The honeyed word
Writer, editor and proofreader
I spent the first decade of my career in business publishing during which time I worked as a copywriter, editor, proofreader, layout assistant, picture researcher, production coordinator, and project manager. In my early years I worked on the most successful partwork publishing project of the 1990s, The Official STAR TREK Fact Files, produced in collaboration with Paramount Pictures. I then gained experience in academic publishing, launching and running more than 21 science and technology journals for Sage Publications, before returning to work on several successful illustrated book and magazine series for Summertime Publishing and International Masters Publishers. I wrote and edited articles, commissioned photography and artwork, directed photoshoots and researched pictures, briefed designers and illustrators, and prepared publications for print and marketing.
I later moved into working for not-for-profit organisations firstly at the Royal College of Physicians where I was editor of the membership magazine Commentary, the Advanced Medicine conference Horizons in medicine book series, the Annual report and financial review, Consultant physicians working with patients fourth edition, and several other titles such as the sold-out first edition of A year in the medicinal garden of the Royal College of Physicians. My work also included interviewing medical professionals and parliamentarians, developing and running the online magazine and e-newsletter, and commissioning a new series of contemporary illustrations from The Guardian's editorial cartoonist Martin Rowson and award-winning illustrator Bill McConkey. Since leaving the Royal College of Physicians, I developed a corporate blog and social media for the General Medical Council, and both developed and managed new social media for the Royal Society while significantly growing their channels.
Most recently, I was a co-author for The Bee Book published by Dorling Kindersley, a job which allowed me to return to my first passion working on illustrated publications. You may wonder whether that explains the bee photography on my website, and it does in part. Why not see and learn something interesting during your online search for a freelancer?
– Emma Sarah Tennant
What they say
I worked with Emma for several years, and she's a great editor I'd recommend to anyone – extremely hard-working and meticulous and she genuinely cares about ensuring commas aren't mistreated!"
Jennifer Cole, managing editor
colleague at Summertime Publishing.
As an editor, Emma combines meticulous attention to detail with superb organisational skills, and is very fast and accurate. With her friendly and tactful approach, she quickly builds rapport with authors. She has an excellent sense of design, both in print and online. As a writer, Emma has a real flair for producing engaging copy that exactly meets the needs of her audience, and is at home in a wide variety of different styles, from corporate documents to informal blogs. She is particularly good at assimilating large amounts of information quickly and presenting it in an effective and readable style. I have worked closely with Emma on strategic publication development and have been impressed by her insight, analytical skills and ability to push through change."
Hannah Cole, managing editor
colleague at Royal College of Physicians.
Emma has excellent all-round writing, editing and design skills. She is a meticulous editor, paying great attention to detail, house style and good English. She understands the sense of what she edits, even at a complex level, and can edit and re-write to suit the audience concerned. She is a great writer and can put together interesting copy suited to her audience very quickly, often under pressure. She can be entertaining or serious as appropriate, always providing flowing, accurate and readable text. She has excellent design skills, and has used both InDesign and Quark to lay out a whole magazine for many years. She developed the design of the RCP membership magazine and gradually transformed it from a fusty newsletter to an engaging and modern magazine for doctors. Where she worked at the RCP not only were her skills much admired and appreciated, but she was also very popular in the department as she has a great sense of humour and is a lovely colleague to work with."
Joanna Reid, managing editor
colleague at Royal College of Physicians.
Emma is a pleasure to work with. She is creative, energetic and has a great eye for detail – a fantastic combination for an editor. She always remained calm and good-humoured despite looming deadlines. I have great memories of working with Emma and I would highly recommend her."
Julie Hollings, communications director
colleague at Royal College of Physicians.
I actually worked with Emma in two roles – firstly as a designer at Midsummer on Star Trek – the magazine and the Fact Files – as well as a freelance illustrator for the magazine part-work Enhancing your Mind Body Spirit. I always found Emma to be incredibly focused and disciplined and self contained. Working as a sub-editor she had a high attention to detail, knew her subject matter and was fast and efficient. As a commissioning editor she gave detailed proposals, had a definite vision of what she wanted, but was flexible enough to allow others to work creatively. Emma was very easy to work with and always quietly reliable, but don't be fooled, as beneath her studious demeanor lies a wicked sense of humour."
Danny Baldwin, designer and illustrator
colleague at Summertime Publishing.
Emma was my commissioning editor at Summertime Publishing for several years, and during that time I wrote several hundred articles on a variety of subjects for her. Emma is always brimming over with ideas, and is always very quick to give acknowledgement and feedback. She was a joy to work with, and I hope we'll work together again in the future."
Lisa Tenzin-Dolma, bestselling author
freelance writer at Summertime Publishing.