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Editing

There's an understanding among good writers and an excellent quote that makes the point:  "I'm not a very good writer, but I'm an excellent rewriter." ~ James Michener  

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Editors bring fresh eyes and a fresh perspective to your project. They often catch things writers miss because the writer knows what it should say instead of what it does say, and their perspective often reveals things not intended in structure and meaning. 

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Melodie is available as an editor if you would like a set of fresh eyes to review your project. 


Types of review and levels of editing available:  

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  • Editorial Assessment - Brief review of the entire manuscript for structure, consistency and style.
     

  • Proofreading - Review for grammar, spelling, and misused words only
     

  • Copy Editing - Review for grammar, spelling, and glaring inconsistencies. 
     

  • Developmental Edit  - Review for structure and organization  It examines all the elements of your writing, from individual words and sentences to overall structure and style. Good developmental editing keeps your target audience in mind and assesses your work in relation to industry standards and expectations.  

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Developmental editing is the most comprehensive review and edit, while the editorial assessment and proofreading are the lightest reviews and edits.  

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Style Guides Used

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Style guides are specific rules for grammar and usage along with some dictionaries. Think of them as the edges of the box one defines for their written works. Different style guides contain different rules, and that affects how your writing comes across. For example, AP style is very different from Chicago style right down to whether it's "a historical" or "an historical." 


Melodie's own style is a mixture of Chicago and GPO for numbers, sprinkled with a little Microsoft but she can work in any style you would prefer.   


List of style guides, ordered in frequency of use:  

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  1. Chicago (The Chicago Manual of Style; used for books)
     

  2. GPO (Government Printing Office; numbers style from here combined with Chicago for everything else is often the style for many firms)
     

  3. Microsoft (Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications; used in IT, software, and UX)
     

  4. CSE (Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Author, Editors and Publishers; used for natural and physical sciences)
     

  5. APA (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association; used for psychology, behavior sciences, and scientific journal manuscripts)
     

  6. AP (AP Stylebook; Associated Press; used for news papers and many websites) 
     

  7. MLA (MLA Handbook; Modern Language Association; default college style) 
     

  8. American Heritage Dictionary - because it contains usage information as well especially around commonly confused or misused terms

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Don't see the specific style needed? Ask. 

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