EDITING SERVICES

I absolutely get it — you’ve been researching, writing, editing and fine-tuning your masterpiece, and finally, it’s almost ready for publication. But having read over your work for what seems like the hundredth time, you know it makes sense to find an experienced, professional academic copyeditor to ensure your work meets the highest publication standards.

Whether your manuscript needs a light touch to add shine or a heavier hand to improve flow, the Detail Devil can help. After years of working with academic researchers — early, mid and late career — I’ve carefully designed the following options with your needs in mind. Scroll down the page for details of each option. For details of the process of submitting a manuscript to me, see the FAQs.

Option 1 Copyediting (one pass)
Option 2 Copyediting (two passes)
Option 3 Proofreading
Option 4 Page proof
Option 5 Manuscript/thesis formatting
Option 6 Reference formatting

OPTION 1

Copyedit (one pass)
  • Ensure appropriate use of language such as grammar, syntax, punctuation, spelling (Australian, British, US, NZ etc.) and clarity of expression
  • Ensure consistent use of language (capitalisation, hyphenation, abbreviation, etc.)
  • Flag overly wordy sentences, tense issues, passive voice, repetition and redundancy (see also Option 2)
  • Crosscheck in-text citations with your reference list, checking that URLs work and flagging omitted information
  • Ensure adherence to your preferred style guide, such as APA’s Publication manual, the Australian Style manual, MLA, the Oxford guide to style etc.
  • Create an editorial summary and style/vocab sheet, recording my decisions with regard to language, style and referencing issues
  • Any items in Options 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 (unless specifically requested)
  • Rewriting, restructuring or substantive editing
  • Research or fact checking

OPTION 2

Copyedit (two passes)
  • Ensure appropriate use of language such as grammar, syntax, punctuation, spelling (Australian, British, US, NZ etc.) and clarity of expression
  • Ensure consistent use of language (capitalisation, hyphenation, abbreviation, etc.)
  • Flag overly wordy sentences, tense issues, passive voice, repetition and redundancy (1st pass)
  • Crosscheck in-text citations with your reference list, checking that URLs work and flagging omitted information
  • Ensure adherence to your preferred style guide, such as APA’s Publication manual, the Australian Style manual, MLA, the Oxford guide to style etc.
  • Create an editorial summary and style/vocab sheet, recording my decisions with regard to language, style and referencing issues
  • During the second pass, revise overly wordy sentences, ensure tense issues have been fully addressed, review use of passive voice over active, remove or flag repetition and redundancy, iron out any remaining inconsistencies and pick up anything that may have been missed during the first pass
  • Any items in Options 3, 4, 5 or 6 (unless specifically requested)
  • Rewriting, restructuring or substantive editing
  • Research or fact checking

OPTION 3

Proofread
  • Ensure that no errors have crept into the manuscript from previous rounds of copyediting or formatting
  • Review visual elements (typography, heading hierarchy, page layout, figures, tables and captions)
  • Review formatting (widows/orphans are eliminated, tables are not split unnecessarily, page layout)
  • Ensure integrity (that all elements of the manuscript are present and in the correct place)
  • Any items in Options 1, 2. 5 or 6 (unless specifically requested)
  •  Rewriting, restructuring, or substantive editing
  • Research or fact checking

OPTION 4

Page proof
  • Ensure that no errors have crept into the manuscript from previous rounds of copyediting or formatting
  • Review visual elements (typography, heading hierarchy, page layout, figures, tables and captions)
  • Review formatting (widows/orphans are eliminated, tables are not split unnecessarily, page layout)
  • Ensure integrity (that all elements of the manuscript are present and in the correct place)
  • Any items in Options 1, 2. 5 or 6 (unless specifically requested)
  •  Rewriting, restructuring, or substantive editing
  • Research or fact checking

OPTION 5

Manuscript / thesis format
  • Create and apply Word styles to every part of your document (headings, body text, block quotes, tables/figures, captions, bulleted/numbered lists, references, appendices, glossary and any other style you might need, ensuring adherence to your preferred style guide and/or university requirements
  • Ensure correct table, figure and appendix numbering throughout
  • Create the Table of Contents and Lists of Tables, Figures and Abbreviations, and compile Appendices
  • Ensure correct page numbering (with preliminary pages using Roman numerals if required), applying section breaks where needed
  • Assemble all parts of your manuscript and check all the elements are present and in the right place
  • Ensure your manuscript presents professionally and beautifully

OPTION 6

Reference format
  • Format your reference list to the desired style, e.g. APA, Harvard, AMA, CMoS or publisher requirements
  • Flag omitted information, inconsistencies and errors
  • Check URLs and flag where incorrect
  • Looking up omitted elements of a reference
  • Creating a reference list from in-text citations
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Pam assisted me to finalise submission of a book manuscript of over 130,000 words [Assessing Mathematical Literacy: The PISA Experience, 2014, Springer]. She has an excellent command of English, including the finer points of grammar. She set up the styles for our Word program to simplify the formatting task and to deal with references, figures, tables and indexing. Pam is a master of academic style manuals and finds answers to complex referencing questions quickly and accurately. She is indeed good at detail and tracks it through the manuscript. Best of all, Pam is able to achieve just the right balance between making a decision and referring a decision to you. A pleasure to work with.

Emeritus Professor Kaye Stacey (Mathematics Education), University of Melbourne, Australia

Pam efficiently and expertly copyedited my PhD thesis prior to submission. She provided professional and respectful suggestions that improved my writing style and structure. I learnt a lot from Pam as her corrections/suggestions were clearly explained and justified. Pam is kind, accommodating, and has brilliant communication skills. I will definitely be recommending Pam’s services to peers and colleagues.

Jessica Zanuttini Doctoral Candidate (Education and Social Work), University of Sydney, Australia

I am writing to express my gratitude to your patience in giving suggestions in detail and to let you know that your job is appreciated. I can absolutely understand the pressure of doing such a job because I was an English teacher before I started this research and I used to mark my students’ compositions for Chinese College English Test. Each time after marking their work, I felt I could not breathe for several days. So many tiny mistakes and inappropriate usages! Your work reminds me about those days and reminds me to reflect myself and to be a better teacher, with more patience and understanding. You are an amazing person.

Yu Han Doctoral Candidate (Chinese Teacher-Researcher Education), Western Sydney University, Australia

We need to acknowledge our copyeditor Pam Firth of The Detail Devil. We have endless appreciation for her unwavering contribution to this project, where her professionalism shone through immeasurably. No doubt our readers will witness Pam’s editorial acumen contained in this book [The globalisation of higher education: Developing internationalised education research and practice, 2018, Palgrave Macmillan].

Dr Tim Hall, A/Prof Tonia Gray, Dr Greg Downey, Prof Michael Singh (Eds.), Western Sydney University, Australia