(Level 1 - Simple editing to Level 3 - Heavy editing)
Our team of experienced editors are experts in a wide variety of subject areas. They revise manuscripts by ensuring a consistent format is imposed, and correct punctuation, grammar and spelling are used. Issues regarding terminology, jargon, syntax, semantics and flow are solved through communication with authors.
LEVEL 1 – SIMPLE EDITING (baseline editing)
- Correcting faulty spelling, grammar, incorrect usage, and punctuation.
- Ensuring consistency in spelling, hyphenation, numerals, fonts, and capitalization.
- Checking for specific cross-references, proper sequencing (such as alphabetical order) in lists and other displayed material.
- Recording the first references to figures, tables, and other display elements.
LEVEL 2 – MEDIUM EDITING
- Performing all tasks for Level 1 editing.
- Changing text and headings to achieve parallel structure.
- Flagging inappropriate figures of speech.
- Ensuring that key terms are handled consistently and that vocabulary lists and the index contain all the terms that meet criteria specified by the publisher.
- Ensuring that previews, summaries, and end-of-chapter questions reflect content.
- Tracking the continuity of plot, setting, and character traits, and querying the discrepancies, in fiction manuscripts.
- Enforcing consistent style and tone in a multi-author manuscript.
- Changing passive voice to active voice, if requested.
- Flagging ambiguous or incorrect statements.
- Typemarking the manuscript.
LEVEL 3 – HEAVY EDITING
- Performing all tasks for medium copy editing.
- Eliminating wordiness, triteness, and inappropriate jargon.
- Smoothing transitions and moving sentences to improve readability.
- Assigning new levels to heads to achieve logical structure.
- Suggesting and sometimes implementing additions and deletions, noting them at the sentence and paragraph level.
The key differences between Level 3 and Level 2 edits are the levels of judgment and rewriting involved. In Level 3 copy edit, the editor improves the flow of text rather than simply ensuring correct usage and grammar; may suggest recasts rather than simply flagging problems; and may enforce a uniform level, tone, and focus as specified by the publisher or developmental editor