fountain penPublishing: Editing and Proofreading

Editing
We offer a unique, collaborative focus in our work with our editing clients. Let us help you give the best possible voice to your ideas.

book wrapped in bowAt Together Editing & Design, we will get to know you and your unique writing, and help you realize your aims for your book. We will help you identify your target audience and then facilitate your relationship with that audience through comments like "As a reader, I want to know more about this…" and "I lose the thread here—connect back to the main argument." This reader-based approach provides a logic for the requested changes that is more likely to stay with you and inform your writing in the future.

We offer a wide range of developmental editing and copyediting feedback, including but not limited to suggestions for organization, flow, reader comprehension, word choice, syntax, and character/argument development.

Proofreading
Spell check is not enough. Nothing can replace careful proofing by someone who cares about your book. Make sure your readers notice what you want them to see.

magnifying glassWith the glut of self-published books of questionable quality on the market, attending to all of the small details is one way to build your reputation and draw readers. We strongly advise proofreading for all manuscripts—the value for readers cannot be overstated.

Proofreading can only be done when the book is "word-final," that is, once you are completely finished polishing the text. We review your draft for proper punctuation, potential reprint permission issues, and any deviations from the publisher's requirements for front matter, font size, and so on. We also carefully check the table of contents, heading styles, and formatting.

Citations and Bibliography
Enhance the validity of your words in your reader's mind. Show them how you learned what you know.

stack of books We also strongly recommend supporting any factual, statistical, or historical claims in your book through the use of citations. For books published under the Together Editing Press imprint, this careful approach is required.

Whenever you tell readers something factual, they immediately think, "Oh, yeah? How do you know? Why should I believe you?" Careful attention to your citations conveys the vital message that you are knowledgeable and have been very careful to build your argument, thus adding validity to all of your words.

Many publishers have a preferred style they use for citations and bibliographies (reference lists). Our staff is proficient with a number of styles:

  • American Psychological Association (APA)
  • American Anthropological Association (AAA)
  • Modern Language Association (MLA)
  • Chicago Manual of Style (CMS)
  • Harvard Business Review (HBR)

We are also very comfortable applying the style guidelines and requests of a particular publisher, journal, or institution as needed. (At Together Editing Press, we use either HBR or Chicago style.)

Citation and bibliography review can be full service, with our editors filling in any missing information through research; or, we can provide detailed guidelines so you can handle as many of these details as you want to.