WHAT WE CAN DO FOR YOU

SUBSTANTIVE EDITING, DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING, CONTENT EDITING

When editing is done well, no one notices. They just think, "what a beautifully written piece." When editing is done poorly, people notice. Our job is to make your writing sing and make sure no one knows you were edited. In fact, our mission statement reflects that: We help you look good. We help you become a better writer, communicator or editor. Your success is our success. 

Substantive, developmental and content editing can all be parts of the first round of editing — the most intensive form of editing, which involves working on overall organization, structure and flow, coherence, clarity and tone. Consider us your consulting partner in producing your work. Full paragraphs may be rewritten or moved, text may be condensed or expanded, clarifying questions will be asked. Grammatical issues such as run-on sentences, passive voice, clichés and incomprehensible jargon will be noted. Read more about our process here.

As to what we edit ... if you can write it, we can edit it. We edit everything from scientific reports and journal articles to news and feature articles to profiles, press releases, presentation abstracts and text, websites, advertising and marketing copy, and books. We also do technical/scientific editing, which involves substantive editing of a technical report or scientific paper. 

COPYEDITING, STYLE EDITING, PROOFREADING & FACT CHECKING

Copyediting is the second round of edits after the substantive editing. Your manuscript should have already gone through at least one edit and be relatively clean. We will read the manuscript for comprehension and point out any glaring problems, but will focus on correcting grammar and consistency issues, including verb tense shifts, improper capitalization and punctuation, dangling modifiers and errors with spelling or word usage. We can also include style editing as part of this service, or can perform that separately. What we bring that few others do is a strong background in science, so we also edit your manuscript for scientific accuracy. Read much more about our copyediting process here.

Style editing involves ensuring the manuscript meets the particular style rules for the publication. You, the writer, should not worry about the "rules," whether they be AP Style, Chicago Manual of Style, MLA, APA, or a publication's own quirky style. Let us worry about them for you. We're well positioned to help create, match or maintain a particular style. We can also help publications create their own style guides. 

Proofreading is the last line of defense in the editing chain before a manuscript goes to press. It is the lightest form of editing, involving only fixing minor errors, like typos, and looking for layout mistakes like extra spaces or missing bylines. Everyone needs a proofreader. Read more about our process here.

We provide two distinct Fact checking services. The first service involves checking references/literature citations to ensure the right publication is cited and all the publication information is correct. The second involves checking every noun and statement in the story to ensure factual accuracy. We will read background materials as necessary to understand the manuscript, research and double check sources' names and affiliations, and check all statements for accuracy. For more on the second version of our fact checking process, read here. 

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As to what we edit ... if you can write it, we can edit it. We edit everything from scientific reports and journal articles to news and feature articles to profiles, press releases, presentation abstracts and text, websites, advertising and marketing copy, and even the occasional book. We also do technical/scientific editing, which involves substantive editing and copyediting of a technical report or scientific paper. 

CONTENT WRITING

I understand the importance of quality writing and the value of every written word. As a professional writer and editor since 2000, I have the experience to grasp the intent of a piece and to understand the difference between good and poor writing. I specialize in science features, science news, op-eds and press releases. Subject-matter expertise in earth sciences (including climate, energy, natural hazards, paleoanthropology and paleontology), politics and sports.

MENTORING & MENTORSHIP CONSULTING

We offer two types of mentorship programs: Working directly with you to help you learn to be a better writer, communicator or editor; and setting up and/or running a mentorship for your business.

Private mentoring: For professionals, including scientists, professors, communications professionals, writers or anyone who is in need of some communications coaching, we can design a program that meets your needs. Need help getting a manuscript cleaned up for publication? We got you! Need help putting your thoughts to paper? We can handle it. Our goal is for you to become a better writer, communicator or editor. We will help you get there.  

Likewise, if you are an inexperienced journalist looking for help with your writing or editing and help breaking into the industry, you can hire us to mentor you directly. 

Mentorship consulting for organizations: There's a catch-22 in journalism: People can't get jobs without clips, but they can't get clips without a job. We aim to help young writers get clips and experience writing, while simultaneously helping organizations get more content for their websites or publications.

The programs we set up offer opportunities for inexperienced writers to learn about the process of writing and editing a news story about recent scientific research and recent events, and to get professionally edited and published clips. We can set up the program for you and use our contacts to get you writers and then hand off the program to you to run, or we can run the program for you as well, including editing and mentoring the writers.

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