Whether you are writing a book, a short story, a thesis, an essay or a magazine article, I can improve your text with these editing services. These include copy editing, proof reading and academic referencing.
There are many stages between a first draft and the final published piece. The diagram below shows the path through the editing process. Shorter items might not need all the stages, and longer pieces may need to repeat some of them.
The diagram is taken from my book So You’ve Finished Writing. Now What? available from Amazon and your local bricks-and-mortar bookstore in paperback and Kindle. It explains the editing and publishing procedure in more detail and is fully of humour and handy hints for writers.
What I do
Line Editing
- I check your work for idiomatic British English with the degree of formality you require.
- I comment on the poise and clarity of your text, suggesting improvements where needed.
- I comment on the overall flow of ideas (non-fiction) or narrative arc (fiction). (Please note that this is not a full structural edit. General comments only.)
Copy Editing
- I correct spelling, punctuation and grammar to an excellent standard and in line with any provided style sheet.
- I highlight facts that may need checking.
- I format academic references in accordance with standard referencing conventions (eg Chicago, MHRA). This includes footnotes and bibliographies.
Proof Reading
- I check proofs for layout consistency, pagination, headings, contents, margins, etc.
- I check for typos, widows and orphans, poor hyphenations, ‘rivers’, etc, and suggest remedies.
- I annotate PDFs with standard proof readers’ marks or with plain text as preferred.
What I don’t do
- I do not write essays for academic submission.
- I do not check for plagiarism or copyright issues.
- I do not verify references or facts.
For further information, please contact info@ThomasSaltBooks.co.uk