GOOD ENGLISH IS GOOD BUSINESS
Substantive
editing and/or copyediting
and/or proofreading
Academic
Journals:
Editing
academic journals
requires close communication with contributors to verify
meaning, argument, and documentation. This kind of editing
includes substantive editing, copyediting, and
proofreading. It also requires knowledge of style manuals
such as MLA, CMS, APA, and AP, and an application of
specific house style. To editing the work of professionals
I bring eleven years’ editorial experience, an MA in
Linguistics with a specialization in the Teaching of
English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), a BA in
Language Arts, more than twenty years teaching English,
and more than five years teaching English as a Second
Language (ESL).
B2B Websites and Publications:
Good
advertising and good
English are one and the same. Businesses selling to other
businesses, online and/or brick-and-mortar, depend on
razor-sharp copywriting and editing to move consumers to
buy products and services. Just the right word in just the
right place on a page draws in or drives away a customer.
Publications that target specific audiences depend on
advertising to pay the bills. They depend on writers to
win and keep readers. Editors aid that effort by
tightening sentence structure, trimming excess words, and
cutting jargon.
Christian Publications:
The fear of the Lord is
the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7).
Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken
in right circumstances (Proverbs 25:11).
Academic Manuscripts:
To editing the work of professionals I bring eleven years’
editorial experience, an MA in Linguistics with a
specialization in the Teaching of English to Speakers of
Other Languages (TESOL), a BA in Language Arts, more than
twenty years teaching English, and more than five years
teaching English as a Second Language (ESL).
Fiction:
The
elements of fiction
include not only plot (initial incident, rising action,
crisis, climax, dénouement, resolution), character, and
setting, but also point of view, timelines, chronology,
tone, and mood. Aristotle was right: unity of action,
time, and place make or break a story. Good editing
ensures a saleable short story or novel.
Nonfiction:
I
know from experience
that writing a monthly column is a tall order. It means
stitching together information from multiple sources to
explain an idea; convincing readers of a point of view;
describing products, services, and new technology; and
letting competitors and clients tell their stories.
Columnists need editors!
Poetry:
Editing
poetry invites a light
hand that neither embellishes nor misrepresents meaning.
Rather, editing poetry ensures that intended meaning is
conveyed by correcting punctuation, spelling, grammar, and
inadvertent omissions — but not unconventional usage.
MBA Essays:
Editing
includes specific
frameworks for school/s chosen; short-, mid-, and
long-term goals; prompts such as a time of failure and
your reaction; greatest accomplishment and/or influences;
resumes; letters of recommendation, etc. Editing ensures
essays at or under prescribed word counts and as many
drafts as necessary to satisfy editor and client.
Personal Essays:
To help candidates craft unique essays I bring the
following experience:
-
Ten years’ experience
strategizing, developing, and editing personal essays
required for four-year institutions
-
Twenty years’ experience
teaching high school English
-
Forty years’ experience reading and
grading high school and university frosh compositions
and research papers
-
Five years’ experience teaching English
as a Second Language (ESL)
PhD Essays:
Post-graduate graduate degree candidates must show
specific knowledge of their field as well as what they can
contribute to an institution’s reputation for academic
rigor in the field’s R&D. Programs want to know “why you
at this school in this study?” A good editor works with
applicants to facilitate strategy; fit format to message;
and develop, edit, and improve the flow of content. |