Copyediting and Line Editing

With copyediting, I focus on checking and improving your text at the sentence and paragraph level. All changes are made with change tracking,¹Some file formats, like PowerPoint and Google Slides, do not support change tracking. For those formats, I add comments noting the changes I made. and I’ll add comments explaining edits, making suggestions, and calling out potential issues that I can’t correct myself. My goal is to make your text concise, consistent, and clear to the reader, while getting the mechanics — grammar, spelling, usage, and punctuation — correct.

Some editors make a distinction between copyediting, line editing, and substantive editing. I tend to treat these as a continuum of the same service.

I’ll look at the following aspects of your work:

• Grammar, spelling, usage, punctuation
  • This includes verifying the spelling of places and names (excluding citations and references—I cover these in the related citations and references service)
• Clarity
• Conciseness
• Consistency
• Correctness
• Readability
• Flow
• Gaps in logic or information
• Tables and graphics
  • Text in tables and graphics, including the captions
  • Consistency of the tables and graphics with the related text in the body of the manuscript
  • Clarity issues in the graphics
• Equations
  • Consistency with surrounding text and equations
  • Potential issues with inconsistent notation
  • Typos

When I give you a quote for copyediting, I’ll also give a quote for the citations and references service if it looks like your manuscript would benefit from that, or if you ask me to do so.

I offer copyediting for documents in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Overleaf (LaTeX), PowerPoint, and Google Slides. I do not offer copyediting for PDF, Scrivener, or Apple Pages documents.

Copyediting rates may vary based on the document’s complexity or the depth of editing needed. For estimating purposes, typical rates, are below. Please contact me for a firm quote. Prices are calculated on each document. These rates do not include reference and citation work or formatting. Those costs are calculated separately.

All amounts are in US dollars.

• English Language Editing
• Citations and references
• Formatting

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  Some file formats, like PowerPoint and Google Slides, do not support change tracking. For those formats, I add comments noting the changes I made.