Academic Editing
Articles • Dissertations • Grants
Services I Offer | The Editing Process | What It Costs | Work With Me
As a published scholar, I understand how difficult academic writing can be. Publish or perish is no joke.
That’s why I’m the perfect person to help you bring your scholarly project to fruition. My doctorate is in technical communication, so I was trained to use both the empirical research methods common to the physical and social sciences and the textual and analytical methods common to the humanities.
I also worked at a scholarly press, helping guide manuscripts through the fact-checking and editing processes and on through typesetting, galley-proofing, and publication. I’ve worked on monographs, anthologies, scholarly editions of historical texts, and academic journals. I can therefore help you find the best way to present your findings, whatever they are, and tailor them to the scholarly community you participate in.
I work on all kinds of academic writing:
- I help graduate students prepare their dissertations for successful defenses.
- I help researchers prepare grant proposals to secure funds to further their work.
- I help scholars turn their research into publishable articles.
- I help job seekers craft expertly tailored CVs, cover letters, and even personal websites.
Let me help you with your next academic writing project. I’ll handle the details so that you can focus on what you do best: your scholarship.
Services I Offer
Every project has its own particular needs, and I will work closely with you at the outset of a project to determine which services are right for you. Here are the main types of editing services I offer for academic projects:
Click each to learn more.
The deepest level of editing, substantive editing involves considering all aspects of a document—content, structure, organization, flow, tone, style, and presentation—resulting in a fundamentally clearer message. At this level, I work closely with you to help you discover the essence of what you want to say and the most efficient, convincing way to say it.
Substantive editing is great for journal articles and dissertation chapters that just don’t seem to flow right. I’ve helped authors find the right organization—whether that be a strict adherence to IMRAD format or a more organic approach—unlocking their ability to bring their draft to a finished state.
For documents that are structurally sound and essentially complete, copyediting brings a needed polish. More than just correcting errors, copyediting focuses on the paragraph and sentence levels of the document, helping identify the best wording and clearest presentation and ensuring a consistent, appropriate voice and style.
If your journal submission received a revise-and-resubmit response, I can copyedit specifically to help address the feedback you received, making an acceptance on the second round more likely.
Additionally, copyediting can also be useful for authors who don’t speak academic American English natively and who need help finding the most effective way to present their research in English.
Proofreading provides the final check a document receives before submission or publishing. The focus here is on individual words, letters, and punctuation marks, on removing any lingering grammatical and mechanical errors.
Additionally, proofreading can include manuscript preparation, wherein I ensure that the manuscript adheres to the requirements of a publisher. Journal editors are more likely to accept submissions that require minimal additional editing to make them publishable, so I ensure consistency and accuracy of the following:
- sources are cited accurately both in the text and in a bibliography
- figures and tables are properly and consistently arranged and captioned
- usage of numbers and technical terms are in keeping with the publication’s guidelines
I am well versed in MLA, APA, Chicago, CSE, AMA, and other documentation styles commonly used by academic publishers, and I know how to wrangle a document to match a journal’s in-house style requirements.
Preparatory editing involves researching a document’s genre and the conditions in which it will be published in order to plan a more effective document.
If you are preparing to write a grant proposal or respond to a CFP, I can help you craft a strategy for putting together the strongest pitch by examining the evaluation rubrics, previous examples of successful and unsuccessful entries, and other resources, maximizing your chances of succeeding.
Because preparatory editing usually results in a clear plan and document template you can use when writing, the amount of additional editing the document will need after being written is usually significantly reduced.
The market for academic positions is tight, and it can be hard to stand out in a crowded field of candidates. To increase the impact of your applications, I can work with you to craft an expertly designed curriculum vita and to develop a cover letter template and content that can be easily tailored for individual tenure-track and other academic positions.
Moving out of academia? I can help you craft a resume and cover letter that help bridge the gap from the ivory tower to the professional world, making the case to potential employers that you have the skills they are looking for.
I’m also available to help construct personal websites or develop effective LinkedIn profiles. Feel free to check out my own as examples of what I can produce:
The Editing Process
Though no two editing jobs are ever quite the same, the typical process for working together on a scholarly project goes something like this:
Query & Initial Meeting
You contact me and describe the project, indicating what you are writing, what help you need, and where you are hoping to publish.
We have a meeting—over Zoom or in person—to discuss the parameters of the project, when you need the work done, and what you want the final product to look like.
Contract
We sign an editing agreement, a simple contract that details the following:
- a description of the services to be performed
- a timeline within which the project will be completed
- the terms of payment
- a confidentiality agreement
Editing
I perform the work as agreed, providing regular updates about my progress.
As needed, we will trade drafts back and forth over email, collaborate on a Google Doc, or work from a shared file in a Dropbox folder—I’m open to the workflow that best suits your needs. We may have additional meetings as well.
Delivery & Follow-Up
I provide the agreed-upon products for your review once I’m finished.
If any minor follow-up work is needed, I’m available to help at no additional charge.
What It Costs
When working on academic projects, I typically charge an hourly rate. That rate depends on the scope of the project, the deadline by which you need it done, and my current volume of jobs—so I always recommend contacting me as early as possible to make sure you get the best deal.
Based on our initial discussion and my examination of your documents, I’ll include an estimated total cost for the job in the editing agreement, but the final fee won’t be determined until the job is finished. Rest assured though: My estimates are extremely accurate, and I will never exceed the estimated time without prior authorization from you. If it ever looks like more time will be required than estimated, I’ll first discuss with you how I might redistribute my efforts to get you the most value for your money within the estimated time.
If you, like many scholars, have access to funding to support your research, I can accept payment from any source, including universities. We usually have to file some simple paperwork to make that happen, but it’s no problem on my end.
Work With Me
Academic editing is a skilled trade requiring a high degree of expertise and lots of experience to do well. With a doctorate in technical communication and nearly 20 years of experience, I have both.
Contact me today and let’s get started!
