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Astute Freelance Copyediting
Free Quotation. Free Copyediting Sample from Your Manuscript.
Expedient and Professional Service.
What can a copyeditor do for you that you cannot do for yourself?
The answers to that would be of an infinite variety; however, there are two things that an author would be extremely handicapped in observing, regardless of his/her knowledge of the English language: lack of clarity and wordiness. In addition, there are concerns about repetitious expressions, parallelism, consistency, punctuation, grammar, sexist language, and ambiguity, to name a few. An astute copyeditor is astute to those concerns and many more, and will edit according to the level of editing you have specified.My Field of Confidence
I am comfortable in copyediting the following type books: autobiographies, college and other educational, humanities, medical, novels, professional, scientific, spiritual, and technical. On a smaller scale, I can also edit short stories, annual reports, newsletters, proposals, and resumes. The editing can be done manually (on paper) and/or electronically (on computer disk). A style sheet is maintained throughout the project to ascertain consistency.The Process
- Select edithawk@aol.com to tell me what you have written (or are writing) and what your needs are, materially and timely.
- I will respond and we will determine if I can help. We will discuss the level of edit you desire (light, regular, heavy, or cafeteria plan), page dimensions, margins, typeface and size, double-spacing, computer program, computer disk, hard copy, and so forth.
- If I can help, you will send me an agreed-upon sample from your manuscript. I will do a free quotation and a free copyediting sample (The copyediting sample is free, but please send a $5 check to cover the return by Priority Mail).
- The free quotation will be included in the contract that will also state specifically the level of edit you expect, the manuscript size, the time frame, the payment method and period, and so forth.
- Open communication between author and copyeditor is expected throughout the project: the more casual and frequent the communication is, the better it is.
Guidelines for Copyediting
Chicago Manual of Style (14th ed.)Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (3rd ed.)
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (10th ed.)
Harbrace College Handbook
Elements of Style (Strunk & White)
Personal Qualifications and Background
(Select the Astute Communication hyperlink.)
My Favorite Links
Go to Astute Communication for my background.*************************************************************************
Go to Astute Freelance Indexing for indexing information.
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Go to Astute Freelance Technical Writing/Editing for technical writing and editing information.
The Monthly Writing Tip
*************************************************************************(I will give a tip every month. The tips will be drawn from what copyeditors have to be aware of when editing; therefore, the tips should be of value to writers.)
TIPS:
JANUARY: I will try (and/to) do a good job.
Which is correct, "and" or "to"? Substitute "attempt" for "try." Now, which is correct, "attempt and" or "attempt to"? I hope you said "attempt to." Then why do so many educated people say "try and"?
It is just a bad habit, and is incorrect grammar.
FEBRUARY: Be aware of redundancy and avoid it.
The majority of the bulk of the snow....
It virtually almost closed the city.
The remnants of the leftovers....
The past history....
These four illustrations were heard on the TV Weather Channel.
...retreated back....
This was heard from a story being read on National Public Radio (NPR).
There are thousands of opportunities for redundancy. The examples given here are to remind you to be aware.