COPY EDITING

Clarify your writing

Copy editing is the most common service required by writers of any kind. It strikes a balance between general improvements to the way a piece is writing and the finer corrections necessary to prepare a document for publication. Copy editing considers paragraph and sentence level changes rather than broader overall edits. It includes the fine detail changes as well.

​

Copy edits should be applied to any document that is being considered for publication, especially if it has only been seen by one set of eyes. 

​

This service includes: 

• An initial read of your document, and a summary statement.

• Any preparation work required, including reviewing relevant style guides, referencing requirements, or any notes from the author on voice, tone, or other requests.

• In-text notes explaining recommended changes to sentence structure, word-choice or other changes.

• Track-changed edits to your document with an eye for accuracy, consistency and clarity of expression.

• If necessary, detailed edits to references (if they are included in the initial quoted word count) using external software such as EndNote.

• Other incidental comments on structure or voice – but the focus will be on the paragraph and sentence level of the work.

• A style sheet that will be developed during the edit including broad assumptions (e.g. Australian or American spellings), stylistic choices (e.g. en-dashes or em-dashes), and other specific spellings.

• A talk through of the edits if requested, or any other kind of clarification, to ensure the recommendations are understood.

• Optional: Specific message simplification to reduce the number of words or focus on the core elements of your idea.