How do I know which service is most appropriate for my project?
Can you do a sample edit for me?
Why can’t we just combine multiple steps into one round?
What do you mean by different styles?
What are style guides? And which ones do you use?
How should I format the materials I send you?
How much rewriting do you do?
Is editing and proofreading cheaper the second time around?
Why “Id Est Editing”?
Additional Reading
How do I know which service is most appropriate for my project?
Copyediting occurs when you feel your text is ready for publication. It has likely been through previous rounds of developmental, substantive, or line editing, which focuses on the structure, organization, and flow of language of your manuscript. Copyediting cleans-up your text.
Proofreading usually happens after your manuscript has been typeset into a proof. It is the last step before the public gets to lay eyes on your writing, so we make sure everything looks great. Proofreading gives your text that last polish and shine.
Sometimes, if the text is very short or doesn’t require formal formatting/typesetting (such as for blog posts or social media posts), then only the copyediting or proofreading stage is needed, depending on the type of writing it is.
We are also open to other related services, and we are always happy to discuss your particular needs.
Can you do a sample edit for me?
A sample edit is when Id Est Editing edits a sample of the text you send us so that you can see our editing style and what kind of editing you can expect for the full project. Id Est Editing does not do free sample edits as they do take time and energy, but we understand that this may be helpful to you in your decision-making process. So, we do offer to edit three pages of our own choosing from the text you send us for a set fee. The pages may be the first three pages or three pages that you feel best represent the overall text and the editing needed. We will send you the invoice for the sample edit. Once it is paid, we will go ahead with the edit. If you decide to then go ahead with us for the full project afterwards, we will deduct the cost of the sample edit from your project fee. If this is something you are interested in, please select that option in the contact form.
Why can’t we just combine multiple editing steps into one round?
Different services require different focuses on the text and are for different stages of the publication process. To complete multiple services at once would risk us missing important details. It would also waste your money, since copyediting would usually be done before proofs are completed and proofreading would usually be done afterwards. To combine the two services together would mean that one of the services is done on an incorrect publication stage and would probably need one or both services repeated at additional cost.
Sometimes, if a text is particularly short, such as a social media post, it is possible to skip the copyediting stage and go straight into proofreading. That is because most of the review that we would do for copyediting is not needed. However, this is not the same as combining steps. We would still only complete the proofreading service on the text.
We can combine services, if needed, but they would still take place at different stages. For instance, we would complete the copyediting service first. Then, after receiving the final proofs, we would complete the proofreading service.
Please let us know if you have any questions regarding your specific project, and we can provide more information.
What do you mean by different styles?
The style of a text basically means making a text consistent throughout. This can be as small as whether the period at the end of a sentence should go before or after a closing quotation mark. It can be as global as whether a text uses American English, British English, or something in-between. The style encompasses punctuation, capitalization, spelling, hyphenation, numbering, formatting, citations, and many other things. The effect of having a consistent style in a manuscript is subtle but significant. A reader will focus on what you are trying to say instead of being distracted by small inconsistent details that catch their eye.
What are style guides? And which ones do you use?
Style guides, or style manuals, are a set of editing and formatting standards of style (see “What do you mean by different styles?”) used by writers to communicate with their audience. It can also outline a tone of language as well as whether certain words or points-of-view are favored over others. Style guides can be individual to a certain organization or they can be standalone manuals that are used by many people and organizations.
Different style guides have different conventions of language and are used for different types of writing. I primarily use the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), but I am also familiar with the American Psychological Association (APA) Publication Manual and Associated Press (AP) Stylebook. I can also edit using your in-house style guide, a specific publisher’s preferred style, or author-specific style. Please send me a copy of those guidelines, if needed.
If you don’t have a preference, I can use author-specific style, in which I follow the most common preferences the author used and make it consistent throughout the document, while also noting them in the project-specific stylsheet. For any style questions not covered by author-specific style, I will refer to CMOS.
If you would like to develop your own in-house style guide so that the writing style of all your projects is consistent across your entire company or brand, Id Est Editing offers that as an additional service.
How should I format the materials I send you?
For copyediting, technical review, and transcription proofing, we prefer Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx), but we can also work in Google Docs or LaTeX (in LyX), if needed. For Google Docs, please make sure to share it with the email address info@idestediting.com, so that we can access it. PDF is not recommended for the copyediting stage.
For proofreading, we prefer PDF files of the laid-out proof. The original copyedited material we will be comparing to the proof can be in the original Word document, as well as Google Docs, LaTeX, or PDF. We will use Adobe tools to markup the PDF file directly.
For the creation of an in-house style guide, we will ask you to gather as many examples of written material from your organization as possible. They can be in any form, as we will be just reading them and trying to identify the different elements of style pertinent to your organization.
Unfortunately, as with most publishing houses and editors, we do not accept hard copies of manuscripts for editorial purposes.
How much rewriting do you do?
We will not write or rewrite substantial portions of your manuscript. We will correct minor errors of grammar, syntax, usage, spelling, punctuation, and style. If there are any major global changes of style needed, we will query first before applying these changes. We may also query our recommendations for improving the clarity of your text, and these changes will only be implemented per your answers.
Is editing and proofreading cheaper the second time around?
If you added or changed additional content after Id Est Editing completed a project for you, it may seem as if it should be cheaper and faster to review and edit the same project again. However, it is highly likely that while there may only be a few major changes in the text, there may be a lot of minor revisions that were made throughout. Therefore, we need to re-read the entire text to ensure that everything is correct and consistent. In the end, the process and timeline the second time around usually works out to about the same as the first time around.
Why “Id Est Editing”?
Our name, “Id Est Editing,” comes from the words that make up the abbreviation, “i.e.” While the direct translation from the Latin is “that is,” we like to think of it as “in other words,” partnering with you so that your ideas and expertise are presented in the best possible way without changing the inherent meaning of your words.
Additional Reading
Here are some additional resources to check out:
“What’s the Difference Between Copyediting and Proofreading” NY Book Editors
“Definitions of Editorial Skills” Editors Canada
“What is a Style Guide and Which One Do You Need?” ThoughtCo