WHAT I DO 

COPYEDITING . . .

is the task of correcting a manuscript by catching errors and improving clarity and flow, while respecting the author’s intent and voice.  I've found that copyediting sorts itself into three levels:  light, medium, and heavy. You and I will come to an agreement on which level you need before I begin work. 

The Light Edit

The concerns of an editor working at the light edit level are correctness and consistency. It’s a bit like Watson the computer with a human soul—although no machine yet invented can adequately perform these complicated tasks. (And it's more than proofreading: see the bottom of this page for the proper definition of that.) 

Correctness is, first of all, in the mechanics.  I will go over each sentence of your manuscript to deal with basic issues like grammar, spelling, punctuation, parallelism, misuse of idiom, erroneous word choice, dangling modifiers, failure to obtain permission for copyrighted material. Correctness also includes factual accuracy.  If that is in question, the perceived value of your entire piece can go way down.  If I suspect a compromise to your credibility, I will offer corrections or suggest that you revisit your sources.  I can do a more thorough fact-check if you request it.

Consistency is standardizing a text according to a particular style. The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed., Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed., and Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed., are the ones I use most often.  I am also current with MLA.  I will ensure continuity of detail and develop a style sheet just for you so that Aunt Millie doesn’t morph into Aunt Milly in the last chapter.

*A special note for dissertation authors:  I will address any technical problems and issues of clarity, flow, and language that I identify in your manuscript, and verify references. I will also ensure compliance with the style guide of your institution (most typically, APA). I do not make fundamental content alterations in response to recommendations from your faculty mentor—that's your job.

If you are very sure a light edit is all you need, whenever I identify concerns that go beyond these issues, I will simply query you instead of rewriting.  Very often, however, the work shades into . . .

The Medium and Heavy Edit 

Even though you and I will have agreed on the need to have your writing “put to rights” at the level of correctness and consistency, I am likely to also recommend alterations in how you say things.  Some refer to this as substantive or content editing.  If you are not a native speaker of English, going beyond the light edit is particularly important.  A medium edit will include a light edit, but will also look at the following:

Logic and Clarity.  Clear writing gets right to the point, but achieving this noble goal is sometimes tricky. And even though your point is clear enough to you, your reader may, alas, have fallen off the tracks.  I will fix these problems and query you, if needed.

Language.  Your words must please me—I am the stand-in for your future readers!  I hunt down the gremlins of wordiness, repetition, cliché, mixed metaphor, offensive language, jargon, poorly presented dialogue, overuse of a pet phrase or device, awkward punctuation or phrasing, words that are just not quite right, missing transitions, too many adverbs—things that can put a barrier between you and your audience.  I will look at your sentences too, and strive for pleasing structure, organization, and length.

“Good Writing.” You are the author, and you know more than a few things already, but as your editor, I’m likely to give you miscellaneous suggestions under the heading of Good Writing in which I do things like point out where it would be better to “show, not tell.” In pursuit of your excellence, I tend to follow the tried and true rule "eliminate unnecessary words," targeting anything that does not contribute to your goal.  You may find my cutting of deadwood harsh at first, but your readers will thank you.

And sometimes, we need to go beyond the medium level! I call it heavy editing when it seems clear that significant intervention (rewriting in certain places) is needed.  I am a good ghostwriter and can seamlessly integrate my words with yours. I might make suggestions about organization at the paragraph level.  

That's copyediting.  

Unless Your Big Picture Needs More Focusing . . .

. . . before ANY copyediting happens! Sometimes after review of a manuscript, I recommend a developmental process, having realized that the piece needs improvement in areas such as pacing or plot development before a copy edit is even worth your investment. You could simply take my initial recommendations to your studio and get back to work, or you could, in addition, consider allowing me to put on my developmental editor’s hat and evaluate your document as a whole for its ability to lead the reader happily along to a satisfying conclusion. I’ll make recommendations regarding such things as structure, theme, and narrative arc and give you general comments on overall tone and effectiveness. We can collaborate/brainstorm on your manuscript from the draft stage, through multiple revisions, editing, and even final proofreading, until you are truly ready to publish. The particulars of how I am compensated for this work are negotiated on a case-by-case basis.  

* * *

It’s all part of an interactive process—
and the final decision on my level of involvement is always your call.

   I cannot guarantee that my work will make your manuscript sell, 
but I will have significantly improved its chances.

So . . . let's make the magic happen!!!


 

 

PROOFREADING?

Yes, I do that too.  Proofreading takes place only at the mechanical level, and by definition is for print-ready text—manuscripts that are already thoroughly edited, perhaps even typeset, and need only a final review against a standard prior to publication. This is why I rarely even mention the word proofreading in a discussion of editing.  It's the very last step in the review process.  But if that's where you are with your project, I would be happy to help out. What a shame to let your carefully crafted content be discounted just because of a silly tpyo typo!