Line and copyediting are where I feel I can be of most use to my clients. Here are what you can expect in working with me and the broad questions you’ll be asked.
First of all, you and your writing will be treated respectfully and gently through the editing stages so that your experience of getting to the final product will hopefully be a satisfying (and not aggravating!) one for you.
Of the text, I ask the broad questions: are the key messages getting across clearly? Is it logical? Is it consistent?
What you will be asked
These are some of the questions you (and your text) will be asked:
The basics
For both line and copyediting.
- Are there any spelling & grammar errors or inconsistencies?
- Is punctuation correct & consistently applied?
- Is the style properly & consistently applied to the document?
- Are all tables & figures labelled consistently?
- Do headings/subheadings match the table of contents?
- Are all abbreviations defined?
Paragraphs & sentences
Mainly in line editing but also lightly covered in copyediting.
- Are your messages clearly expressed?
- Does each paragraph and sentence make sense?
- Are there redundancies that could be cut?
- Are there unexplained or out-of-place terms/concepts?
Overall structure
In line editing.
- Are your ideas presented logically?
- Does the text order flow?
- Are there any gaps in the logic? Anything missing?
- Are there any pieces that could be moved, combined, or deleted?
What you can expect from me
I need to understand what you have in mind so I can help you get your message across. That means
- I will check with you for clarification if I’m not sure of anything.
- I will make concrete suggestions and offer options if possible. For example, I might say “If you mean xxx, then you might insert a line like ‘xyz is abc’ here for clarity. OR if you meant bbb, you could say ‘aaa’ in the next para.”)
- Anything I suggest are just proposals. Rest assured the final decision is always yours 🙂
Recent copyediting & proofing work
You can go to my editing page to see what kinds of titles I’ve worked on.
If you would like to get a sample edit, please send me a request via the contact form or email (info@theclarityeditor.com).
Cover image credit: Nic McPhee via Flickr