Be as articulate as you mean to be

riting is easy," says Gene Fowler. "All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your head." Perhaps you've encountered his frustration.

You need to mount a fundraising drive, create a direct mail campaign, publish a business brochure, or write a personal memoir. But you need someone with the time and expertise to bring your project to life. Whether it's a simple edit, a major rewrite, or the crafting of something new and magical from your notes, Smithcraft can provide you with any or all of the services you need to make your project ready for publication.

Hearing between the lines

One way we like to work is to set up a conference with you over the phone, and really listen to you. We ask lots of questions, and we take note not only of the specifics of the piece you want written, but of the subtleties as well. It is these nuances which often separate an adequate piece from something which has real impact.

Our attention always goes beyond the simple mechanics of the written word. We listen carefully to what needs to be expressed, and find creative ways to bring it out in the text. One client said we combine "the skill of a technician with the soul of a poet"—a good mix, we think.

As T.S. Eliot wrote,

The end is where we start from. And every phrase

And sentence that is right (where every word is at home,

Taking its place to support the others,

The word neither diffident nor ostentatious,

An easy commerce of the old and the new,

The common word exact without vulgarity,

The formal word precise but not pedantic,

The complete consort dancing together)

Every phrase and every sentence is an end and a beginning....

Wizards of the blue pencil

Let's say you have a document sitting on your desk that is good, but way too long, and needs to be cut by a third. But how do you do it so that (a) the author doesn't get annoyed at the cuts, and (b) the author's distinctive voice is maintained. Or maybe the article your client has written just isn't up to snuff, but you don't want to make offense by returning it, and you don't have time to edit it yourself.

Enter Smithcraft. We have a reputation for being able to edit others' writing, even cutting it drastically, without the author even being aware of the cuts. "I had no idea I sounded so good!" is a phrase we have heard more than once.

Whether you want copy editing to smooth out the prose of a journal article, content editing to restructure a longer piece, or editing a book-length manuscript for publication, we are your first choice. Smithcraft has edited weekly newsletters, quarterly magazines, and numerous books and book proposals—with excellent results. (The vast majority of our business comes from referrals from satisfied clients.)

Beyond generic copy writing

We specialize in technical jargon "translation"—making the dense and obtuse into something clear, lucid, and easily understandable to even a general audience; and inclusive language editing—changing sexist and offensive terminology into language which is non-sexist and reflective of society's diversity, but without the stilted and harsh search-and-replace approach taken by others.

Smithcraft's expertise includes direct mail packages to market products and services, and fundraising packages for non-profit organizations. We have a strong background in advertising and public relations materials of all sorts-corporate capability brochures, sales flyers, websites, product information sheets, and press kits, to name a few.

Service par excellence

Our writing and editing services include:

• Copy editing (language, grammar, style, and proofreading)
• Content editing (an in-depth examination of the piece's structure and expression)
• Copy writing (web pages, brochures, catalogues, ad copy)
• Writing or editing company newsletters and annual reports
• Creating fundraising and direct mail packages
• Ghostwriting
• Translating technical jargon into language that is accessible to a general audience
• Creating non-sexist, inclusive language "translations" of sensitive materials, while ensuring that the phrasing is never stilted or awkward
• Professional indexing of books and journals

So whether you want a quick tri-fold promoting your new product, or you're looking for ghostwriters for your next novel, or help with a textbook on transpersonal psychology, look no further than Smithcraft.

We have quite a few happy clients. Take a look....

“I'm not very good at it myself, but the first rule about spelling is that there is only one 'z' in 'is.' ”

—George S. Kaufman,

to the writer of a manuscript full of spelling errors