Perfect Words by Amanda George
Professional Proofreading and Copy-editing
Frequently asked questions
If your question is not answered here, please don't hesitate to get in touch; I am happy to answer any questions you may have about the process.
CAN I TRUST YOU WITH MY WORK?
I am a trained and experienced proofreader and copy-editor. I have a BA in English and Latin, I speak basic Italian, Spanish and French, and I am a fast and accurate touch-typist with good IT skills. Almost a decade of producing publications at St John's College, Cambridge, and several years working at a leading academic bookseller have given me a good grounding in the written word, books and publishing. I have successfully completed the Publishing Training Centre's Copy-editing, Editing Fiction and Grammar at Work courses, among others, and I am committed to ongoing training and personal development. In my spare time I manage The Sanctuary Angels, www.thesanctuaryangels.com, a small voluntary organisation that raises vital funds for animal rescues around the world.
WILL YOU MAKE MY WORK PERFECT?
The better the condition of your original work, the more we can achieve together. Perfection is more attainable in short documents, and in longer works (e.g. dissertations) I will polish your work and make it look its very best, working within the agreed budget and time frame. Students should bear in mind that there are STRICT ETHICAL GUIDELINES laid down by the Chartered Institute for Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) regarding permissible levels of intervention and potential 'rewriting' issues. Students should also check with supervisors/departments that hiring a proofreader/copy-editor is permissible and acceptable. In accordance with both CIEP and university guidelines, I WILL NOT check for plagiarism, check facts or accuracy of citations, check accuracy of content, make suggestions for overall improvement, or rewrite or change the structure of the text to improve the flow, logic or strength of the arguments. However, should I notice any of these things, I will flag them up for your attention.
WHAT WILL YOU DO FOR ME?
I will use all of my experience, knowledge, skills and training to ensure that your work looks its very best and is returned on time and within budget. I will ensure consistency of styling, spelling, punctuation, grammar and syntax throughout. While maintaining the original meaning and tone of the text, I will alter sentences that do not make sense as a result of syntactical, grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors, or incorrect use of words. I will advise on the substitution of informal or slang words with formal or academic terms of an equivalent nature. Your hourly rate includes proof-editing (a combination of proofreading and copy-editing) as standard, an affordable and comprehensive option that suits most of my clients.
DOES PERFECT WORDS OFFER VALUE FOR MONEY?
I use an hourly rate, which accurately reflects the time spent on your work and is also a fair, competitive and simple pricing system. I have three tiers of hourly rate: student (up to and including PhD); professional/academic; and corporate/institutional. These apply to proofreading, formatting, copy-editing or whatever your brief entails. My clients generally require proof-editing, which combines proofreading and copy-editing to provide a comprehensive and affordable service. I can provide you with an estimate for the total job if you wish. If you prefer to be offered a fixed price that suits us both, I am happy to do this too.
WHAT ABOUT HOUSE STYLE AND FORMATTING?
Clients often have formatting and style guidelines that they need to follow. A link to your business or academic style guidelines or house style is appreciated, if available, so that I can ensure this is applied throughout your document. If none is provided or specified in the Client Booking Form, I will ensure that the predominant style in your document is applied throughout. In addition to addressing typographical and literal errors and syntactical issues, I will ensure consistency of styling throughout, for example, using EITHER British or American English and single or double quotation marks. I have compiled my own house style during the course of working with clients, and I am happy to share this with you.