Copy Editing
Sunday, March 13th, 2011
 Basic copyediting requires teamwork. Only when the writer and editor work together can copyediting truly succeed. A writer and editor must work hand-in-hand to confirm the final product is as polished and well written as possible.
There are really two more fundamental steps to any literary, academic, or business writing effort. The first step is the writing itself. The writer must take all of the ideas in his or her head and get them on paper or computer. Regardless of whether the finished product is a dissertation, a manuscript, or a business letter or blog post, the writer must think about and put into words the way the final product must sound in order to make sense.
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Tags: copyediting, professional editor, teamwork
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Monday, January 31st, 2011
 No one sits down to write something without a purpose attached. A payoff. Even if it’s deep-felt memoirs, written from the heart only for friends and family to read, the writer wants a payoff. Someone to read it. Someone to hear what the writer has to say. And with a book meant for publication, an academic paper, a business plan, website content, the stakes get higher, at least monetarily.
But to get that payoff, there’s a cost. Several, actually. How much are you, as a writer, willing to pay to get your message across?
The first cost is the writer’s hard work, because even the most talented writer must work hard to express his or her message as clearly as possible.
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Tags: copy editing, editing, firstediting
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Thursday, January 27th, 2011
 Even the best writers need copyediting help. There is no other way to ensure that your writing will be as professional as possible. In all the how-tos concerning good, professional writing, having your work copyedited by a professional is one of the things at the top of the list.
Writing is one of those functions where talent and skill must combine for a professional completed product. The creativity, talent, and imagination can only come from the writer. Some writers even think it’s a little crass to worry about the technical aspects – punctuation, grammar, editing. But those things, in the long run, are almost as important as the writing itself.
A writing project’s genius will never be revealed if it isn’t given a second glance by those it is aimed at. How to make sure this glance is long and successful? Good, professional copyediting.
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Tags: copyediting, editing, editors, firstediting, Writing Process
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Wednesday, December 8th, 2010
 You’ve written a book, academic paper, web article, business plan, or some other document. You know you need it copyedited. But you’re not sure what that really means. When you turn to a professional editor, what can you expect in a copy edit?
There is nothing more important than a second set of eyes to take a look at what you’ve written. A professional editor is trained in both the little things and the big things. Not only does a professional editor know where all the commas should go, but she also has an eye for the overall document. A good copyedit will include an assessment of sentence structure, word usage, voice, verb tense, and all the other elements that apply to the type of document you’ve written.
A copyedit from a professional editor also means that conformity to style will be checked. Different types of writing must conform to different styles. And there are many. Book and journal articles generally follow Chicago style (more…)
Tags: firstediting.com, Professional Editing, Writing Process
Posted in Book Editing, Copy Editing | 5 Comments »
Friday, November 12th, 2010
 Scientific community is large and very active. Publishing research results in peer reviewed journals is the best way to communicate your results to a wide audience. However, as most internationally classified journals are published in English language, the scientists for whom English is not the first language may struggle presenting their work in the best possible form. That is where help from a professional editor is essential. Finding an editor most suited for your paper is not an easy task. Many editing services advertising on-line do not specialise in scientific writing;their editors might be unfamiliar with requirements of journal publishing (writing abstracts, papers structure, contents of each section etc.), or specific formatting requirements (heading types, citation and referencing style, use of running heads etc.). Most importantly, is it likely that they would be familiar with your research subject?
The answer is probably not very. That is why it is paramount to find the editing services that specialise in academic writing where your paper will be reviewed by an editor with significant research and academic publishing experience in a field most closely matching yours. Hence if you are reading this, you are in the right place, as FirstEditing caters for needs of all writers, irrespective of their genre, language proficiency or type of documents. More specifically, research papers are always closely matched to editors with PhDs and years of academic experience. Editing samples will allow you to assess the editing style and work of a particular editor, but will also help your editor advise you on the required editing level – ranging from correction of spelling, grammar, punctuation, consistency and appropriateness of verb tenses, continuity, transitional phrasing and support of statements; through technical editing of citations, references and footnotes according to a particular style (e.g. Harvard, APA, MLA, Chicago, etc); to more advanced levels that allow for supplementary sentence and content rewrites. Hence whether you are an English speaking scientist who just wants a second pair of eyes on their paper for peace of mind, or you are in need of help with presenting your work through a proper use of language, we are here to meet all your needs. All scientific papers are edited whilst keeping the requirements of publication writing in mind. Higher editing levels also include professional comments and feedback regarding writing style, general impressions on the work presented and suggestions for improvements. This is where the specialist help really pays off, as your editor will be able to not only comment on your writing, but on the subject as well. Thus your work will most likely encounter fewer objections from the referees and will be published successfully.
Tags: edit a paper, editing, professional editor, writing tips
Posted in Book Editors, Copy Editing, Editing Skills & Services, Writer's Tips | 16 Comments »
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