Editorial Services

With a focus on nonfiction writing in the social sciences, human rights, and global affairs, you will receive professional, reliable service and polished content.

At 56° North Editorial, the following services are offered:

Substantive editing

Substantive editing, also called developmental or structural editing, occurs early on and is usually the first step in the editing process. As the name suggests, it is an in-depth edit that addresses the structure, organization and overall strength of a piece. A substantive edit provides guidance on developing and refining a piece before copy editing.

What’s Addressed:

  • Organization, flow, and readability
  • Logic and coherence of argument
  • Gaps and superfluous information are highlighted

Line editing and copy editing

Line editing focuses on writing issues at the sentence and paragraph level, giving attention to tone, diction, and flow. Copy editing corrects grammar, punctuation, and typos and pays particular attention to consistency in style.

There are different levels of copy editing such as light, medium, and heavy.

What’s Addressed:

  • Grammar, spelling, and punctuation
  • Awkward and/or confusing phrasing
  • Wordiness
  • Word choice
  • Consistency of spelling, hyphenation, and capitalization

Proofreading

Proofreading occurs at the final stage of the editing process and involves checking for spelling, typos, grammar, and punctuation, which may have been missed during earlier stages of editing.

What’s Addressed:

  • Typos
  • Spacing issues
  • Consistency of spelling, hyphenation, and capitalization

Formatting and References

Formatting addresses layout issues such as orphan headings, consistency of headings and labels, tables and figures, creating front and back matter such as a table of contents, reference list, bibliography, footnotes and endnotes, and appendices.

Language editing for multilingual writers

This service is for multilingual authors who write in more than one language and would like to have their language reviewed. With this kind of editing, special attention is given to syntax, flow, and diction. This level of editing includes comprehensive feedback to the author about how the piece may be interpreted from the reader’s perspective. At the end of this process, the author will be confident they have crafted the message they want to convey.

I am proficient in American, Canadian, and British English and will edit your writing according to your preferred English dialect and spelling.

The process.

How it works

Step 1.

Intro call / email

Every project begins with a conversation about your project. I am happy to talk to you over the phone or via video or email. During our initial conversation, we will discuss the scope of your project, your goals, and timeline.

Step 2.

Project assessment and estimate

Following our initial conversation, you can send me your document (either the full piece or a section from the middle) so that I can make an assessment about the complexity of your document and the level of service that best suits your needs and objectives. After careful examination of your document, I will provide a customized estimate of cost as well as a time frame to complete the work.

Step 3.

Project agreement

After we agree on editorial services, I will send a letter of agreement for you to sign, along with a deposit invoice. The letter of agreement will detail the agreed services, timeline, and cost of editing your project. To initiate my services, I request a minimum deposit of 30% of the total estimated cost of the project.

Step 4.

Project execution

Once I receive your deposit, I will begin working on your document. I use track changes to edit your document as well as the comments feature to make queries and offer suggestions or explanations about changes to the document.

With copy editing, I make two passes of your document; for proofreading, I make one pass of your document.

When I complete the project, I will return a “marked-up” version of your document. A second “clean” version of your document can also be sent, if requested. This “clean” version is a copy of the marked-up version, except that all tracked changes have been accepted and comments removed. I will also include a style sheet, which outlines editorial decisions regarding spelling, punctuation, and format. Finally, an invoice for the balance of the project cost is sent along with your edited document and style sheet. The balance is due within 30 days.

How much does editing cost?

Each piece of writing is unique, and so the cost of editing varies according to the level of service you need, and the length and complexity of your document. The best way to provide an accurate cost of editing is for me to see your work and for us to discuss what your goals and priorities are with your writing project. Based on this, I will provide a free and customized estimate of the cost to edit your work.

When you are considering the cost of editing, it is important to think about the value this service will add to your project. Of course, all editors bring a fresh pair of eyes to your work, but they should also bring more than this. As a former researcher, I understand and respect the effort it takes to complete a draft. When I edit your work, I review it from both your perspective as the writer—taking into account your intended message—as well as from the point of view of your prospective reader and how they may interpret the words on the page. By giving careful consideration to this, I ensure alignment between writer and reader; that is, your writing reflects the ideas you want to convey, without ambiguity for the reader.