Editorial / Advisory

Advisory

Sometimes I work directly for short periods with organizations in advisory or consulting capacities, in ways that draw on my experience working in culture across disciplines in international initiatives, as well as for targeted, small-scale local and temporary projects. I bring postgraduate training in media and cultural analysis, artistic practice and political economy, editing and publishing, to this expertise. I do take on very interesting projects with small budgets when this is possible. Just get in touch.

Examples

Currently I am part of the editorial advisory board of Green Agenda, a longform essay project of the Bob Brown Foundation, Australia.

With Dutch ‘introspective design’ team Reframing Studio I’ve worked with the Skolkovo Foundation in Moscow, Russia, developing the critical thinking competencies of Russian students selected for OpUS Open University Skolkovo.

For the International Society for Electronic Arts, and their annual Symposium, I was a Curatorial Working Group Member of the Pacific Rim Media Summit, San Jose, dedicated to practicing and thinking beyond the colonial heritages of dominant new media art discourses of space, virtuality and code.

For the Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam, I have develop-edited titles from their Theory on Demand series, and produced critical conference reports for their research hub.

For  MAAP Multimedia Art Asia Pacific I have consulted on special curatorial projects, the cultivation of project archives, web content and web strategy, grant strategies, and upgraded their new website and all content for a Blueprint CMS developed by talented Melbourne designers Inventive Labs.

With Portable Content and the Portable Film Festival, Melbourne, I have produced websites and social networks, consulted on aesthetic aspects of online film festival curating, developed business plans and reports, press releases and industry strategy.

For the Australia Council for the Arts I co-developed, co-wrote and co-edited with Marcus Westbury and Newcastle’s Octopod Collective ‘H2W2: How to do an arts project; Where to get help‘, a very popular guide to all aspects of project management in an Australian context for independent artists and cultural practitioners. The book is now in its third print run and counting.

Editorial Projects

Co-editor, Feminist Takes on Black Wave Film (collective project, conceived and edited by Antonia Majaca,  Jelena Vesic and myself), upcoming 2017.

Co-writer with Jelena Vesic and Vlidi Jeric, On Neutrality: The Letter from Melos, Non Aligned Modernity book edition (Museum of Contemporary Art Belgrade, Serbian/English) 2016.
Co-writer, Ape Culture, exhibition catalogue entries, Haus der Kulturen de Welt, 2015.
Co-editor (and co-writer), Speculative Realities (eBook), V2_ Institute for Unstable Media, 2013.
Co-editor (and co-writer), New Aesthetics, New Anxieties (eBook), V2_ Institute for Unstable Media, 2012.
Editor, The Glitch Moment(um), Theory on Demand Series, Institute of Network Cultures
Editor, Patricia Pisters, The NeuroImage: A Deleuzian Film-Philosophy of Digital Screen Culture (Monograph), Stanford University Press
Co-Editor (and Co-Writer), How To Where To: Australia Council Guide for Independent Artists (Book)
Co-Editor, Semper Floreat, University of Queensland Magazine

Ongoing Clients

Reframing Studio, Amsterdam
Portable Studios, Melbourne and New York
Multimedia Art Asia Pacific, Brisbane

Approach and Training

I have a particular feel for strong specialist cultural and academic writing, and am also trained in Professional Editing and Publishing through the University of Queensland’s postgraduate program. My take identifies any outstanding editorial attention – whether conceptual, structural, or stylistic – that your project requires in order to fully flourish before your audience, publisher or field. I have extremely broad interests and am comfortable with most subjects. I have edited work across the disciplines of cultural history and theory, urbanism, sociology, film, theatre, art history and theory, visual art practice/research, literary studies, media studies, continental and analytic philosophy, cultural studies, philosophy of science, philosophy of mathematics. I have also edited a whole range of museum and gallery exhibition catalogues and websites, artist websites, grant applications, cultural project outlines, and cultural policy submissions, plus fiction and essayistic journalism. Of course if I don’t possess the knowledge base required to edit your specialist work I will say so immediately and try to refer you elsewhere.

Basic Rates

The best way to assess my rates is to email me as I consider your budget and the size of your project when I quote. However, for a basic reference, see below. The industry standard measure of one page is 250 words. Check your total word count, then divide that by 250 and you will arrive at your “official’ number of pages for your document. (This makes font type or size irrelevant for estimating fees). Then you need to consider how much attention you would like me to give the material. I provide three different editing services:

1. BASIC PROOFING 45euros/hr neg.* (Estimated pace: 5-8 pages per hour)
Includes proofing for spelling mistakes, typos, punctuation, capitalization errors, and awkward grammar or “Dinglish”. Changes inserted, grammar corrected, but no highlights or comments.

2. LINE BY LINE EDITING 50euros/hr neg.* (Estimated pace: 2-5 pages per hour)
Includes everything that comes with the basic service plus proofing for general structure, clarity, sense, word useage choice, redundancies, and inconsistencies in narrative voice. Additional highlights, comments where necessary.

3. DEEP EDITING/REWRITING 60euros/hr neg.* (Estimated pace: 1-4 pages per hour)
For texts that require more aggressive editing, focussed restructuring and major stylistic changes. I can help you overhaul your work and become re-invested in its successful completion. In this kind of editing I will incorporate most suggestions directly into the text. In areas that I can’t rewrite because of a need for further clarity, explanation or research, I will do my best to explain clearly what is lacking and what you need to develop and fix in order to create a successful piece of written work in your genre or discipline.

VARIABLES
I’ll usually perform some combination of the above – for example, the introduction and first chapter of your book requires only basic proofing, but the 2nd and 3rd chapters require closer attention and line by line editing – so of course I charge at different rates within your one job accordingly. If you contact me expecting only one level of editing is necessary and I think you need deep editing or some combination, I will be upfront and detailed about this before we decide to go ahead with your job within your budget.

TURNAROUND TIME
This varies depending on the length of the document and how much in advance you contact me about the job. Some jobs can be done overnight or at short notice. Generally speaking, the longer the document the sooner you should contact me so that you can have it back on time.

There is a minimum charge of EUR50.00 per job.
For late notice jobs requiring immediate start or same-day return, 15% surcharge.
**Discounts offered for upfront payment in full.

FORMATS
I can edit any document in MS Word, or MS Pages (very much prefer Pages), or formats that convert to these. If your document is in a PDF format, I do not have the editing tools to edit it unfortunately. Note that excessive formatting or overly large MS Word documents can sometimes result in file bugs. If you have hardcopy text that you need edited or proofread on paper, different rates are involved, including possibly additional courier fees if we need to send that copy between us.

TESTIMONIALS

From Paulien Dresscher, Head of the New Media Department at Cinekid festival, Teacher of Media Studies at Universiteit van Amsterdam, and Advisor E-culture at Dutch Filmfund:

Having worked with Rachel mostly over long distances and on various occasions over the last couple of years, Rachel is an editor I trust completely. I have worked with her on academic papers, conference programs, and more literary content, always with a very satisfying result. She works fast and precisely, but simultaneously keeps an eye on the clarity or persuasiveness of the argument. Rachel is able to operate independently and collaboratively at the same time, functioning as my external conscience.

Artist (header image): Jonathan Callan