Services

I help authors polish their work while maintaining their unique writing style. Most of my editing projects are full-length book manuscripts being published by Big Five imprints and university presses.

I offer the following services:

Standard Copyediting

This service is performed after the work has been reviewed by a developmental editor, if applicable, and all revisions/suggestions have been implemented by the author. (Most book manuscripts go through this phase, but shorter projects like résumés, website content, and other marketing materials would not.) For copyediting projects, I work in Microsoft Word with Track Changes turned on so that all edits made are clearly recorded and can easily be reviewed by the author during the next review stage. I am generally looking for mistakes with grammar, punctuation, and spelling; issues with the plot and characters; and inconsistencies in the timeline, and work to ensure the project adheres to the preferred editorial style guide and dictionary (normally The Chicago Manual of Style and Merriam-Webster). I might provide suggestions for reworking awkwardly worded text where necessary to enhance flow and ensure clarity.

Query Integration

After the project has been copyedited and the changes have been reviewed by the author, an editor (either the original copyeditor or another editor) reviews the work again and integrates all the changes made by the editor and author. This service is commonly called query integration and happens right before a book is sent to the designer to be typeset. During query integration, I carefully read through all the markup by the editor and author (which is why using Track Changes in Word is so helpful!) and accept and reject changes according to the decisions made by the author. Most publishers strongly suggest that if an author wants to restructure, rewrite, or add any content that it is done during the review after copyediting and before query integration takes place, as making changes such as these after the book has been designed becomes very time-consuming and expensive for all parties involved.

Proofreading

This service is performed after the work has been designed and is normally one of the last read-throughs before the book goes to print. At this point in the process, I am looking for typos that have snuck through previous rounds, issues with design (bad breaks, widows, orphans, loose/tight lines), and dropped text. Proofreading is generally performed in Adobe Acrobat Reader, but some publishers still prefer proofreading to be done on hard copy and marked up my hand.