What’s included?

• Working on your draft text (ideally on-screen in Microsoft Word, although I also work regularly via clients’ own content management systems), I’ll check for spelling, punctuation and grammar errors.

• I’ll focus on the flow and tone of your text, making changes or suggestions as necessary, or highlighting areas that you might need to revisit.

• I’ll either apply your established house style or produce and implement a bespoke style sheet for the job. This will ensure that consistent styles and spellings are used throughout (e.g. in terms of names, number and date formats, capitalisation and more).

• I’ll do a general fact check as I go, and query any obvious errors or discrepancies. (If your text requires a more extensive fact check, I can do that as a separate task.)

• If your text includes a references section, I’ll cross-check the entries against citations in the text, and amend or query as necessary if I come across any discrepancies or errors. I can also format your references to a consistent style if that’s something we’ve agreed as part of the job.

• I’ll check any figures and tables (and number them too, if required), making sure they complement the content of your text and are placed in the optimum position.

• If you need me to, I can also prepare detailed artwork briefs, ready to go to your designer of choice.

• I’ll provide a list of potential permissions required (if, say, you’re quoting from other sources or using third-party images) and flag up any potential legal issues.

• If you wish, I can code up or otherwise mark design features ready for layout.

• … and anything else we’ve agreed in advance will form part of my role.
  

Procedure

I’ll copyedit your text on-screen using Word, with tracked changes switched on, so that when I email the fully edited document back to you, you’ll be able to clearly see my suggested amendments and any comments or queries (these can also be supplied in the form of a separate list if you prefer). I’ll send you a ‘clean’ document too, with all changes accepted, so you can get a better idea of how things look.

Keeping in touch

Communication is key to producing a result that meets your requirements. That’s why I’ll keep in touch with you throughout the project, both to ask you questions (if necessary) and to respond promptly to any queries or concerns you may have along the way.