Content Editing
Every great author, from Mark Twain to J.K. Rowling (of Harry Potter fame), has
at least one editor standing back there somewhere in the shadows. So when we
recommend that you have one, too, it's no insult to your abilities as a writer.
We know, from experience, that after spending hundreds of hours writing and rewriting
your manuscript, it's almost impossible to look at it objectively, to see it
from the point of view of your prospective readers. That's what editors are for.
Even before you decide to work with us on your project, Chapel Hill Press' experienced
editorial staff will look over your manuscript in order to determine the type
and amount of editorial involvement we would recommend.
Once you decide to work with Chapel Hill Press, your editor will read your manuscript
closely, making detailed notes within it about recommended changes in organization
and wording, as well as noting sections that could be beneficially reduced or
expanded. This advice is always intended as constructive criticism, and your
editor will be careful at all times to preserve your authorial voice. And, of
course, you have the authority (pun intended) to accept or reject any of your
editor's recommendations.
When the editing process is complete, you will receive a laser-printed copy
of the fully edited manuscript that clearly indicates your editor's changes,
additions, deletions, comments, and recommendations, as well as the changes
made in the copyediting process (described under the "Copyediting" service
heading). Again, you may freely accept or reject any of the editor's or copyeditor's
markup.
Even if you haven't yet decided to commit fully to publishing your manuscript,
our editorial staff can perform a variety of helpful content-editing services,
including:
- Written general critique and recommendations: For a reasonable
hourly fee, a professional editor will read your manuscript
and provide you with a written general critique of its style
and structure, as well as recommendations for changes that
will increase its readability and audience appeal.
- Full
content editing: For a reasonable hourly fee, a professional
editor will fully edit your manuscript, as described above.
Copyediting
Copyediting is the publishing business' term for the task that most people refer
to as "proofreading" (which is, technically speaking, an entirely different
job). To perform this task, the copyeditor (often the same person as your editor)
goes through your manuscript with a fine-toothed comb, ensuring that words
are spelled and capitalized correctly (except when the author clearly intends
that they not be), sentences are properly punctuated, verbs agree with subjects
and are in the appropriate tense, and that everything conforms to what publishers
call the "house style sheet." This is an exhaustive set of rules that covers
virtually anything and everything that a manuscript could contain, from abbreviations
to zip codes.
Chapel Hill Press uses the industry standard, The Chicago Manual of
Style , as its house style sheet.
Chapel Hill Press' copyediting is performed online (i.e., on a computer),
which greatly speeds the process and minimizes the errors that inevitably
occur when a copyeditor's manual markup of a paper manuscript is keyed
into the digital file. We can't promise perfection (anyone who does is
either fibbing or is going to charge you for weeks, or even months, of
their time), but we will get as close as we can in a reasonable number
of hours.
The "cleaner" your manuscript is when you turn it over to us (i.e., the
fewer errors it contains and the more it already conforms to The Chicago
Manual of Style ), the closer it will be, in the end, to that perfection
toward which we all so earnestly strive.
When the editing process is complete, you will receive a laser-printed
copy of the fully edited manuscript that clearly indicates your copyeditor's
alterations, as well as the content editor's changes, additions, deletions,
comments, and recommendations (described under the "Content Editing" service
heading). You are free to accept or reject any of the copyeditor's or editor's
markup. |
