The terms light, medium, heavy, and substantive copyediting -- commonly used in the publishing industry -- have come to mean different things to different publishers and writers. Each writing project needs its own level of copyediting.

I quickly assess a project and communicate clearly about the level of editing the material needs. Flexible and responsive, I work within your time and budget constraints, freeing you to focus on other tasks.

The (disappearing) difference between copyediting and proofreading

Traditionally, copyediting was the editorial step in which a manuscript was both corrected and improved. Proofreading was the final review of a proof -- a typeset document -- to make sure copyediting changes were made, and to catch any errors either missed by the editor or added during the transition from manuscript to proof.

Electronic publishing has made it possible to take writing from first draft to publication -- whether online or on paper -- all in one file. Copyediting and proofreading may happen in one step. This is sometimes called editorial proofreading.

All too often, electronic publishers publish writing without editing or proofreading it. The Web is filled with examples of writing that "just got out of bed." Dazzling graphics, animation, and sound entice readers, but the written content lets them down.

Writing worth publishing -- whether on screen or on paper -- is worth a careful edit. Your message deserves it, and so do your readers. It's what distinguishes a professional website from an amateur one.

Just what is it I do?

My copyediting makes your writing more concise, clear, and appealing to your readers.

When I copyedit, I correct the same errors that a proofreader looks for. These include errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style. (See Your Writing Checked in Six Critical Areas.)

But copyediting goes far beyond proofreading. Editing a draft manuscript requires subjective judgment and rewriting skills.

I make sure I understand your message, and that your readers will understand it, too. I ensure that introductions, sections, summaries, and cross-references all harmonize. I break up long, rambling sentences into shorter, more readable ones. I bring important clauses from the tail end of the sentence to the beginning. I replace vague and inappropriate words.

Consistent style is the hallmark of polished, professional writing. I ensure this by developing a style sheet for each manuscript as I edit, or adding to an existing style sheet. The style sheet establishes standards for consistent use of terms and elements. This is especially valuable when the manuscript has several authors. You can use my style sheet for future writing projects, too.

When only you -- the writer -- can clarify a confusing passage, provide the right spelling of a proper name, or resolve conflicting statements, I flag the manuscript with a clear, tactful query. I suggest possible answers and options, so you can simply indicate your choice.

Note: Online editing in Microsoft Word allows me to query with the Reviewer Comments feature (called Annotations in older versions). These electronic queries can be displayed or hidden, and easily cut and pasted into the text as you choose.

Before My Copyediting
Web-based technology by themselves aren't the whole solution to the problems of network and system management in today's companies. There are capabilities and standards that we will need to develop before the vision of being able to manage any device from anywhere can be achieved. Some of the missing capabilities and standards would include alerting, poling, storing information, and displaying of multi-vendor information.

After My Copyediting
Web-based technologies alone cannot solve today's network and system management challenges. Before we can reach the goal of device management from any location, we must develop capabilities and standards for functions such as alerting, polling, storing information, and displaying multi-vendor information.

For descriptions of some of my copyediting projects, please continue to the next page.