Support for scholars and independent authors
Developmental Editing
This type of edit usually happens once an author is close to completing or has finished the first draft of a manuscript or article. I evaluate the text’s argument, organization, style, clarity, and flow. My critique involves a very detailed reading, with extensive comments and in some cases suggested rewrites and/or deletions. This can also occur at a later stage, after you have received requests for revision from your readers' reports and acquiring editor. Some editors refer to this as “book doctoring,” or if the evaluation includes line edits, “substantive editing.”
This is often a multi-step process. The first stage usually involves an initial evaluation of the manuscript, drawing up a plan for revision, and, if appropriate, making direct line edits to the manuscript. You then revise the manuscript and send either the full text or select chapters back to me for another round of edits.
Dissertation-to-Book Revision
In most cases a dissertation requires heavy revision before it can be considered a book manuscript. This reshaping involves a developmental edit to target certain elements that are required in a dissertation but don't work for a book. I will help you strengthen your own argument and voice, open the book up to a wider audience, and identify areas that need elaboration or trimming.
Book Proposal and Publishing Consultation
As innovative as a project is or important as a particular story may be, if the book proposal doesn't represent it well, it can end up in the recycle bin. From nearly twenty years of experience working with academic publishers, I know what an acquiring editor is looking for in a proposal and can help an author highlight those key elements that will make a project stand out. I can guide authors through the process of proposing a book, securing a contract, completing a manuscript, and navigating it through the peer-review process to reach that ultimate goal of publication—all with compassion and an understanding of just how daunting and anxiety producing it can be.
Copyediting
Also referred to as a "line edit," this involves a line-by-line edit of the manuscript for sentence structure, grammatical errors, tone, consistency, and repetition. In some cases I perform both a developmental and copy edit in the same stage; I call these combined tasks a “substantive edit.”
Translation
English is my first language and I have a master's degree in Spanish from Tulane University. I have experience translating academic books, articles, educational and health-related materials, and lectures from Spanish to English. I also served as the Translation Manager and Editor at School Wise Press from 2006-2014.
“I just can’t thank you enough for helping me write a book that would be enjoyable for people to read, in addition to instructive. I keep hearing over and over again how clear it is (one reviewer noted it’s ‘beautifully written’ with ‘elegant prose’!) and I am so grateful to you for pushing (gently) to unpack, connect, and clear things up. I learned so much about my own writing and writing in general from working with you!”
— Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology. This book eventually won three First Book Awards (AES, NAISA, and ASA).
“It is such a gift to have one's work engaged at such a holistic and deep level with an eye toward improvement. … I particularly appreciate your attention to weaving my argument throughout and gesturing to how I might do that better.”
— Assistant Professor, Department of Human and Organizational Development
“Thanks to you, I met my major summer writing goal of completing a roughly 100,000-word manuscript containing an Introduction and five body chapters.”
— Assistant Professor, African, African American and Diaspora Studies
“I started going over your suggestions on my chapters. … What you did was exactly what I needed and was looking for. … Thank you again for your great suggestions, careful attention to detail, and overall understanding of what it takes to improve a manuscript.”
— Professor of History
“So many thanks again for your incredibly wise, clear, and helpful edit of my manuscript. It will definitely make the work stronger as I ready it to submit to the press.”
— Professor in Art History, Africana Studies, and American Studies