It’s Far from Academic: Why Your Paper Needs a Copyeditor

University, especially graduate school and doctoral programs, can be a tough place. So many degrees demand strong writing skills on top of the other skills of your discipline. I’m one of many freelance copyeditors who will work with academics looking to polish their papers prior to publication.

If you’ve never thought about hiring a copyeditor, or you’ve considered it but aren’t sure why or how it works for academics, then this article is for you.

Do I need academic copyediting?

TL;DR: Yes, if you want your work to be more polished and professional and aren’t working with a publisher.

The short answer is that everyone benefits from a copyeditor. If you want to know more about what I do, check out this earlier article from me.

Do you need every single paper copyedited? Probably not. Copyediting is one more expense, I know, for students who already struggle with funding. However, if you have a master’s thesis or PhD dissertation that will be printed and bound, you owe it to yourself to make it polished.

Similarly, I’ve had clients hire me to edit papers they’re submitting as part of coursework or for a PhD candidacy—their programs don’t require copyediting, but they believed a professional’s eye improved the quality of their paper and thus their performance overall.

One big exception: if you’re submitting your paper to an academic journal, then they likely already work with their own copyeditors. Those editors will be familiar with the journal’s house style and how to prepare the manuscript accordingly. In those situations, hiring a freelance copyeditor yourself could be redundant.

Is copyediting even ethical?

TL;DR: Yes! In fact, a copyeditor can actually help you avoid plagiarism.

In academic writing, ensuring the integrity of authorship and originality is paramount to avoid accusations of plagiarism later on down the line. It literally costs jobs. While I won’t go into the nitty gritty of plagiarism and how to avoid it here, I’ll reassure you that having an external editor is not a form of academic dishonesty.

First, in addition to my usual services agreement, my undergraduate and graduate clients and their supervisors always have to sign a permission form. I use one adapted from Editors Canada, which has a whole page with guidelines for editing student texts. The form precisely details what I’m editing and the exact actions I’ll take on the material. This ensures supervisors know a student has engaged the services of an editor, so everything is above board.

Second, copyediting is not structural editing (that’s what your supervisor would help you with). I’m not rewriting or even reorganizing your paper—the most I might do is suggest you move around a sentence, or point out an inconsistency, and in all cases, the changes and comments are tracked.

Third, copyeditors can reduce plagiarism! Probably half my time spent on a manuscript goes towards the references—seriously. I rigorously check every reference in the list for accuracy, and I check for concordance with in-text citations. We editors can spot a missing or misattributed citation from a kilometre away.

When does copyediting happen?

TL;DR: Copyediting isn’t your last thought and certainly not an afterthought.

Copyediting happens towards the end of the publishing process but is not the final stage. (You can learn more about the types of editing in my first LinkedIn article.)

Generally, you want to hire me when you’re satisfied that your work has reached final draft stage and there won’t be any big revisions coming back from your supervisor, committee, etc. You might still have gaps, especially for a bigger paper, but you should have something approaching readiness for publication.

There’s still time after copyediting (unlike, generally, after layout and proofreading, the next steps) to make larger changes to your work should it be necessary. Of course, depending on the scope of those changes, that might mean your copyeditor should look at the manuscript again.

All of this is to say: if you think you’ll want to hire an editor, make sure you put that in your timeline.

How long does copyediting take?

TL;DR: Think in terms of weeks, and book well in advance.

I can turn around shorter papers (less than twenty pages) in about a week, give or take. For longer papers, especially more involved dissertations, that can turn into several weeks or even a month. Some editors will be faster, and some will be slower.

What you must not assume, however, is that any given editor will be available the moment you ask to book with them! Most editors book months in advance. Some are more flexible—my freelancing is part-time, and I am not super busy. So far, my clients have been lucky enough to book me pretty quickly. But in a few cases, I’ve had some very last-minute requests resulting in stress and, sometimes, a rush fee.

Here’s how you can avoid the stress:

1. Once you know approximately when you’ll be done writing, contact prospective editors to see who is available around that time.
2. Obtain an estimate (both in terms of price and time) for their services.
3. Add some buffer to the estimate. Your draft might change by the time you submit it for editing! For example, if the quote is based on a paper that’s 30 pages, but you send me something that’s 40 pages and now has three data tables I need to check, that’s going to take longer.
4. Book yourself in with your editor so that you guaranteed a spot in their calendar.

What if you need to push that date or cancel altogether? No sweat. Be prepared for your booking fee to be nonrefundable (you’ll be told at the time you pay if this is the case). We’re professionals, and we know that delays happen. However, as this is our profession, it’s also our livelihood, so please take that into account and try to communicate delays or cancellations sooner rather than later.

How do I get started?

Start by finding an editor! Not every freelance copyeditor works on academic manuscripts, and not all of us will work in every discipline. I have edited a wide variety of papers, including education, sociology, art, and science. That being said, depending on your topic and goals, I might not always be the best editor for you—and if that’s the case, I’ll be honest about it. Beware the editor who says she’s equipped for anything.

Reach out to your editor here on LinkedIn or by email. I love connecting with prospective clients, asking questions about your goals, and getting a sense of whether my services are the right fit.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I wrote this article because I find that a lot of academics, especially those just getting their start, aren’t aware of what copyeditors offer and why they might want to hire one. However, I know I can’t dispel all the myths in one LinkedIn article. The teacher in me will remind you that it’s good to ask your editor questions. We all enjoy explaining stuff, lol, why do you think we became professional writing nerds?

DM me or find my email address on my profile banner. It’s never too early to start talking to a copyeditor!