Our suite of editorial services supports academics striving for clear and polished prose. We help authors at every phase of manuscript development, from shaping argument and structure to polishing style and language. We guide scholars worldwide towards making their research desirable and accessible to North American and British academic audiences and publishers, including journals and presses.
Our services include:
- developmental editing for argument and structure
- line editing for lucidity and fluidity
- copy editing for accuracy and consistency
- citation formatting and alignment to style (e.g., APA, Chicago, MHRA, MLA)
- manuscript preparation, including proofreading, bibliographies, and indexing
Developmental editing involves working with a text for structure; consistency and persuasiveness of the argument; rhetorical effectiveness; and logical force of the evidence. This process can be undertaken with texts at any stage, from early drafts to complete manuscripts. One version of developmental editing is working with “revise and resubmit” requests, whether for books or articles. We parse peer reviewer comments and propose where and how they can be addressed as well as help authors prepare their communications with acquisitions and journal editors.
Line editing requires careful, close reading of text for consistency of style, fluidity of language, clarity of meaning, and accuracy of grammar. Experienced authors keen to hone and tighten their language, junior scholars developing their authorial voice, and scholars for whom English is not a first language can all benefit from such refined polishing. Before submission to a publishing venue and after peer review are moments when line editing can bring a manuscript to a new level of elegance.
Copy editing captures errors of grammar, spelling, and punctuation as well as aligns all manuscript elements—text, notes, references, figures, captions—with a particular style. This process puts a laser focus on the consistency of the manuscript with regard to the style guide chosen by each press or journal. We work routinely with all major styles, including Chicago, MLA, MHRA, and APA, as well as with individual publishers’ house requirements across North America, the UK, and Europe.
Proofreading takes place at the very last stage of production, once a final manuscript has been typeset. This last read through catches the tiny typographical mistakes that inevitably remain in a printer’s proof and examines formatting and layout issues throughout, including in the table of contents, running heads, chapter headings, section breaks, front and back matter, and of course all elements of the main text and critical apparatus. Proofreading is the final step in ensuring a polished publication, and is one of our manuscript preparation services.
Lisa has helped me to take my decades of research and write it up into prose that people want to read. Since I started working with her, I have transformed ideas and insights into published articles. She excels at identifying compelling narrative lines, and she makes suggestions that improve idea sequencing. She is particularly good at making sure that I underscore my contributions, whereas in the past, I downplayed them. As a result of this, Lisa fills me with confidence.
—Professor of Medieval Art History