Business editing and writing for busy communications people

Our editing and writing solutions take the weight off your shoulders and put time in your hands.

Delivering written communication for a service business or organisation is hard enough. If you're overloaded, overwhelmed, under-resourced or under pressure, it's even harder to do effectively.

Does this sound familiar?

You write the deliverables well, but there’s never enough time to polish them and make sure they'll have impact.
You have an annual report or member magazine to produce, but you also have to schedule, plan, report to management, lead your team, go to meetings.
Your writing has to be professional, accurate and consistent, but good grammar, spelling, styles and syntax take So. Much. Time - and you don't have time.
You use AI in your content writing, but the result sounds … well, artificially intelligent.
You have a project team, but people are away or lack specific skills or are already working at capacity.

Breathe! We get it. And we have the answer. In fact - we are the answer!

We turn words into effective, professional writing so you can deliver your communication strategies on time, with impact, stress-free.

My team and I have experience in government, policy, economics, law, cultural heritage, the arts across publishing, feature writing, content writing, copyediting, proofreading and coordination. We’re professional, adaptable, dedicated – and pretty good at what we do. We have a lot to offer you.

Here's how we can help you.

A woman with long red hair chewing her pen as she makes notes in a notebook

EDITING

We can take your drafts, notes or existing documents and turn them into effective, professional writing that achieves its purpose.

A person is working on an Apple desktop computer.

WRITING

We can develop and create engaging long-form content that's tailored to your audience and communication goals.

Show me all the things

A young woman with long brown hair is sitting in an armchair in front of a white bookshelf, reading a hardcover book.

CREATING

We can turn ideas into text. Expertise into information. Research into content. AI output into human-speak.

Why choose us?

A line of books on a bookshelf, spines visible.

I have sound experience in print and web writing and publishing, from copyediting, content writing and web editing to content ideation, rights clearances and proofreading. For examples of my own writing, visit my Authory.com portfolio.

Photo of Lee Ellwood, content editor and writer, wearing thin-framed blue glasses.

I am an Accredited Editor, a Professional member of both the Institute of Professional Editors and the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading, and a graduate of Macquarie University's editing course with a GPA of 6.6 out of 7.

Tell me more

A pile of editorial resource books sit next to a pen and a paper document.

My team are tertiary qualified, trained in editing and writing, active in professional networks and committed to ongoing industry training and development. Their past careers in law, policy and economics offer specialised skillsets to our clients.

Hello!

I’m Lee Ellwood, an editor and content writer in Melbourne/Naarm. My team and I help busy communications people in service businesses and organisations say what they really mean, on time, with impact, stress-free. And we can help you, too!

I’ve loved and worked with words for a long time. (In fact, I was first published at age 11 - in the ‘letters’ column of the Salvation Amy kids’ magazine.) Now lead editor at EllWords, I've edited or written:

web copy
reports
awards submissions
blogs
policies
industry papers
newsletters
brochure copy
promotional copy
teaching materials
books
and much more.

Photo shows lead editor Lee Ellwood, wearing glasses and a blue patchwork-style shirt over a black top.

What do our clients say?

‘Lee is the best. She is our copy magician. Not only does Lee proof all our content, she has also become a critical editor of our clients’ material and in many cases actually writes and re-writes long- and short-form copy for web, reports, packaging, articles, press releases, essays and more. Lee adapts her vast skill set to meet the various tasks, voices and tones required for consumer-facing projects large and small. She also fact-checks and is a source of wisdom and professional assistance in finding exactly the right way to weave a sentence that hits the mark, no matter what the subject. Lee is reliable, great value for our clients and, above all else, a delight to work with. We are very lucky to have her as part of our extended team.’

Brett Osmond, Managing Director, Leading Hand Design

‘As an editor myself, I felt self-conscious and vulnerable about handing over my draft book manuscript to another editor to review. While I was prepared for my written words to be carefully scrutinised and commented upon, what surprised me was how much I enjoyed the editing process. Collaborating with Lee Ellwood from EllWords Editing and Writing was like having an in-depth conversation with an insightful and knowledgeable friend. Yet, at the same time, Lee is a consummate professional – a highly-skilled editor who had a discerning and thought-provoking approach to my manuscript to ensure my text was vastly improved. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to collaborate with Lee on my book project and I highly recommend her editing services to other authors.’

Kirsty Ogden, Director, Brisbane Self Publishing Service and author of Let’s Get Published!

‘Thank you so much for all your hard work on Same time next year? You have done so much more than edit the draft that I sent to you, and as a first novel, I now appreciate the value that your thorough and professional approach has added to the finished product. Your diligence and attention to detail, coupled with your uncanny ability to put yourself in the minds of my characters, has resulted in a polished manuscript, of which I am now very proud … You have kept me aware of milestones and timeframes, have ensured that I am engaged throughout, and have made the entire process fun and rewarding. Thank you, and I look forward to working with you on my next project.’

JM Hampshire, author