Services

Here you can see the different services I offer, how the process works and what it might cost

CopyEditing

 

Copyediting is about preparing a finished manuscript for publication. As well as fixing any errors, I will reword sentences and reshape paragraphs so that your message comes across more effectively and in line with the relevant style guide. This might include following the correct spelling and punctuation conventions for different varieties of English, such as British, American or Australian, and ensuring all titles, captions, cross-references and citations are as they should be.

proofreading

 

Proofreading is about checking a text for any stray items that might have slipped through the copyediting and typesetting process. These are the barriers that make your readers pause instead of travelling smoothly through your document. I will make sure that all the grammar and vocabulary fits the purpose and style you are aiming for, as well as putting every full stop, semi-colon and quotation mark in the right place. For academic work, it also means checking that your citations and references follow your set style.

Formatting

 

Formatting requirements from institutions, companies or publishers are not what you were thinking about when you sat down to write, are they? I can work to your style guide to get everything in place or use standard formatting conventions for paragraph and heading styles, page numbers, sections and headers and footers. Knowing that these will be taken care of lets you concentrate on the content.

How does it work?

I can work with your documents in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Publisher or PDF formats. If necessary, I can use OpenOffice or GoogleDocs, but these give much fewer options for effective editing and change tracking. If we’re going old school,  a printed copy for manual correction is great.

 

With Word, I will return two versions of your original  document: Clean Copy and Track Changes.

The Clean Copy includes all changes made and any comments for you to review.

Track Changes shows all the edits, allowing you to accept or reject them and save your own clean copy.

We can agree beforehand if you want any basic elements excluded from this so that you’re not checking through lots of things that don’t require your approval.

 

With the other Microsoft and OpenOffice formats, I will simply send a Clean Copy with changes and comments.

You will have to compare these manually as they don’t allow a Track Changes feature.

 

For PDFs and hard copies, the suggested changes are marked up for you to go through and make changes on your original.

Testimonials

'I entrusted Robert with a manuscript containing a lot of medical terms, footnotes, and references, and English is not my native language. He edited the document with great accuracy and just the right amount of rewording. I would recommend him to any author looking for a skillful and friendly editor.'

Caroline Huyard – France

 

'I would highly recommend Robert for proofreading and editing purposes. His excellent communication and attention to detail helped make my final PhD stages less stressful.'

Doctoral candidate – UK