My name is Sue Worley. I grew up in a family
that shared a passion for language, literature and cryptic crossword
puzzles. My mother was a teacher and my father loved to write stories
and poetry. A favourite family game was to open a dictionary at
random and see who knew the meaning of an unusual word. It was the
sort of household within which no errant apostrophe could be allowed
to lurk and no split infinitive would even dare to show its face.
After grammar school
and college, I honed my secretarial skills by working as a personal
assistant in several major international organisations and eventually
became CEO of my own import/export business. My love of words came with me into my
working life, and has made me always the one to whom colleagues turn
for accurate advice on spelling, grammar, and how to fit words
together in a succinct and lucid way. Once past midlife, and
finally able to scale down to a more leisurely lifestyle, I decided
to make a career switch. Nowadays, I spend a lot of my time doing
something I have always found both relaxing and satisfying and which
makes good use of my love of – and facility with – language. That
is proofreading, copy editing and a range of related tasks. Just as
some people like 'messing around in boats' I like to spend my time
messing about with words. I like tidying them up if they need it,
polishing them until they shine, and getting them ready to go out
into the world looking their best. 
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