Since 2015, I have had the opportunity to assist clients across Canada with dozens of grant applications ranging from small, local competitions such as salary awards and operating grants to larger awards such as CIHR Project Grants, NSERC Discovery Grants, and Canada Research Chairs, as well as large team applications through CIHR (including SPOR SUPPORT Unit funding), CFI, New Frontiers in Research (Transformation & International), and Genome Canada. I dislike metrics, but since others have asked, I estimate that I have been instrumental in close to 12 successful applications worth a total of more than $34 million.
My About Me page mentions some of the amazing people and organizations I have had the pleasure of working with. It’s always nice to hear you’ve done a good job for someone. My very favourite thing is receiving an email with “I GOT IT!!!” in the subject line, referring to a successful funding application. Here are some sweet things clients have had to say:
Gah! Your edits are so good! Thank you thank you thank you! There’s no proofreader like you. Your catches are so good.
I really appreciate your professionalism, competence, and efficiency.
Thanks for the really exciting meeting today. It was so cool to watch a master work, Karen!
We got the grant!! Thank you x1 million for all your support.
Thank you for everything you do, Karen, it’s basically invaluable.
My Dear Karen, I am speechless of your help and care. Thank you by heart.
It’s been great working with you; we’ve been very impressed with your work, effort and professionalism.
Your contributions have been outstanding. I am very happy to have been connected with a person who couples organizational skills with great prose.
I was just informed that our operating grant was successful. OMG Karen, could you believe that? I just want to thank you again for hanging in there with me. I always knew you were the perfect coach, edging me on to cross the finish line when I thought it was impossible.
I am so glad I reached out to you and relinquished some control (not so easy for me). I really appreciate your help on this – the structure and flow has improved immensely.
[From a journal reviewer]: In this revised manuscript [Karen has] done an impressive job of addressing each of my previously expressed concerns in a clear and concise manner.
Karen has excellent writing ability and is able to synthesize complex information into an understandable format.
Karen is an asset to moving projects forward – she has capacity to be that extra set of eyes that can get past a perceived hurdle. She does this because she listens, and then takes appropriate initiative to guide you forward in a manner that you perhaps had not realized was the best way to go.
Karen is brilliant at learning everything about a project and then pulling together people, ideas, analysis, and images to reach the project goals. She communicates with diamond clarity, precision, and warmth.
Karen is a scientist with extraordinary linguistic competence. Her contribution to my thesis had a remarkable impact on the readability and flow of the script. I would highly recommend her.
I hired Karen to help me climb out from under a backlog of accepted articles that had been typeset but not proofread. She did a great job: she asked the right questions, followed (and improved) our style guide, and cared passionately about style issues in a way that made me confident she was doing a careful, meticulous job. She worked hard, met deadlines, and always maintained an open, friendly, professional relationship. I’m so glad I found her.
Find out more about academic editing services and how they might help you on my home page.