Editing & project management

Editing services
Fact-checking
Proofreading
Project management

We can fully support your publication projects, whether you need A to Z project management, editing, fact-checking, proofreading, or all of these services. Our expertise ensures that your articles or manuscripts clearly reflect your meaning and intentions, reinforcing their credibility and effectiveness.

Fees are set depending on the level of difficulty and time needed for each service. Call or e-mail us, and we’ll gladly provide you with a personalized estimate for your work.

These services are supervised by C&M Business Writing Services principal Claire Meirowitz, who draws on 20+ years of publishing experience. She’s served as project manager and/or copy editor/proofreader for numerous business and technology publications, technology-oriented Web sites and online publishers, and companies including IBM, Microsoft, HP, Intel, Cisco Systems, Computer Associates, Kodak, Avnet, Symantec and many more. She edits for The Wall Street Journal and Forbes, and currently is copy chief for Smart Enterprise magazine and Smart Enterprise Exchange Web site.

EDITING FAQ’S

The following Q&A may help you clarify your needs.

Q. What are “editing services”?

A. Editing services can be broken down into several categories, all of which are done before the material is laid out on designed pages:

Substantive editing includes reorganizing the material and rewriting the manuscript where needed for clarity and sequence, to ensure that the author’s intentions are communicated and the reader can absorb the material.

Copy editing includes creating or using a style sheet for consistency of usage and tone throughout the manuscript or article, clarifying terms, eliminating jargon, selecting the right word for the purpose, correcting grammar, punctuation, spelling, hyphenation and capitalization of terms.

Example: In a brochure for a psychiatric practice, the author had written: “We are committed to providing excellent care.” We suggested changing “committed” to “dedicated.”

Q. What are “fact-checking services”?

A. Fact-checking includes:
Verifying and correcting names, job titles, company names, addresses, percentages, dates and time sequences, factual information and anything else that can be checked.

Verifying URLs and telephone numbers by trying them out.

Verifying copyrighted and trademarked product names.

Example: A major bank’s newsletter referred to the “six boroughs of New York City.” We pointed out that New York City has only five boroughs.

We’ve found percentages that didn't reflect the numbers; dates that didn't agree with the event; and population stats that were wrong for the year they were cited, among other problems.

Q. What are “proofreading services”?

A. Proofreading services are corrections made when the article or book has been laid out on pages with photos and artwork in place. It is the final step before printing.

Proofreading includes checking to be sure everything is consistent throughout the book or article; checking spelling, punctuation and typographical elements such as dingbats, captions, headers/footers, headlines, column width and length, hyphenation, etc.; checking to be sure the table of contents agrees with the actual page numbers; and in general checking anything that got overlooked during copyediting or revising.

Example: If the final page includes a pullout quote from someone cited in the text, the proofreader checks to be sure that the quote agrees with the text and that the person being quoted is the right one for that quotation. If there is a photo with a caption, the proofreader verifies that this person appears in the text and that his or her job title agrees with the one shown in the caption.

Example: In a recent nonprofit organization’s newsletter, the proofreader spotted that the board of directors’ list didn’t reflect two new board members that were announced in the same issue.

Material that has not been copyedited before proofreading will incur additional charges because of the number of errors that typically need to be corrected.

Q: What are project management services?

A. Project management involves analyzing the client’s publication needs, offering the client a way of handling those needs — whether by print, Web or a combination — and then pulling together all the elements needed to complete the project. The process usually involves hiring one or more writers, editors, designers, printers and Web developers; then coordinating and overseeing their work through every stage until the finished project is client-approved. The client has full input and approval authority at every step of the process.

Our clients say…

You were a fantastic manuscript editor for the Journal of Individual Employment Rights. Your work was always flawless.

– Editor, Journal of Workplace Rights

I want to thank you for your work on the article. You did a fantastic job with a story we thought we would have to kill. The publisher approved it with no changes.

– Managing Editor, EdTech Focus on K-12 Magazine

You are one of the best copy editors I've had the pleasure of working with: In addition to catching errors, you also do a great job of improving an article with your rewording skills!

– Freelance Writer & Editor, Professional Ink

You did a fantastic job editing the reviews. They’re outstanding — you managed to condense the most important information very eloquently, and the grammar and style are as impeccable as the writing. Thanks a million for pitching in on such short notice, and for doing such a great job.

– Editor, Win100 Windows Magazine