As an editor, I’ve worked with a wide range of clients and projects. However, because of my background in academia, I’m particularly well-suited to work with high-level academic clients, i.e., established scholars/PhDs and graduate students.

My editing knowledge stems from my experience as a scholar. My own experience of writing a dissertation and publishing a full-length, peer-reviewed monograph with a university press (as well as several journal articles) has provided me with intimate knowledge and unique insight about the process of academic publishing.

Editing style: In terms of developmental/substantive editing, where I comment on and evaluate clients’ arguments, I would describe my editing style as straight-forward and rigorous. I believe in honest, respectful critique designed to make my clients’ work stronger and more analytically sound, and to anticipate possible criticism from reviewers or readers. I take my job of engaging with clients’ words and ideas very seriously, and will let clients know if something they wrote is unclear/illogical or could be read as problematic or uninformed. I hold myself and my clients to a high standard, but the end result is better scholarship.

Content knowledge: I’m most familiar with research in the following fields: music, anthropology, history, sociology, cultural studies, African American Studies, Ethnic Studies, and Latin American/Latinx Studies. However, I have worked with clients from a wide range of fields, including Education, Business, and Psychology. It’s not necessary for me to have familiarity with my clients’ field of research in order to improve their writing or assess their argument.

Services I offer (which can be combined if needed):

Line/stylistic editing: improving writing style for clarity, elegance, and flow

Copyediting/proofreading: checking for errors in grammar, punctuation, numbering, etc. It may also involve formatting tables/figures/references and making sure they conform to APA or Chicago Style

Developmental/substantive editing: a higher, more meta level of editing that includes suggestions related to restructuring/reordering of clients’ manuscripts or the substance of their argument

Past editing projects have included:

– scholarly book manuscripts
– graduate-level theses and dissertations
– scholarly journal articles
– college admissions essays (Common App, UC applications, and school-specific essay prompts)
– graduate school personal statements
– grant proposals
– cover letters

Check out these testimonials from past clients

*A note about pricing

Wendy Belcher has a fantastic explainer about what to expect when working with an academic editor, particularly in terms of pricing. While my rates vary according to your specific project, it may be that academic editing is more expensive than you expect. It’s good to remember that my rates are based on over a decade of expertise and training in the norms of academic writing.

Please contact me for a quote for your specific project