Using Professional Production Services

When authoring your resource, you’ll have access to publishing support from the library, but we don’t have the staffing and capacity to offer each project in-depth production services like copyediting and design work. Although these are completely optional, you may want to go the extra step and hire a professional to polish up your resource. The section is designed to familiarize you with the typical services involved in finalizing a manuscript for publishing.

Copyediting

The most commonly sought-out service is copyediting. Copyeditors collaborate with authors to create the best possible version of a text, and they share with authors the goal and responsibility of improving the readability and usefulness of a text. In this sense, copyeditors work in the service of readers.

A copyeditor may do some or all of the following:

• Clarify the structure and coherence of the text. This may include adjusting the organization of sections and subsections. The copyeditor may recommend that transitions from one section to another be strengthened or clarified.
• Read the manuscript for tone. Copyeditors may suggest revisions of casual remarks or jokes, the tone and humor of which can sometimes be misconstrued by readers. Copyeditors may also recommend revisions for inclusive language, which aims to avoid bias and to describe individual and group identity with respect and sensitivity.
• Ensure that documentation of sources is complete and that citations and lists of sources (e.g., bibliographies or works-cited lists) are formatted in an established citation style. Copyeditors will query authors when citations are incomplete or missing.
• Query the author if facts are found to be inconsistent or suspected to be wrong. A copyeditor may do light fact-checking, but generally authors are responsible for ensuring the correctness of things like names, dates, and facts about sources.
• Apply house style. House style may be a combination of guidelines in a published style guide, such as the MLA Handbook or the Chicago Manual of Style, and established in-house practices. House style helps ensure consistency, which in turn improves readability. During copyediting the editor produces a style sheet that records decisions made about such matters as the styling of terms and names.
• Correct misspellings, punctuation, and grammatical errors, and make recommendations concerning word usage.
• Point out and suggest ways to correct faulty parallelism, wordiness, and repetition.
• Give the author the opportunity to review the editing and to suggest corrections and adjustments. Revise the manuscript according to the author’s review.
• Review the work of the proofreader after the manuscript has been typeset and proofread.

The most successful copyediting happens when both copyeditors and authors approach the process in a spirit of collaboration. While most publishers will not permit misspellings and obvious grammatical errors to stand in publications, revisions for usage, tone, and concision or clarity are generally open for discussion, and the author should have the final say. The copyeditor may seek the author’s assistance to ensure that a publication is free of language or imagery that may offend or exclude readers, and authors should feel welcome to discuss these matters during copyediting.

Where to Find A Copyeditor

The library has access to some negotiated rates through Knowledge Works Global. Onshore copyediting runs between $5-$9 per page depending on the level of copyediting (Simple, Moderate, and Complex). Offshore copyediting costs $3-$5 per page for either Simple or Moderate copyediting. To access those rates, reach out to the Open Educational Resources Librarian.

You may also wish to search for a freelance copyeditor. A good place to start is the Editorial Freelancers Association. You can either browse or search the member directory, or submit an ad to the job list and have freelancers contact you directly.

Other Production Services

Other production services include layout and design work, typesetting, and cover design. Through the ACCA program, you’ll have access to templates that will allow you to ‘DIY’ these elements. For example, Pressbooks includes built-in layout, design and typesetting options, and the library offers templates for cover designs. If you’re interested in custom work for your resource, you can use the Editorial Freelancers Association site to locate professionals.

‘Copyediting’ section adapted from What is the Role of the Copyeditor? By The Modern Language Association, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA.