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Services

I provide proofreading, copyediting, and web editing services. 

New to Hiring an Editor?

I’m happy to provide consulting to help you: 

  • choose the most appropriate editorial service for your project
  • make realistic editorial production plans whether working with other freelancers or with me
  • prepare your project for proofreading or copyediting
  • understand how to make the most of the proofreading or copyediting work you’ve had done

Consulting is useful if you are wondering how to use a style sheet or you find yourself asking, Now that I’ve had this copyedited, what next?

Consultation is typically bundled together with other editorial services, and I bill it at the same hourly rate as the rest of the project. So for example, a project with 2 hours of consultation with 10 hours of proofreading is the same as the fee for 12 hours of proofreading.

Proofreading

I proofread books, websites, advertisements, reports and presentations, maps, newsletters, magazines — essentially anything that gets published, in print or on the web. I even proofread film, TV, and radio scripts and materials for client presentations.

Most of my proofreading work is for book publishers and ad agencies, but I also work with nonprofits and businesses that produce and publish marketing materials, annual reports, websites, and newsletters.

Proofreaders help ensure:

  • writing is free of errors of spelling and grammar
  • facts are accurate: dates, times, names, titles, and more
  • graphics are properly placed and aligned
  • style is consistent in terms of spelling, capitalization, headings, captions, graphic elements, etc.

Proofreaders also look for copyfitting and typesetting issues that may distract readers from the writing.

Copyediting

I copyedit nonfiction, most often for book publishers or book packagers. Occasionally, I work with nonprofits on long-format publications or directly with authors who are self-publishing.

Copyediting takes a completed draft through a very thorough line-by-line review to help catch and resolve a variety of problems and infelicities including:

  • grammar and spelling errors
  • internal inconsistencies and holes in arguments
  • factual errors
  • quoted text that may need permissions
  • missing pieces: captions, cross-referenced items, bibliographic entries, etc.
  • bias in language

Copyeditors also implement editorial style choices and make them consistent, smooth out awkward phrasing, and clarify ambiguous syntax.

Copyediting brings an objective pair of eyes to a project to help ensure that the author’s writing conveys what was intended, that publishing conventions are used effectively, and that the reader’s expectations are gracefully met.

Web Editing

I offer web editing as a service different from traditional copyediting for several reasons, these among them:

  • People read web content and interact with websites in ways that are unique to that medium.
  • The words on a web page are an important part of how well the content is disseminated and how easy it is to find. Words not only convey meaning, they are a significant vehicle for marketing and distributing the content — particularly through search engines.
  • Websites use metadata, microcontent, headings, user-interface text, and navigational copy, and these elements need to work hand-in-hand with the copy on the page.

Websites, in other words, need to be readable and scannable for both humans and search robots. Web editing helps ensure that the needs of both types of audiences are met.

Web editing is very effective when planned as part of a web redesign project. New websites or sites with new sections can also benefit.

If your website is fully developed, and all its web elements (microcontent, user-interface text, and so forth) are ready to be published, or already live, and you want a fresh set of eyes to catch typos and grammar errors, then proofreading is the service you need.