Copyediting

I am extremely careful and transparent when I copyedit and proofread. I normally find I have to revise some sentences to improve grammar, mechanics, clarity, concision, or readability. If the change is minor, I normally make the change myself, but in every case I preserve your meaning and voice. If I see the need to make a major revision to a sentence or paragraph, I leave a comment in the margin to the author suggesting the change I think is needed. Using MS Word’s ‘Track Changes,’ I record and flag all revisions for the writer who always has the final say on whether to accept or reject the suggestion or revision I make. I leave comments in the right margin to the writer on any other issues such as missing data in references or citations, unclear passages, or any other matters that require the writer’s attention. A professional copyeditor can edit about 3–8 pages per hour, depending on the number of changes required.

Proofreading

Professional editors always do two and sometimes three passes through a manuscript. The first pass is normally a copyedit, while subsequent passes are for final proofreading to ensure correct and consistent spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, punctuation, spacing, and the accuracy and consistency references, citations, and headings. These final passes are necessary because no editor can spot all the typos and other small problems on only one pass. When I give an estimate to the writer of my fee, it normally includes copyediting and these final proofreading pass(es) unless otherwise specified.

Note: I will not agree to proofread a manuscript unless I know it has been professionally copyedited.