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Editorial
process
I accept
all biomedical texts for editing. I provide consistent editorial
accuracy within both British and U.S. varieties of English, applying
the one most relevant to the intended publication or audience. The
default
style guide followed is the AMA
Manual of Style, internationally recognized as the leading
authority on use of English in medical publications. In many cases,
particular house rules or style guidelines need to be followed, and I
am experienced in adjusting the language to the exact requirements for
each case.
I strongly recommend that texts be provided in the form of Word
documents. Other file types may be less suitable for editing purposes
and do not provide a clear record of changes and editorial comments.
However, depending on the situation, I may also accept documents
provided in PDF, PowerPoint, Excel or other formats.
The manuscript should be sent by
email, with the following information:
- required level
of editing services (more information)
- deadline
- U.S. or British
English
- publication
details (name of journal, publisher)
- any preferences
or information useful for editing
I will acknowledge receipt of the manuscript, confirm the deadline and
quote the fee. Once I receive confirmation, the editorial process
begins. Below I describe the stages of the editorial process for the
most basic level
of editing services, i.e. proofreading, and higher levels of editing.
Pre-editing
First I quickly scan the whole document to check for any obvious
problems, such as missing sections of text or technical issues. I then
apply the
appropriate version of English (British or U.S.) to the text, and enable
'track changes'. From this point a record will be created of all
changes I make to the text, as well as comments, highlights and text
formatting. The client can choose to view or hide these changes, and to
accept or delete them, either altogether or one by one. An example of
text modified in 'track changes' mode is shown here.
I now scan the document again more slowly, checking any vocabulary not
recognized by my extensive customized biomedical dictionary, based on a
dictionary of medical terms to which I have added a large database of
technical vocabulary verified over a period of 5 years. Any
unrecognized terms are checked against medical and scientific
dictionaries and in online biomedical articles. Once their correctness
is established, their use throughout the text is unflagged.
At this stage abbreviations are also assessed (their use should conform
to the rules set out in the AMA
Manual of Style)
and unnecessary multiple spaces are removed. Where appropriate, before
more
in-depth editing I will research the subject using online resources
and if necessary consult a colleague within medicine or the life
sciences.
Editing
I now begin the main editorial process, reading the whole text in
full, making corrections of faulty vocabulary, grammar, word order,
punctuation, capitalization, abbreviations and units of measure.
Comments may be added to the text to indicate where the author's
intention
is not clear, or some other problem needs further attention and
discussion.
Problems of style are dealt with according to the level of editing
services selected. At the basic level of editing (proofreading)
re-writing is limited. If the whole text needs re-writing to make
the style natural for native English speakers, a higher level of
editing service should be selected (manuscript editing or full editing
services).
Inconsistent use of vocabulary is corrected, but a guarantee of
complete
consistency requires manuscript editing. During proofreading,
references are checked for obvious mistakes, but a complete check
against the original titles requires manuscript editing. Correctness of
statistical terms is checked at every level of editing, but mistakes in
mathematical and statistical calculations, or figures in tables, will
only be indicated under manuscript editing or full editing services.
Confirmation of the complete correctness of numerical values and
calculations is,
however, outside the scope of my services.
Post-editing
Having completed the in-depth checking and correction, I go over the
text once more with 'view changes' enabled to review my modifications,
and to check the correctness and consistency of tables, figures, the
title and
subtitles. Under manuscript editing, I will now proofread the whole
text again. Under full editing services, I will enter a dialogue with
the author to make sure that every possible improvement to the text is
made, and any uncertainty is removed.
Now that the edited text is complete, I attach it to an email which
may contain pertinent comments, information or questions. Before
sending the email, I open the attachment and give the
text one last scan.
Although proofreading and manuscript editing are now complete, I remain
open to further questions and comments. In the case of full editing
services, unlimited further checking and discussion of the text are
available, for an unlimited period, no matter how many
modifications the author chooses to make.
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