ABOUT US
MEET FAYE AND DEBBIE
Working as a proofreader and editor combines some of my great passions: reading, storytelling, theatre and education. Most of my career has been spent interacting with people – in human resources, management and IT training, public relations and being a company director. I have worked on the business side of education for many years and have engaged with multiple international schools, universities, NGOs and corporations in Africa and the US during that time. The kind of work I have undertaken has always involved detail: detail in preparation, detail in communication and detail in output, ensuring that the message is accurately given and is correctly received. I have always enjoyed listening to stories, and when I edit, I am committed to making sure the writer’s “voice” is retained and heard. After all, it is their story, not mine.
Debbie and I met when we were collaborating on various publications and found that our love of the written word, our enthusiasm for bringing it to life, as well as our attention to detail, meant that we were a match made in heaven, and so Fine Design Publications was born.
I have spent most of my working life writing – training materials, funding proposals, annual reports, marketing materials and much, much more. So how did I get into design? I wanted to be the kind of designer that I hoped to work with as a writer – someone who engages with the meaning and intention of the text, and someone who is patient when, as a writer, I need to make changes. It has been a great journey – I have become the designer of other writers’ work, as well as doing the design for work that I have been commissioned to write. My joy is bringing written work to life – making it look fabulous and seeing a client’s happiness as it all takes shape. I try to add value to the work of new and inexperienced writers, and to make every piece of work reach its potential.
Working with Faye is brilliant, as I have absolute trust in her editing, proofing and minute attention to detail. It gives me the space to concentrate on how the manuscript is going to look. It is the ultimate synergy, and I love it!
I’ve been freelancing as Debbie Smuts Communications since 2015. Before that, I was Communications Director at Kingswood College for almost ten years, after freelancing as an education consultant and writer for many NGOs, publishers and training initiatives.
Working as a proofreader and editor combines some of my great passions: reading, storytelling, theatre and education. Most of my career has been spent interacting with people – in human resources, management and IT training, public relations and being a company director. I have worked on the business side of education for many years and have engaged with multiple international schools, universities, NGOs and corporations in Africa and the US during that time. The kind of work I have undertaken has always involved detail: detail in preparation, detail in communication and detail in output, ensuring that the message is accurately given and is correctly received. I have always enjoyed listening to stories, and when I edit, I am committed to making sure the writer’s “voice” is retained and heard. After all, it is their story, not mine.
Debbie and I met when we were collaborating on various publications and found that our love of the written word, our enthusiasm for bringing it to life, as well as our attention to detail, meant that we were a match made in heaven, and so Fine Design Publications was born.
I have spent most of my working life writing – training materials, funding proposals, annual reports, marketing materials and much, much more. So how did I get into design? I wanted to be the kind of designer that I hoped to work with as a writer – someone who engages with the meaning and intention of the text, and someone who is patient when, as a writer, I need to make changes. It has been great journey – I have become the designer of other writers’ work, as well as doing the design for work that I have been commissioned to write. My joy is bringing written work to life – making it look fabulous and seeing a client’s happiness as it all takes shape. I try to add value to the work of new and inexperienced writers, and to make every piece of work reach its potential.
Working with Faye is brilliant, as I have absolute trust in her editing, proofing and minute attention to detail. It gives me the space to concentrate on how the manuscript is going to look. It is the ultimate synergy, and I love it!
I’ve been freelancing as Debbie Smuts Communications since 2015. Before that, I was Communications Director at Kingswood College for almost ten years, after freelancing as an education consultant and writer for many NGOs, publishers and training initiatives.