Clarity, correctness, consistency, and coherence

These are the four C's of copy editing. And these are what I will bring to your editing project.
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Copy editing occurs once you have finished all your major rewrites and the text is in its final form. That is where I come in. I will carefully review every single line and:
  • Correct spelling (Canadian and American) and grammar 
  • Fix usage errors
  • Identify any factual errors
  • Correct or query errors in statistics, numerals, or units of measure​
  • Maintain consistency throughout manuscript
  • Correct reference lists or footnotes
  • Follow your house style guide or create one for you
  • Flag potential copyright issues​

I mark all changes directly on the manuscript using track changes in Word so you can see everything that I have done. You then can review and accept or delete the changes that you want. If I need to ask a question or make a comment, I use queries in the margin. I will also supply you with a style sheet—a summary of all my style and editorial decisions—when I return the copy edited manuscript to you.

Confused about the difference between copy editing and proofreading? The short answer is that copy editing occurs before layout and concentrates only on the text, and proofreading occurs after layout and looks at text and formatting. Learn more about the differences here.

Style guides proficient in

Projects I have copy edited
Chicago Manual of Style
AMA Manual of Style
Scientific Style and Format
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
​Textbooks
Journal articles
Medical reports
Clinical practice guidelines
Nonfiction books
Budget reports
Medical product testing reports
Fiction books
Magazine articles
PowerPoint presentations
​Mobile phone apps

Memberships

Interested in working together?

If you have an editing project, contact me and let’s discuss it