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How I will edit your document

Why you need an editor

A lot of what an editor/proofreader does is based on knowing what to look out for. If you don’t know something is an error, you’ll never know to make the change. That’s the benefit of using a professional.  

How the process works

Most text needs more than a simple proofread, especially if there have been a number of contributors or changes to the text over time. This makes it difficult to maintain consistency throughout.

A copyedit and proofread (often called a proof-edit) will ensure your document is clear, concise, consistent and is ready to use for your target audience. 

This is completed in two stages.

1st Pass | Copyediting

The first pass looks at the sentence and paragraph level problems like sentence flow, wordiness and clarity.

I will return your document marked with changes and queries in comment bubbles. This is where I need your input.

2nd Pass | Proofreading 

Once your changes have been input, I will go through the whole document a second time to check for any final proofreading errors.

I will provide a correctly formatted, edited document that is ready to use. 

Copyediting corrects errors in:

  • style

  • language

  • word choice

  • clarity of meaning

  • factual error checking
    (to be agreed for non-fiction)

  • unnecessary & overused words 

  • vagueness

  • smoothing awkward sentences 

  • verb tenses

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Proofreading corrects errors in:

  • grammar

  • spelling

  • punctuation

  • syntax (sentence structure)

  • word choice

  • consistency issues (use of italics, capitalisation, numbers, etc)

  • appropriate paragraph breaks

  • standard paragraph indentation

  • widows & orphans

  • layout

  • page & chapter numbering

  • line spacing

  • links (in digital copy)

  • mismatched captions (images)

Style sheet

Every copyedit uses a style sheet to ensure consistency throughout a manuscript. It sets out the rules for capitalisation, single or double quotation marks, use of punctuation, US vs UK English, etc. A personalised style sheet will be included with every project. 

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