriter for authors, publications, publishing houses, NGOs, relief agencies, think-tanks, medical or academic research centers, government departments, university departments and faculty members, corporate websites, keynote speakers, advertising agencies, and film production companies.

WHAT I CREATE

Research-based articles with appropriate citations for resource materials and an emphasis on intellectual rigor.
Full developmental editing or complex line editing that includes rewriting.
My editing’s key emphasis is to accurately transmit the author’s message, not simply check on grammar and spelling.
Ghostwriting or rewriting previously written manuscripts and essays. The process includes smoothing out incomplete or bumpy areas for both readability and ease of comprehension.

THE PROCESS

Whether a client wishes to be seen as an expert in their field or a warm and easy-going storyteller, I derive great satisfaction from creating quality work custom-tailored to their needs. I write and edit the clearly understood, crisp, and engaging text that establishes the correct ‘tone’ for the book, article, or research document. Projects can be written or edited in either American-English or British-English, and I aim for perfection in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

WHO DO I WORK FOR

My clients (past and present) have included:

authors – both independent and represented by publishing houses
medical practitioners, research specialists, and end-of-life decision-making panels
Nobel Laureates who require well-researched white papers for international symposium presentations
global corporations and small-to-medium businesses, CEOS, and corporate executives or departments
government departments in Australia, Asia, Africa, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and the USA
health and wellness specialists
historical and cultural research for the film and television industry
keynote speakers at the United Nations and the World Bank
medical textbook publishers
museums and cultural centers
heads of state in Asia and Africa
researchers (both independent and staff) in social and academic fields
think-tanks, relief agencies, and NGOs
university departments and faculty

BACKGROUND and EDUCATION

A native English speaker (American or British) — BA, BSc, MA, PhD. I am an American-born Australian citizen, a past resident of the UK, and now a permanent resident of France. I live in Brittany and my time zone is PARIS.

A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS

A set of questions is sent to potential clients to determine what their specific needs are, how much research will be required (if any), what the timeframe is for turnaround, how they feel about receiving input and suggestions from an editor or writer, and how comprehensive the assignment is in terms of the time required to complete the project.
We jointly determine if the author or client wishes to have overall control, or are they open to insertions, deletions, and a change of focus if that is required.
We decide on the message that the document or book needs to convey.
When the terms are agreed upon, I make every effort to be consistent throughout the process and retain the ‘author’s voice’ on any editing project.
For my original research-based writing, we agree on the focus area, the general length, the audience (general readership, industry-focused, or academic readership), and determine how in-depth any research should be.
For each client, I tailor my work to their specific needs. My quotations are given based on each individual project and the complexity of the writing and/or editing that is necessary for that assignment.

I am routinely asked to sign non-disclosure agreements when I am editing/writing/rewriting book manuscripts or sensitive security, tech, or legal documents. For that reason, you will not find any material on those topics in my portfolio.

Writing and editing is done in both American-English and British-English, and samples are available upon request.

Let me help you bring your project to life!

CONTACT ME TO DISCUSS YOUR PROJECT

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

My book would never have reached completion without the guidance and encouragement that Deborah offered throughout the developmental editing process. She urged me to dig deep and think about my reasons for writing a business concepts book, pinpoint the ideas I wanted to share, and add personal anecdotes. My book might be small in size, but it’s now something I can be proud of publishing.
Our agency hired Deborah three months ago to do editing, proofing, and rewriting of annual reports for Google that are sent to corporate and education-based audiences. Since our turnaround times for printing are often quite short, Deborah met the challenges of working with members of staff in Singapore, Australia, and India by staying up late, often after midnight, to meet each print deadline. Her work was superb and topped our expectations as she wrote descriptive pages to entice our clients to keep on reading. We will continue to use her services in the years ahead and highly recommend Deborah for her professionalism, attention to detail, and her writing and editing skills.
I hired Deborah to do a manuscript assessment on a short segment of my book-in-progress. I was quite pleased with the areas she highlighted and the suggestions that were offered about improvements that could be made. I’m back to working on it now and have already implemented many of her suggestions. I would highly recommend Deborah to any budding or established author. She’s a true professional and a wonderful person to work with.
Deborah was professional, meticulous and a pleasure to work with. The article (medical research) that was written fulfilled the brief and was very well researched. It was exactly as required. We would definitely employ Deborah again when the need arises.
Deborah was an amazing writer. She explored all details of our topics and made independent research on her own. Her writing skills clearly show a deep academic foundation with talent to structure opinions in a neutral way. I would fully recommend her to all technical and non-technical works.
The job was done in time even though the deadline was tight. The quality of work is great, she took my (medical) manuscript to another level. The communication is prompt and clear and friendly. Thank you, Deborah.
I thoroughly enjoyed working with Deborah on a technical writing assignment with a fairly tight deadline. She has an incredible range as a writer and quickly adapted to the topic at hand. Look forward to working with her in the future!
From the ACKNOWLEDGMENTS page of award-winning fiction writer Brian MacLearn — Thank you also to Deborah Harmes, Ph.D. for editing and guidance. She made the words dance.
Deborah is exceptional. From the quality of her work to the adherence to deadlines, she is amazing. She communicates very effectively and I am confident that whatever task is thrown at her, she can handle it with flying colors.
This was the second time that I hired Deborah due to the expertise of her research and writing. I have new work coming up quite soon and she will be my FIRST choice for that!
Deborah went above and beyond my expectations and was truly interested in the work I hired her to do. She is an excellent writer, thorough and detailed, and obviously very intelligent! I plan to hire her again in the near future! Thank you!
Thank you for proofreading the script and making invaluable suggestions. Your proactive and time-sensitive approach is much appreciated.
Deborah was super helpful and competent, going beyond the assignment and restructuring copy to give it a natural flow, turning it into a compelling and pleasurable read. Also, she investigated the subject matter and corrected many technical aspects, for which I’m extremely grateful. A must hire!
I loved working with Deborah. She was thorough and efficient while proofreading my website text and it made my end-product a lot better. She was very pleasant and easy to work with so I had a very successful experience using a freelance editor for the first time.
Deborah completed a set of Country Expat Guides for me promptly, professionally, and with excellent information included.
Deborah is the best writer we’ve ever worked with. Her writing has produced a huge return on investment for our company because she knows how to write content that people actually read and share. We’ve been hiring writers for over 5 years and Deborah is the most talented, professional and intelligent writer we’ve ever hired. No more short list — Deborah is it!
We hired Deborah for copywriting / website content writing. She had great ideas on our content and was super strong in choosing the right words to describe our products.

CONTACT ME TO DISCUSS YOUR PROJECT