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A BETTER EDITOR SM

Graduate Students! Fit your budget! Meet your deadline! APA style: dissertation, thesis, reference list American English as Second Language (ESL) Anne V. Sutherland, M.Div., Ph.D. Professional Editing and Proofreading Since 1995

What Can A Copy Editor Do for YOU? Free Your Time! Copy Editing Steps What Does it Cost? Reduce Your Costs What Clients Say Policies-Privacy

A Better Editor for YOU! Your words and ideas deserve the best! Why not dress them for success? How to Reduce Your Costs You can reduce your costs if you send your manuscript online or on a computer disk saved as rich text (.rtf) along with a printed copy. Almost all word processors can "save as" rich text. If you have questions, please ask me for details to be sure your disk will work with my system.

Start-up Word Processing Your draft copy can be typed without all the APA style details, just headers and paragraphs with spaces indicated. I can work from your typed, computer printout, or legible handwritten papers; some CDs; an e-mail attachment in Rich Text Format (rtf); or 3-1/2 floppy disks saved in Rich Text Format (rtf). If you do word processing, it costs much less when you send it either online or on a disk, along with the printed copy. If your manuscript is handwritten, I will not make a commitment to work on it until after I see it. If it is readable, so it can be typed into a word processor, I could do it, but it will cost you a lot more than if you find someone locally who can do the word processing before you send it to me! Standard Page After word processing, a standard page is one side of a page, with 1.25 inch margins all around, double space in 12 point Times New Roman type, with box paragraphs, no hyphenation, and no graphics, pictures, diagrams, or tables in text. You can reduce your costs a lot by using the standard page layout. Page Numbers For the purpose of copy editing, put your last name and page number at the top right of each page, including front matter and end matter, all numbered consecutively. For the final draft I will make the changes to conform to APA requirements. Footnotes Generally, APA style does not use footnotes. All information should be in the text. If a professor or editor wants something else, I can do it, but it takes more of my time, and that is what costs you more! Inserted Images If you have graphics, charts, pictures, diagrams, or tables, indicate their location in your text, but do not send them to me. You will need a specialist to format them for you, and they can be inserted on completion of the copy editing. Reference List The reference list comes after the text starting on a separate page and should be as close as possible to the style you need. The APA style is very particular and detailed. Not only does it have to be exactly correct in every detail but it has to match with author-date citations in the document. You can save a lot of money by typing the author-date correctly in your dissertation as well as in the reference list itself. However, many students actually hire me to do just this because it takes so much of your time. I give attention to every detail, and stop to check with the manual a lot, especially with the new Version 6. Just please understand, even though I use a software program, getting it all just right takes a lot of time reading letter by letter, space by space, punctuation by punctuation, word by word, and the presence and sequence of every required item in each entry! You can also save a lot of money if you attend to all the items in the list of your responsibilities below. If I notice something I will contact you, but that also takes time and may delay the completion of the manuscript.

Responsibilities of the Author TAKE NOTICE 1. You must send me an official copy of the guidelines your university provides in regard to APA style. Usually, you have been using it for many of your classes, but there may be more specifics for the dissertation. Ask for it! I will not take a project without this information. I have had a couple of times when the student told me what the professor wanted and then when I followed that, the professor sent it back saying it was not done the way he/she wanted it. Then the student had to pay me to do it over. So now I want to have the official handout before I start. I hope you can understand this could potentially save you time and money and reduce the risk you could miss your deadline. 2. Please designate preferred style manual (APA 5 or 6?) 3. You are responsible for the accuracy of all details in the manuscript including, but not limited to, ALL content in reference list; dates; numbers; facts; statistics; quotations; spelling of proper names; spelling and use of words in a foreign language; spelling and use of technical, jargon, or specialized words. 4. You are responsible for obtaining permission to use all copyrighted material and proper statements in the document. 5. You are responsible for describing accurately the size and location of space needed for all pictures, diagrams, or tables so that space or pages can be left for them in the final draft. 6. You are responsible for specifying your desired completion date. If you have a deadline with no leeway, YOU MUST GET THE MATERIAL TO ME WELL IN ADVANCE (6 weeks minimum). If later, you have circumstances that cause a delay, a rush order will only be accepted if your deadline can be met. A rush order surcharge may be added when appropriate. In a situation like this, please contact me as soon as possible so I can plan around it. 7. You are responsible for indicating whether you want a title page, table of contents, list of illustrations, copyright designation, special font or format, or something else out of the ordinary, and sending a pattern and/or written instructions. Please know that I love to edit and am willing to discuss with you any concerns you have and to work with you to meet your budget and timeline. Don't hesitate to contact me and ask all your questions! For an overview of copy editing steps click here To find out more about costs click here

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It is important that you look carefully at the pages on this site. There is information about costs and how you can reduce your costs. Notice your responsibilities along the way so that the result will be a document you can be proud of and will accomplish your goal. Like many people, after looking at all this you may have . Do not hesitate to contact me for questions about your particular manuscript. There is no charge for this first (up to 15 minutes) informational call. Then, if you are interested, you can send me 10 pages of your document (usually first 10 pages of the literature review) for a free half hour sample of copy editing, and a free 15 minute phone discussion after you review it. Then we can both decide whether we can work together. DO NOT send a sample until we talk. I will tell you how to send your sample document. Telephone voice mail: 800-608-1311 (near Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA) This site is designed to help you find answers to your questions and give you an idea of what is available for you. To tour this site, click on the "Go to next page" choice at the bottom of each page; for specific information, choose from the menu box on the left. You can use your back button to return here only while you are online. Make a bookmark or add to favorites to save this site and return again!

                      

A Better Editor SM Voice mail: 800-608-1311 © 1998-2010 Anne V. Sutherland, Ph.D.,     A Better Editor SM This page last updated 7-3-10. Go to next page    Return to the top of this page    Editor Home Page