Copyediting Services

I provide nonfiction copyediting services for a variety of projects, such as those listed below.

Please note that since I returned to full-time work in 2024, I can no longer work on lengthy (50,000+ words) projects. I gladly welcome smaller copyediting projects.

  • academic writing
  • creative nonfiction
  • journal articles
  • newsletters
  • blog posts
  • presentations
  • web content

I have a soft spot for nature, so I especially welcome copyediting projects for environmental and nature writing, such as the following:

  • Nonfiction books on nature and other environmental topics (including essays and creative nonfiction)
  • Journal articles on environmental topics, the natural world, and/or the relationships between humans and ecology, and;
  • Essays, blog posts, newsletters, etc. on nature and other environmental topics.

What Is Copyediting?

Copyediting is what most people think of as proofreading. The goal of copyediting is to enhance the readability of a piece of writing with the audience in mind while still preserving the author’s voice.

For these types of projects, I will focus on the basic pillars of copyediting:

  • grammar
  • spelling
  • punctuation
  • syntax
  • style and tone consistencies
  • fact-checking and proper noun consistencies
  • readability and clarity

Depending on what you and I have agreed upon to improve readability and clarity, I will either mark passages that need extra attention to improve structure or I will make suggested changes through redline edits. I will always flag suggestions that need your review.

Copyediting can be either light, medium, or heavy. The level of the copyedit is decided once we have discussed your project and I have been provided a sample edit.

(Side note on proofreading: While I can proofread a document for spelling, grammatical, and punctuation errors, I am not trained to professionally proofread and format a document for printing. This is a different skillset altogether. I suggest taking a look at Lora Rovegna’s blog post on the difference between proofreading and copyediting.)

What’s Included?

For all projects, each of the following is included:

  • a discussion of your overall goals (via phone or video call),
  • a step-by-step review of the editing process before the project starts,
  • a post-edit transmittal letter that provides an overview of my completed edits,
  • an edited Word or Google document (in track changes) with comments, and;
  • a personalized style sheet for your project that includes all proper nouns, a word list, and specific style choices.

What are my rates?

Projects are billed per word. Depending on the service and the complexity of the edits, project rates can vary. The base rate for a copyediting project is $0.02 per word. A sample edit will give me the best idea of how much your project might cost.

Request a free sample edit!