Technical editing in the energy sector

Working with international organizations and governments for more than twenty-five years

Trust your work to a professional ...

Extensive and proven experience editing publications authored by some of the most renowned energy experts.

Expert Advice

The key to a high-quality edit is subject-matter familiarity and having the skillset that comes from years of editing, writing and collaborating with authors.

Areas of expertise

Copy and line editing of energy-related material of a highly technical nature, with a specialization in nuclear energy.

I'm Janice Griffiths

A freelance technical editor

Offering editorial advice on energy issues and more ...

Energy is the topic of our century. Whether it is about nuclear power, energy security, consumption or efficiency; or whether it relates to climate change issues such as fossil fuel use; wind, solar or other renewable energy sources; the creation of super grids and power sharing among countries; electricity storage; hydrogen production or carbon capture and storage … all of us will be affected by the geopolitical implications of transformations taking place in energy sectors around the world today.

Editing

While specializing in copy and line editing of technical publications, scientific journal articles, news articles or communication materials, estimates can also be provided for substantive or structural editing, proofreading, copy and précis writing, fact checking and translating from French to English.

Graphics

Recommendations on graphics will concern the size, colouring and captions of images, tables, boxes and sidebars, as well as the general page layout and the overall relationship between graphic and written content. Comments can also be provided on the front and back covers of publications.

Web editing

Editorial assistance on online and digital content is designed to ensure that your website has a consistent style and a user-friendly feel to it. Take a scroll through the Wolastoq website to get an idea of the work that can be done to improve web elements, or click on the link below.

My work as an editor ...

The work of an editor is generally relegated to the behind-the-scenes stages of the publication process, and so citing work completed over the years can be a difficult task. The samples below showcase publications that have recognised my editing work in print and those that have not.

What is your background as an editor?

I have been working as an editor since early in my career, beginning as a Research Assistant in 1992, when I reviewed scholarly articles before their publication in academic journals. I went on to work at McGill University as Research Assistant for a Professor of Economics, and then as English Instructor/Visiting Researcher in Korea, followed by a position as Development Officer at an NGO in Paris, and then Editor and Translator at the Korean Delegation to the OECD for over ten years. Finally, I was offered the position of Senior Editor and Head of Publications at the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency in 2013, where I worked until 2020.

Can you edit material in other technical fields?

I have experience editing text in areas from shipbuilding, tax regimes and aeronautics to economics, climate change and nuclear medicine. The job of a technical editor is to ensure that an author’s written text can be understood by a broad, non-specialized audience. The relationship between the author (as expert) and the editor (as a facilitator of the reading experience) is therefore vital, and communication between the two will be key at all stages of the working relationship. While it may be more comfortable for me to work on familiar subject matter (i.e., in energy-related fields), I am also eager to trust in the author/editor relationship, and the author’s expertise, so as to broaden my own horizons.

Would you be interested in editing materials in non-technical areas?

My initial studies were in human rights, and in fact I wrote two theses on gender issues in relation to international human rights treaties. I also briefly worked at EQUIPOP, a French NGO that lobbies for the reproductive rights of women in Francophone Africa. In addition, I continue to be an avid supporter of UNICEF and of all subjects related to children’s rights around the world.

Today, I am more than ever appalled by injustice, whether it be sexism, racism, ageism, discrimination based on sexual orientation or any other unjust prejudice against people. Anything I can do to help mitigate this injustice in my lifetime would bring great personal satisfaction, and so yes, I would be interested in editing materials in other fields, particularly in those dealing with human rights or environmental issues.

Solutions that can help get you where you're going ...

Why Wolastoq?

The Saint John River runs through the eastern part of New Brunswick (my home province in Canada) and the northern part of the state of Maine in the United States. It is, as the original name of this river – “Wolastoq” – suggests, a “beautiful and bountiful river”, and it continues to this day to nourish the peoples living along its banks. Among these peoples are the indigenous communities of New Brunswick, and notably the Mi’kmaq and Maleseet (or Malecite). According to the Wolastoqewiyik (or the Wolastoqiyik) – “the people of the beautiful and bountiful river” – a great man by the name of Keluwoskap was once sent to see Aglebe’m, who had been holding all of the water back in the world. Keluwoskap felled a tree on Aglebe’m, and the waters of Wolastoq then began to flow as a river (the body of the tree), as streams (the branches of the tree) and as ponds (the leaves of the tree).

Partnering with experience

“I have had the occasion to work with Janice on many projects and have found her work to be thorough and meticulous. During the time we worked together at the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), she was instrumental in developing a more in-depth application of the OECD Style Guide and contributed greatly to the organization’s terminological glossary, as well as to the publication standards of the Agency as a whole. As Senior Editor at the NEA, Janice supervised the work of the Publications Unit with rigour and enthusiasm, overseeing approximately 75 reports per year along with communication material and official NEA Steering Committee documents – in both English and French. Janice is an open-minded person who is generous with her time and easy to approach, all of which greatly facilitates her relationships with authors.”

Daniel Iracane

Senior Advisor for International Strategy, Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), and former NEA Deputy Director-General

Heart of the OSIRIS reactor, CEA (L. Godart/CEA)