Editing FAQs
What is editing?
Editing is the first stage of work involved in preparing a book for publication, and usually the last stage involved in preparing corporate, personal or academic documents for distribution or submission.
It involves our editors correcting errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation and style while also checking presentation, accuracy, content, clarity and flow.
We'll check the suitability of your text for the intended audience; whether it seems to be the right length; that it contains the required preliminary pages, appendices, footnotes and glossary; and what illustrations should be included, if any.
We'll make sure your document's content and structure is balanced and logical; the headings are adequate and clear; the sentences and paragraphs are of the right length; and that spellings, style and design are consistent throughout.
And as if all that wasn't enough, our editors will also check your document is free of any possible legal issues, such as breaches of copyright, libel, obscenity or incitement to racial hatred.
Why bother with proofreading or editing?
Let's face it. Sending out written communications containing mistakes gives the impression that you're ignorant or perhaps you just don't care.
Misspellings, sloppy grammar, poor punctuation and misused words can negatively affect your reader's perception of you and/or your company, damaging your credibility in the process. If you appear unbothered about checking your writing, how can you expect your reader to believe your dealings with them will not be equally substandard?
Mistakes can be costly. They can cost you customers, employment, attention and respect.
What's more, if you don't catch a mistake until after your document has been sent off for publishing, you can probably still correct it but the publisher will charge you a high penalty fee.
Using a spell checker is always a good start, but even the most advanced software will not catch all possible errors in your work. For example, misspellings that won't be picked up include: here and hear; faint and feint; your and you're; its and it's; licence and license. You'll find missing words will be overlooked too.
You could proofread and edit your own work, but be warned: having written it yourself you will be more likely to read what you expect to see and not necessarily what's actually in front of you. Mistakes that are glaringly obvious to a fresh pair of eyes may slip by yours unnoticed through over-familiarity with the text.
If you do decide to proofread or edit your writing yourself, never try to finish it all in one go. The longer you stare at the same document, the easier it is to glance over errors that others will pick up instantly. If possible, check your work the day after writing it. Or better still, let us do it for you.
What subjects do you cover?
From apples to zeitgeists, annual accounts to zero-coupon bonds, anthropology to zoology. We can cover them all.
We have specialists in medical, finance, law, IT, economics, PR, investments, retailing, biographies, politics, religion, history, physics, sociology, philosophy… The list is endless.
What if I have a specific style I want you to follow?
Each time you submit a project to us, you’ll be able to specify the style to which you want us to adhere.
We’re happy to follow your own house style or to work according to any of the major style manuals – such as Chicago, Oxford, APA, MLA and Turabian.
What if I don’t have my own style guide?
If you don’t have a style guide of your own, we can skilfully construct one specifically for your publications in keeping with their content. We’ll send you a copy of the guide with your completed documents so you can store it for your records. If you don’t like any of our style choices, you only need to let us know and we’ll amend your guide to reflect your preferences.
Each time you submit a new project to us, you can attach your guide for us to follow, ensuring consistency is maintained across all your documents.
What if the style guide I provide isn’t fully comprehensive?
If we encounter any unusual words in your project or a documentation situation that is not covered in your guide, we’ll make an expert judgement on the most appropriate style to be used.
We’ll let you know each time this occurs so that you can check you’re happy with our decisions and advise us if you would like anything to be revised.
If I submit my document for proofreading or editing, what will the final version look like?
Having identified necessary changes, we’ll mark them in the document either through Microsoft Track Changes or coloured text. We’ll also provide a clean copy with all Tracked Changes accepted and the colouring of amended text removed so that you don’t have to do it yourself.
If we have any queries regarding your work, we’ll liaise with you directly to resolve these or bring them to your attention by footnotes and comments attached to your text.