Welcome to nickpeers.com!

Welcome to the homepage of Nick Peers, freelance writer, editor, sub and trainer. I have 13 years experience writing for a wide variety of magazines (37 at the last count), and currently specialise in writing for PC titles, including PC Answers, PC Plus, plus the official Microsoft-licensed titles for Windows XP and Vista (UK and Australian editions). Those 37 titles have been spread across ten publishing houses worldwide.

My apprenticeship was served at Future Publishing between 1994 and 2002, where I worked as disk editor, features editor, production editor, deputy editor and finally editor across a number of titles, including Cult TV, ST Format and finally PC Answers, where I spent two years as editor. During my stewardship the magazine grew its circulation to over 40,000 and saw its subscriber base rise by 50 per cent during a period when most PC magazines saw their reader numbers drop sharply.

Since going freelance in January 2003 I've launch-edited Windows XP Answers, served as Contributing Editor on the Microsoft Windows XP Magazine in Australia and answered well over one thousand reader queries for PC Answers and Microsoft Windows XP Magazine in their respective sections. In all, I've estimated that I've written over 3,000 pages of copy in my career so far - most of that since I went freelance over three years ago.

What's new
My wife recently gave birth to our first child, a baby girl (Harriet Rose Peers), so things have been a little hectic, but the work keeps pouring in, thankfully! I recently submitted a feature on 10 classical pieces inspired by the British countryside for BBC Countryfile magazine, and have written tutorials on fixing photos and creating a family history movie on DVD for BBC Who Do You Think You Are? magazine. Find out more about Countryfile here, and Who Do You Think You Are? here.

I've written a number of workshops for the UK's best-selling computer magazine, Computeractive (click here). Issue 257 - published in late December - featured a security special, and all four workshops on security were written by yours truly, while issue 270 features my first Masterclass for the magazine on creating a customised Windows XP installation disc. I've also started contributing once again to Birmingham City FC's official match-day programme for the first time since 2004, reprising my Media Watch column.

Microsoft Windows Vista Magazine has recently commissioned me for a regular ongoing Q&A column for the magazine and web site, while Microsoft Windows XP Magazine now employs me as a technical consultant. I also continue to write regularly for PC Answers and Your Family Tree, and have just received my first commission for BBC History magazine (click here), a piece on Clare Priory for its Footsteps section.

I recently featured in two video clips that appeared as recorded inserts for Joe Cassels' Edinburgh Fringe show, Is Your Mobile On? Click here to see the video clips.

I'm uploading old articles on a regular basis to SupportPCs - see here for a full list, or click here for the latest addition - a guide to getting many of Windows Vista's for free or little expense in Windows XP (originally published in PC Answers issue 168). I've also recently started adding new items to the Humour section of the site in the form of various spoof quizzes - click here. Also find out what work has recently been published here, and what's coming soon here.

Hire me
If you're interested in using me as a writer or editor, please check out the links to the left of the page to find out more about how I could contribute to your title. My particular fields of expertise lie in computing (both PC and Mac), cult television and science fiction, history and football. I pride myself on making sure my articles are tested, accurate and easy to follow - an editor recently commissioned me for a cover feature “because our readers find your style very clear and accessible” while another magazine praised me for a recent submission with the following: “Great work as always, Nick. Fast, efficient, clean and on time.” But you don't have to take their word for it - you can see a number of my articles online at Support PCs. This copy is the unedited, raw version - three years as a production editor taught me a lot about writing plain, accessible, accurate English.

I specialise in writing tutorials, tips and technical support articles for home PC users, but also write regularly in the genres of football, environmental matters and genealogy, and am happy to turn my attention to new challenges. I've written features and group tests on gadgets for BBC Focus magazine and Charged! magazine in Dubai (I actually wrote Focus' Tried and Tested pages for 18 months before work pressures forced me to give it up), and recently wrote an article on how alcohol affects the brain for the BBC's Mindgames magazine. I'm also contributing to the official match-day magazine for Birmingham City FC - I wrote a Media Watch column for two seasons (2002-3, 2003-4) before the programme was given to a third party to produce. The programme went back in-house for the 2007-8 season, so I resumed my Media Watch column, and will be reprising this for the coming season too. The photo on the right is the second shirt I received on the hallowed St Andrew's pitch as a thank you for my contributions back in 2004.

I've also written articles on science fiction - I've interviewed Rob Grant (Red Dwarf), Yeardley Smith (The Simpsons) and Oliver Postgate (Bagpuss) for SFX and Cult TV magazines. I also write articles on genealogy for Your Family Tree on a regular basis. My love of sci-fi manifested itself with a web site that has grown from an article I wrote for Cult TV magazine: visit the Highlander A-Z here. I'm also helping to run the aforementioned Support PCs site (here) with fellow writer, Joe Cassels.

About the site
I registered nickpeers.com in late 2002. Since it went online the site has been redesigned twice. As I'm not a proficient Web designer, I employ the use of templates, which enable me to concentrate on the site's content. The current template is called Black on White, and is available from Colligan Web. The site is used for both my professional and personal output. Constructive criticism is always welcome!

Regards,