(before typesetting and after the content has gone
through structural and developmental editing)
I look at spelling and style; grammar; punctuation issues; headings and heading hierarchy; content transition, flow, and presentation; coherency of the text; completeness of supplementary content elements (that all related and/or peripheral information, graphs, tables, and charts are there, presented uniformly, and are relevant to the context); awkward phrasing and ambiguous sentences; excessive industrial jargon; redundant phrases; and broader formatting and stylistic inconsistencies and harmonization issues – a mix of line editing and copyediting.
(editorial production and pre-press stage)
I look at editorial workflow components such as planning, prioritizing, scheduling, and tracking; identifying the initial project gaps and project requirements; creating/revising the project brief and vendor guidelines; issuing the contracts and/or work orders; liaising with different vendors and suppliers; collaborating with in-house teams and project stakeholders; facilitating the coordination of various stages; addressing common issues, fielding queries, and quality control; anticipating issues and finding ways to troubleshoot the usual editorial and procedural workflow hurdles; modifying the processes as per the operational needs of the project; and basically keeping the project delivery process moving smoothly. Additional operational services may include creating and/or updating the house style; and reviewing and refining the editorial and cross-functional processes.
Here, if required, I can work with existing software requirements of the client, provided I am given the required accesses and/or licenses.
(after content finalization, and
generally [ideally] after typesetting)
I look out for errant styles and formatting issues; problems with spacing, fonts, and punctuation; inconsistent use of capitals; mismatches in folio headers and captions to the table of contents and chapter titles; typos and other minor issues; spelling inconsistencies; cross-referencing and hyperlink errors; missing or misplaced content (against the files sent for typesetting/layout), including improperly placed figures and tables; cover image and text; and legibility issues with page proofs.
Changes and edits clearly marked via track changes on Word, and via comments and mark-up tools on Adobe Acrobat
Reviewing the content from a reader's perspective – making sure that the target consumer would be able to grasp the intended meaning; toning the language where necessary and retaining the jargon where required – and, at the same time, preserving the author's voice
Ability to understand and process complex information and subject matter
Adherence to house style and style manuals (with the understanding that style manuals are meant primarily for guidance and some of the recommended changes may not be suitable for the context – that is, knowing when to disregard the suggestions)
Attention to detail and a strong sense of judgement
Quality and diligence
Open communication and clear expectations from the start of the project and at every stage, including any estimated bottlenecks and the possible workarounds
Realistic timelines and budgets
Liberal suggestions, queries, and actionable comments
Using tools* that aid the processes (and not that are a substitute of the process or the skill)
* Tools may include those based on artificial intelligence. Current tools that I use are covered in the FAQs section.
Journals management, including peer review process
Interventions that go into manuscript overhauls, revisions, rewrites, cut-downs, and/or those requiring extensive subject matter expertise
Formatting or designing (basic formatting using Word styles is fine), including layouts, layout samples, graphics, diagrams, and cover designs
Researching material to be added to the content
Transcription of audio files and/or comparison/verification of transcribed content with the original audio
Ghostwriting, content creation (including assignment, statements of purpose and/or summary writing), and content regurgitation
Using artificial intelligence to do the editing work (please see the FAQs for a more elaborate stance on this)
"Humanizing" AI-generated content
Plagiarism checking and rewriting/rephrasing content to escape accountability
eBook creation and/or XML/HTML coding
Indexing
Social media content creation
Marketing, promotional, and/or branding services
Search engine optimization of the content
Unrealistic promises/guarantees of 100% accuracy or zero errors