About Jo Murray
I'm a freelance medical editor working across medical communications, public health, medico-legal and medical news materials.
Most of what I do is about clarity – making sure complex information is accurate, consistent and easy to follow.
That can mean copyediting a slide deck, proofreading a report or compiling a detailed chronology from medical records. Different types of work, but the same underlying aim: everything in the right place, and making sense first time.
I’ve been doing this for 30 years, so I’m used to material that’s detailed and technical, and sometimes working to shifting timelines.
A lot of the value in this kind of work sits in the detail. Checking, questioning and making sure everything holds together properly.
Who I work with
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Expert witnesses, solicitors and medico-legal teams
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Medical communications writers and agencies
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Healthcare organisations and public-health teams
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Clinicians and researchers preparing reports and educational content
Why working with an editor matters
Highly specialised writing is, by its nature, complex. But complexity and clarity are not opposites. Precision and plain English can – and should – sit comfortably alongside each other.
An editor brings something the author can't: distance.
I come to the text without prior knowledge of what it's meant to say. Which means I notice where something could be misread, where a term needs clarifying or where structure is making things harder to follow than it needs to be.
I also bring editorial training and subject knowledge, so the final document is clear, logically structured and easy to work with.
My background
I’ve been editing, writing and proofreading since 1997.
My started in layout and proofreading, before moving into freelance copyediting and proofreading for book publishers. I began specialising in medical editing in 2009, and since then I’ve worked on:
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2,000+ medico-legal reports
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Medical textbooks for academic publishers
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Medical communications and education materials across therapy areas
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Public-health articles and guidance for global health organisations
If you’d like the full story – including how I went from hairdressing to medical editing – you can read it here.
Why I love this work
I've always been a reader – not just professionally, but out of habit. I read everywhere: queues, waiting rooms, in between errands.
Over time, you start to notice how much structure, clarity and phrasing affect how something lands.
As Stephen King put it, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time, or the tools, to write.”
I think the same applies to editing.
Qualifications
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BSc (Hons) Life Sciences (human biology)
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DipHE Health Sciences
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CertHE Natural Sciences
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CertHE Social Sciences
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DipHE Creative Writing
THE OPEN UNIVERSITY
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Medical Editing
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Copyediting
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Editing with Word
CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF EDITING AND PROOFREADING (CIEP)
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Editing
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Author Queries
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Adobe Tools for Editors
PUBLISHING TRAINING CENTRE (PTC)
It was an absolute pleasure to work alongside Jo. Her skills in medical copyediting and proofing are second to none. She has an excellent work ethic and was extremely efficient in what was a very busy and pressured environment. I would not hesitate in recommending Jo. Anyone working with her will benefit greatly from her skillset but perhaps even more so from being around her wonderful personality.
Gillian Smith, business owner at G.S. Virtual Assistants
Location
I'm based in Manchester, UK, working from a cheery yellow office (usually with my office dog nearby).
You don't need to be local to work with me: I work with clients worldwide by phone, email and video call.
Jo edits medico-legal reports for us and has done for many years. She works with our house style, is confident to make the decisions needed for the edit and has excellent proofreading skills. She is very organised, communicates well, and works to our deadlines. We are very happy to have her as part of our wider team.