Definitions

Substantive or Structural Editing

Here is where we take a look at your manuscript (report, proposal, etc.) as a whole. Have you ordered your material in the most suitable fashion to express your message? Have you fully illustrated your ideas? If not, I’ll come at you with a host of suggestions for re-ordering or queries for filling out your ideas. Often, this is where the editor helps the author get to the bottom of what s/he really meant to say.

Manuscript Evaluation

A 22-point evaluation of your manuscript, commenting on key elements such as character, plot, setting, voice, believability, dialogue and structure.

Stylistic Editing

Everything may be in order, but if your language is clunky and your sentences are too long, your message will be inaccessible. Here we’ll clarify the meaning of convoluted sentences and remove excess words that are keeping your reader at a distance from what you really want them to know and feel. I’ll look out for clichés and unnecessary jargon by examining each line closely, as well as scanning any physical data (tables, graphs and figures) for awkward presentation.

Copy Editing

The four C’s of copy editing are consistency, clarity, capitalization and correctness. While there are certainly hard and fast rules of grammar, spelling and punctuation, there is also a degree of choice. As a copy editor, it is my job to maintain consistency throughout your document whenever choice is exercised.

Copy editors can also act as fact checkers, can mark heading levels, convert American to Canadian spelling (and vice versa) and—most often these days—perform a copy/stylistic edit combo.

Proofreading

Anything we missed in copy editing? We’ll find it here.