Substantive Editing
What some editors call “developmental editing,” I call “substantive editing.” This is where I get into the intellectual weeds with you and help you grow and find the flowers. Together, we’ll conceptualize and produce a book or journal manuscript that presses will want to publish. If you give me a draft, you’ll receive a detailed, proactive, and constructive academic review, in which I help you identify your core arguments, and structure your narrative logically and clearly to best convey those arguments. This is a collaborative process that can involve several rounds and is the most intellectually demanding service.
I provide:
- content summary and assessment
- feedback on problems and successes
- content comments and suggestions
- title feedback
- consultation
Copy Editing
This service is all about language clarity and correctness. When you have a manuscript as well-developed as you want it to be, a copy edit is what you need to ensure it is presented as clearly and convincingly as possible. This service can be especially helpful for people who write in English as a second language, and it can improve most academic writers’ prose.
I’ll provide feedback by:
- asking questions where I think the writing or point needs to be made more clearly or concretely
- proposing alternative phrasings of sentences to improve clarity
- suggesting better word choices
- fixing grammar, spelling, syntax, tense, passive voice
- adjusting Arabic-English transliteration with the IJMES system
- correcting punctuation and capitalization
- improving overall English language readability
- reviewing the notes and references (bibliography) and point out inconsistencies
Proofreading
After you’ve received the proofs from your publisher, I will be a fresh pair of eyes to find the lingering typos, misspellings, and inconsistencies in your text. I pay attention to fixing the little things that can mar the professionalism of your text.
Academic Publishing Consultation
I provide consultation on all aspects of scholarly publishing, including publication in academic journals and with university and other academic presses. I can help you navigate how you pitch your book, where and how to submit your article, how to deal with “Revise and Resubmit” responses from editors, book proposal writing, and how to navigate a book contract with a publisher. I usually consult with scholars when they are writing up their projects, and as they strategize how best to get their work out there.
White Papers
I am available to write white papers. A white paper is an ideal way to present projects and research, intervene in a professional field and its conversations and debates, and to start new conversations, proposing new approaches and methods to people in your field. White papers are informative and factual reports, based on deep research and communicated in an authoritative and compelling way. They make your work, goals, and ideas available to a wide audience. Launching a white paper with a podcast will increase your reach.
Podcasts
If you’re looking for new ways to circulate your research and writing, podcasts are an excellent option for making your work more widely accessible. Increasingly, scholars are reaching wider audiences this way, and teachers assign podcasts on syllabi for busy students and aural learners. My podcast production team can turn your research into gripping stories that are easy for audiences to listen to and connect with.
My team and I can help you plan and produce a series of podcasts to convey your research to your target audiences, or a single episode — to launch your book, article, white paper, or report, for example. We can also work with research centers, academic departments, and university communications teams to produce podcasts that highlight your institution’s best work. I can be as involved in the substance of this process as you wish, including by conducting interviews with authors and researchers, and writing podcast scripts with multiple participants. We will produce and edit your episode(s), which you can circulate through your website, your university, social media, and share with colleagues and students.
For an example, listen to my interview with Prof. Darryl Li, author of The Universal Enemy: Jihad, Empire, and the Challenge of Solidarity (Stanford University Press, 2019).
Grants
When you are developing a grant proposal, an objective reader can tell you what is exciting and convincing about your project, and what is less so. I can consult with you on your grant proposal early on as you are developing your ideas, planning a dissemination strategy, or once you have a draft proposal. In addition to offering advice about how you can present your ideas as clearly and logically as possible, I will help you ensure that you are ticking all the boxes of the grant call.
Book Coaching
I can help you in a variety of ways through regular video conferences and feedback on your drafts. I can support you as you develop your book outline, set writing goals, overcome writer’s block, help you stay accountable to yourself, and offer constructive critique of your text. Get in touch and find out how it works.
Op-Eds, Talks, and Blog Posts
I can edit op-eds, public talks, and blog posts to make sure your prose is as crisp and compelling as it can be. I’m also available to help write those.
Call to action button: Email me for more information at moc.liamg@stideyeknella. Or get in touch for a free estimate using this form.
