Do you need an editor? If your answer is “yes” to any of the following, you should consider hiring a professional editor (ahem). Is your document:

  • in need of updating?
  • in need of polishing?
  • going to be sent to important people, such as clients, employers or publishers?
  • going to be professionally printed and distributed?
  • going to be read by the general public?
  • written for print and needs to be adapted for the Web (or vice versa)?
  • written in one style of English (for example, UK English), but needs to be adapted for another set of readers, such as Americans?

Spell and grammar check in word processing programs is a great tool, but it’s limited. It won’t find many common errors such as homonyms (words that sound alike but have different meanings), nor will it correct punctuation, ensure consistency of terms, make lists parallel, clarify ambiguous sentences,  or do many of the things that a professional editor can do to make your document easier to read and more effective.

What kind of editing do I need?

Editing services fall somewhere on the spectrum from proofreading to structural editing, or from close attention to the minute details of text to the wholesale reorganization of the text. Most clients have an idea of what they need, although providing a sample of the document and details of its length, medium, audience, and purpose will help me formulate an accurate estimate and scope of work.

I use the Professional Editorial Standards published by the Editors’ Association of Canada as guidelines to  determine the scope of work for a given document or publication. The standards define what’s involved in proofreading, copy editing, and structural and stylistic editing, as well as the publishing process.

What services do you provide?

  • copy editing
  • stylistic editing
  • fact-checking
  • proofreading
  • rewriting and adaptation

What happens during the editing process?

Every project is like a snowflake, but generally I like to collaborate with clients to make their text the best it can be.

For all jobs, I ask clients to enter into a contract that specifies what it is to be done. This is based on discussion and mutual understanding of the client’s needs.

For quick proofreads, such as ads and short copy, there may be only one round of changes required.

For larger projects, there may be two or three rounds of editing. The first round will have the most corrections and queries (questions from the editor to the author), and the second and third will involve checking changes for their impact on the text, negotiating changes, and catching any lingering errors.

Most projects will require at least two rounds of editing; it just isn’t possible to catch all the errors in a document with just one close read.

What are your qualifications?

I have over 15 years’ experience in writing and editing, including in-house editorial experience in book publishing and as a corporate/marketing communications writer. A list of clients is available on the Clients page.

I am a graduate (with honours) of the Print Futures diploma program (Douglas College), and a Certified Proofreader and Copy Editor by the Editors’ Association of Canada.

I have edited everything from letters to short stories and magazine articles to books and reports. Not to mention press releases, newsletters, proposals, recipes – every important document deserves the eye of a good editor.

Do you have any samples of editing work?

I have not posted editing samples on this website in order to protect client privacy. However, I can provide samples to those who request them.

How much will it cost?

For large or one-off projects, I can provide a flat-fee quote. For smaller or ongoing projects, a competitive hourly rate is charged.

Every project is different, but every client has a budget and deadline. I do my best to work within both.

Please email me at christine@christinerowlands.com with the details of your project for an estimate.