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I frequently edit texts written by speakers of languages other than English, and by German speakers in particular.
See our helpful notes on Master’s and PhD theses.
I can provide a packaged editing solution or just one editing step.
I also:
Are you feeling unsure whether your text (book, journal article, website content) will connect clearly with readers? Perhaps it needs some restructuring.
Ask your editor to help you with that. You’d be amazed at the solutions a pair of professional eyes can come up with (sharp eyes, elegant solutions!).
Of course, you as the author have the last word on any suggested changes.
Engaging a professional copyeditor gives you peace of mind. An editing colleague once said to me: ‘Once an editor, always an editor’, because whenever we editors look at a text containing an error, we immediately see it. Owl eyes!
Are you writing for an academic journal? I know the treadmill of academic research and teaching, the pressures of publish-or-perish, and the tyranny of deadlines. Let me help you overcome the hurdles.
A word on the process of copyediting…
Your publisher (if you have one) or university will have its own style guide, which I will follow closely. I consult with you throughout the whole editing process. You are the one to approve or reject changes I suggest to you. In the copyediting phase, the text usually goes back and forth two or three times before it is finalised. I work in Word, using Track Changes.
Sometimes structural editing and copyediting go hand-in-hand in a process we call developmental editing: the editor helps the author develop the manuscript as the process unfolds. However, the text is yours. You will always have the last word.
I strive to make the editing process as efficient and streamlined as possible, to save time and, therefore, costs.
A lot of people confuse these terms. In fact, they are two distinct stages. The word ‘proofreading’ comes from the ‘galley proofs’ the typesetter used to send to a proofreader once the text had been copyedited, typeset and integrated into the layout. The proofreader’s job was to correct any errors that had crept in during the typesetting and layout stages. Most ‘proofs’ are now produced electronically. The proofreader checks the print-ready text against the original manuscript, marking any errors with proofreading symbols in the margins. The text is then corrected. Only after proofreading and correcting does the text go to print.
Proofreading is still necessary in the digital age, especially after the layout phase, in which, for example, portions of text can mysteriously disappear.
Proofreaders need patience and an eye for detail (owl eyes!). I would be happy to provide this service to you.
