Overview of Services
I offer four (last one to come) editorial services. An overview of each is below. Each service comes with attentive project management, 100% commitment to delivering your content on time, and an editorial partner who’s dedicated to the success of your project.
> Proofreading
Proofreading is the last quality check of your copy and formatting before you publish. I’ll help you cross the finish line with content that is clean and free of typographical errors that might distract or confuse readers.
Who it’s for: Your content is final but needs keen eyes and a fresh perspective to catch any errors that were missed or introduced during revision or design stages.
It typically covers:
spacing and formatting issues
typos and misspellings
URLS and media links working properly
overall consistency/adherence to preferred style
For designed pages or content: correct pagination, end-of-line hyphenation, internal cross references, figure numbering, TOC crosscheck, and running heads/footers
Style guides are welcome! I also use a thorough checklist I’ve built that I customize for each project. If I encounter any global or bigger issues, I’ll flag them for you.
What I’ll deliver: Depending on the final format of your content, MS Word files with changes tracked or a marked up PDF plus a summary memo to round up global queries, issues, and capture style choices.
> Copyediting
I offer two levels of copyediting: basic and comprehensive. Basic copyediting ensures that the mechanical details are accurate and a consistent style is applied. Comprehensive copyediting also addresses the content on a structural and stylistic level to enhance readability. I’ll take care to preserve your voice while making your writing leaner and stronger, and can customize the copyedit to fit your needs, budget, and goals.
Who it’s for: Your draft’s framework and content is settled, and you’re ready to polish the writing on a more granular level.
Basic copyediting covers:
grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, abbreviations, and terminology
formatting
standardization of style
light or spot fact-checking of verifiable information (proper/place names, URLs, and dates)
Comprehensive copyediting covers:
recasting sentences for clarity and conciseness
flow, clarity, tone, perspective, and sentence structure
What I’ll deliver: MS Word files with changes tracked and comments with reader-centric suggestions or queries about areas to address. I’ll also create a customized style sheet that captures choices and preferences for reference as you review and revise.
> Content Editing
My content editing service is a big picture review of your draft or document—an assessment from both a reader’s and an editor’s perspective.
Who it’s for: You have an initial draft and seek high-level feedback and guidance for next steps, but aren’t ready to revise on a wording or sentence level yet.
It covers:
writing style and tone
content development
organization and structure
appropriateness to your intended audience
biased language
What I’ll deliver: MS Word file with suggestions and queries targeted at specific areas, as well as a detailed report that addresses strengths and areas to improve.
Rates and Process
Each project is unique, so rates will depend on the type of service, the scope of the work, and quality of the material.
We’ll start with a brief conversation to discuss goals and expectations for your project. For most editing projects, I’ll follow up with a sample edit for your review along with an estimate.
If you want to proceed, we’ll finalize payment details, you’ll review and sign my contract, and I’ll schedule your project!
Fees may be hourly or charged on a word count or per project basis depending on length and complexity of content.
Short documents are welcome; minimum fees will apply depending on the type of service and content. Sample edits will not be conducted on documents of 5,000 words or less.
Christa proofreads almost every article in the magazine before it is published. Working with Christa has saved me so much time, and her sharp eyes have prevented many errors from making it to print. I would hate to have to muddle through the production process without her.
— Stacey Lutkosky, Managing Editor, American Scientist magazine