Copy Editing

The core of what I do is copy editing. This level of editing focuses on sentences, words, and punctuation, but also includes occasional notes on content. It’s where I get to be really finicky about commas and semicolons. It’s where your choice of stylebook matters most.

But copy editing is about more than just the technical aspects of writing. If a passage needs more detail, or if it’s too long and needs to be tightened, I can address that. If a statement is unclear, I can clarify it — or ask you to, if I’m not sure what you intended. I can suggest replacements for words that are used too often. In all cases, of course, you make the final decisions.

If your project is academic, copy editing is also the level where I check the formatting and adequacy of your citations.

For projects that need a lot of work, I recommend that we go through the responsive editing process. That takes us through multiple drafts as I help you bring your text into its final form. But even a regular copy edit does come with a limited second look at those places where I made changes and you did something other than simply approve or reject what I did.

So let’s start the conversation: What can I edit for you?