Editing
Things alter for the worse spontaneously, if they be not altered for the better designedly.
These days we are all in a sense publishers, and it’s easy to simply glance over your copy and then send the document file along to your webmaster or production department. Budgeting the time and money for thorough editing is difficult in a bottom line–oriented world. But we all need a review once in a while. We all write, and it is always difficult to see errors when you are close to the writing.
A careful edit of your publication can save you embarrassment over missed typos, certainly. But editing should also help foreground your voice, develop your insights, and clarify the connections between your ideas. A good editor, as much as a good writer, brightens the reader’s way.
I’m most proficient in Chicago style but have also worked with the APA, AP, MLA, CSE, and AMA style guides. Below are summary profiles of just a few of my editing projects:
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For a nonprofit research and development organization, I copyedited high school business and science curriculum units. The task involved comparing teacher and student guides for logic and consistency as well as responding to edits and suggestions by other reviewers.
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For a book producer, I copyedited commemorative volumes for a medical association and a state university. The task involved marking up text for typesetting, verifying names and events online, compiling a picture script and editorial notes, and drafting author queries.
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For a researcher at a hospital center for stem cell biology, I copyedited several foundation and government grant proposals. English is not the client’s first language, so the task involved heavy rewriting for clarity and intensive research to confirm scientific information and ensure logical flow.
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For a consortium of organizations in the field of online learning, I copyedited several dozen papers for inclusion in an electronic journal. I also indexed a 100-page reference guide, Fair Use Guidelines for Educators.
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For one of the ten federally funded regional educational laboratories, I proofread a professional development curriculum unit on second language learning. The task involved careful comparison of trainer’s manual and participant’s manual for consistency of instructions, headings, and worksheets.
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For a medical research laboratory, I edited and formatted 22 papers for publication in a symposium proceedings volume. The task involved style enforcement and ongoing communication with authors in order to resolve editorial queries, secure author forms, and obtain figures in proper format and resolution.