From a research paper, business plan, or website to a resumé, social media advertisement, or legal document, there are many different types of writing. To make things simple, communications professionals call any text that a client wants us to work on or produce “copy”. Also, there is often confusion about the difference between proofreading editing, and writing. Keep reading to determine which services are best for your needs. To receive a price quote, please submit your information here.
Note: One page = 250 words single or double-spaced. Graphics, images, pictures, audio files and any other nontextual materials will be quoted after receipt. Pricing will vary based on complexity of the job, including complexity of language, number of document types, and overall administrative time required to complete your request. Request for editing multiple, related documents will likely constitute a project and will be billed accordingly. Unless, otherwise agreed to in the Summary of Services or Invoice, requests for revisions are billable.
Proofreading assumes that the copy you provide has already been checked to the best of your (or someone else’s) ability to remove all the errors. It’s not that your copy should be perfect. (Otherwise, you wouldn’t need a proofreader, right?) It’s about the type of errors and, in some cases, the volume. If, out of 250 words, your copy has 50 spelling, capitalization, or punctuation errors, it will, of course, take longer to proofread and correct. If out of 50 sentences, 20 are sentence fragments and run-on sentences or, the overall organization and structure of your copy makes it difficult for your intended audience to understand, you need editing, not just proofreading.
Unlike proofreading, editing improves the readability, clarity, and overall quality of your copy, including formatting and layout, according to your stated purpose and goals for the copy. Editing is obviously a more involved process as it doesn’t just make your writing error-free but excellent. If you feel less confident in your writing skills, writing services are available (excluding academic assignments).
Proofreading: Reviewing copy for errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation as well as simple errors, inconsistencies, and other issues in spacing, page layout, and formatting. While grammatical and spelling errors and simple errors such as a missing or extra space are corrected, errors that are more complex or require substantial time to correct will only be pointed out. It may also include comparing the latest version of a copy to one or more earlier versions to ensure changes have been made correctly.
Basic Copy Editing: Copy is reviewed not only for errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation but also usage (word choice), tone, and syntax (word order) and pointing out errors or inconsistencies in formatting and layout but not fixing them.
Advanced/Substantive Copy Editing: In addition to doing all the above, fixing basic errors and inconsistencies in formatting. This might include rearranging, deleting, or otherwise changing words, sentence structure, headings, and overall organization. At a higher rate, it may include fact-checking your copy for accuracy or substantially revising your copy.
Layout & Design: Rather than focusing on words and punctuation, this is formatting, arranging, and stylizing your copy to meet your stated purpose and goals within the constraints and possibilities of a give platform, e.g., a social media page, marketing email, resume, website landing page, bumper sticker, brochure, annual report. Services are offered for a fairly wide range of business, organization, and individual communications and may include font size, typeface, color, presentation of graphics, multimedia insertion and more.
Copy Writing: This is conceptualizing or creating original textual content that did not previous exist. There can be a thin line between writing and substantive editing. For this reason, a consultation is almost always required for any copy writing or advanced editing requests.