FOR SCHOLARS
These three editing services are intended to meet a range of needs common to academics working in the arts field today.
QUICK EDIT FOR ACADEMIC ARTICLES
This service is primarily intended for scholars working with English as their second language. It offers an opportunity for writers to have their work read by a native speaker with arts knowledge before submitting it for publication, thereby removing the worry that your article will be rejected on the basis of language proficiency.
A standard quick edit includes grammar, syntax, clarity of expression, style, and academic tone, as well as identifying things like repetition, wordiness, unusual or awkward phrasing, and missing citations. The standard edit also includes the consistent application of your chosen style guide. The service can also be tailored to your specific areas of concern. For instance, I can focus on prepositions and idiomatic expression, or on formal academic tone and word choice. I can check to make sure that you’re following the chosen style guide and that your in-text citations / footnotes and reference list / bibliography match that guide (Chicago, APA, or a journal’s own style).
This service is intended as a first edit to enable scholars to submit articles in their second language. Because these papers are usually edited by the publisher too, this service offers a single round of edits, without guaranteeing to catch absolutely everything. Instead, this service provides value in terms of time spent to mistakes caught.
If you are interested in the quick edit for academic articles service, please check your due dates against the availability calendar and use the contact form to send an enquiry. The sooner you book, the greater your chances of securing the date that suits you. Work will be turned around within three days.
“I have been using Melinda Johnston as a copy editor for my own work since 2009. Melinda is reliable, fast, and extremely precise in her editing. She now edits all my English language academic publications. As a non-native English speaker her services are invaluable (yet extremely affordable).”
PROJECT EDIT
This service includes large-scale projects such as book manuscripts, conference proceedings, or special issues of journals. Because projects can have varying needs, my focus is on working to find the best solution for each publication and trying to achieve the desired outcome at a price that fits the given budget.
The service is intended to be tailored to your specific areas of concern, but is particularly useful in instances where writers have English as a second language or where there needs to be uniformity of style across multi-authored volumes. If a style guide is available for your chosen publisher, then I can also check to make sure that you’re following their rules and that your in-text citations / footnotes and reference list / bibliography match your chosen style guide.
If you have a large-scale project in mind, then please use the contact form to send an enquiry.
“Working with Melinda is a pleasure. I’ve worked with other editors before, but I have to say this collaboration has made all the difference and I’m happy things can go so smoothly and quick. Melinda is an empathetic reader and great with taking one’s needs into account with her service. For me as a perfectionist, it’s comforting to know that my texts are in professional hands on their last steps before heading out to the world.”
FUNDING PROPOSAL EDIT
Increasingly, funding applications are taking the form of large-scale collaborative projects, sometimes involving twenty departments from as many countries. The funding proposal editing service is intended to provide a final edit of funding proposals in order to help you submit cohesive and professional applications.
The edit is intended to be tailored to your specific needs, but can include: making sure a single citation system is used; ensuring style choices are applied consistently, such as the use of US or UK English, formatting of numbers, and the use of acronyms; checking that sub-sections are formatted consistently and numbered sequentially; checking that appropriate academic tone and language is used throughout (especially for second-language speakers); and reducing wordiness where length is an issue.
If you are interested in the funding proposal edit, please check your due dates against the availability calendar and use the contact form to send an enquiry. Work will be turned around with three days.
‘“I’ve used Melinda to edit our funding proposals as she’s quick and thorough. It’s useful to have a coordinating eye over large projects to check that things are consistent and comprehensible. This has really added to my peace of mind in pulling together complex proposals where it becomes very hard to remember what is and is not clear to a non-specialist.”