Beyond Words Proofreading is a 25-year-old second-generation mother-daughter company. It began in April 1984 as Phyllis Coyne et al. Proofreading Service in the basement of Phyllis’s house in Marshfield with a small group of women looking for interesting work and flexible hours. Phyllis had been proofreading for 35 years and decided to branch out on her own after the company she worked for went out of business.

When PC et al. expanded into the living room of the house in 1992, it was time to move. Phyllis rented a 100-year-old office building in Marshfield that had once been an elementary school and then the town library. That same year, her daughter Pam Andrada joined the company as manager, bringing with her experience as an office manager at a publishing service in No. Scituate, MA, a production assistant at Duxbury Press, also in No. Scituate, and a freelance copy editor for 8 years.

“Vern Associates has come to rely almost exclusively on Beyond Words for our proofreading needs. We expect and require the kind of eagle-eyed attention to spelling, grammar, and punctuation that is their mark in trade. Their adherence to schedule, even during their busiest periods, is a welcome bonus. Perhaps best of all, however, are their capabilities with broad-based subject matter. We are as apt to assign Beyond Words material of a technical nature as that intended for a general audience.”

Brian Hotchkiss, Executive Director, Vern Associates, Inc.

At the end of 2008, Phyllis retired after fully 58 years of proofreading, and Pam became the owner and changed the name to Beyond Words to reflect a new era. Beyond Words currently has eight dedicated and professional proofreaders with a combined 60 years of experience.

Beyond Words proofreads medical journals, college textbooks, trade books, and ESL software in all subject areas, including but not limited to medicine, science, information technology, language, film/video, forensics, law, religion/spirituality, education, psychology/psychiatry, literature, and history. Our clients include publishers, compositors, and services, including, among others, Elsevier, Artech House, Silverchair Science and Technology, Harvard University Press, Allyn and Bacon, Jones and Bartlett, and Wolters Kluwer.

“Beyond Words makes every project better -- whether it is ensuring consistency and style or catching mistakes and errors. Their level of editorial experience and care is especially critical these days when schedules are increasingly tight and projects feel rushed.”

Susan McNally, Freelance Book Project Management