My clients reap the benefits of my innate ability as an editor and proofreader, with fifteen years in the corporate industry of technical writing and another dozen years of freelance editing and proofreading for websites, papers and books. The editorial phases of copyediting, proofreading and desktop publishing are the areas of my focus. A two-part edit with author review in-between is my standard practice. As part of editing and proofreading services, Cecile can:
- repair typos and misspellings
- ensure proper punctuation
- correct grammatical mistakes
- assess word choice
- improve syntax for well-formed sentences
- enhance layout
- remove redundancy
- ensure consistent style and formatting
- offer constructive feedback for improvement.
The industry standard for a manuscript page is 250 words.
Copyediting
Copy editors focus on a thorough line-by-line reading to correct grammatical errors, misspellings, punctuation, cross-references—all the mechanics of language. We can prepare the stylesheets to guide consistency and accuracy across the manuscript. We examine flow and consistency of the text, and often eliminate wordiness. We ensure that brand names, titles, and institutions are referred to correctly and consistently, as per a given style sheet or usage manual. Word choices and sentence structures are considered at this level of editing. A copy editor may occasionally rewrite a sentence or move a paragraph.
Proofreading
Proofreading is the final stage before publication. Your manuscript should be copyedited prior to proofreading. Proofreaders take a line-by-line look at a manuscript to ensure all typos and misspellings are corrected. We check basic formatting for consistent header styles, ensure correct usage and spelling of manuscript-specific terms, brand names, titles, and institutions. Consistency of typesetting specifications and page makeup are addressed.
Desktop or digital publishers and designers
Desktop or digital publishers and designers use software, design and layout skills to create materials ready for publication. The client provides the text and the desktop publisher then creates a design, lays out the pages, formats the text, adds the illustrations, and creates the final product. Many books, theses, newsletters, brochures and other short publications are done using desktop publishing.