Editors Make Your Writing Better.
I work with your intentions in mind to shift what you’ve written towards its own best version.
I offer the following editorial services to large publishers, small presses, small business and non-profits, and individual graduate students and writers. (Click below for more details.) If you aren’t quite sure which service will benefit your project, I am happy to advise you.
Offers feedback to explain where and how you could communicate your ideas more strongly, effectively, and accurately.
Substantive editors suggest ways to improve the text through restructuring, tightening, or expanding the text. They may suggest adding an introduction or conclusion, for example, or offer suggestions on the order of presented ideas or transitions between them.
Clarifies meaning, improves flow, and smooths language.
Stylistic editors check and correct such things as redundancies, ambiguity, and overuse of the passive voice. They may suggest adding a few words for flow or breaking up overly long sentences, to improve the rhythm of the writing. They adjust the tone or style to more effectively reach the intended audience.
Involves writing up fresh content from rough work that has been gathered or researched by the author or from requests for author revisions.
Rewriting is a territory into which an editor should never enter unless the writer has explicitly requested it or agreed to it for good reason (for example, if the main writer does not have the time before the deadline to do the revisions the structural or stylistic editor has requested). It is quite different from editing in that the rewriter generates the content — in the main writer’s voice, and keeping the target audience in mind, of course — rather than trying to elicit that content from the main writer.
Corrects any mechanical errors in language (grammar and usage), checks basic facts, and cross-checks any visual elements.
Copy editors correct spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors; improve word choice; and call attention to jargon and cliché. They fact-check such things as proper names and places, and also check tables, illustrations, photos, multimedia, or other visual elements to ensure they clearly and effectively convey the intended meaning.
The meticulous, character-by-character final check to make sure nothing has been overlooked in all the previous stages.
Proofreaders check that all corrections requested during earlier stages of editing have been input and that no other errors have been overlooked or introduced.