freelance editor

samples

books

In revising any manuscript, a good editor will do two things. First, undertake only the level of editing agreed to beforehand. Second, follow a specified style guide to ensure consistency across the manuscript. The particulars of an edit depend on the style manual used for the publication.

Style manuals dictate preferences for punctuation, capitalization, formatting, and the like. The most common in the United States are those published by the University of Chicago, the American Psychological Association, the Associated Press, and the American Medical Association. To a lesser extent, style guides also cover English usage. Most specify the dictionary favored for spelling variants. This is generally Merriam Webster Collegiate.

Individual publishers frequently apply a house style to either supplement or supersede one of the standard references. House styles always trump.