Manuscripts
Why do your manuscripts need editing before submission? English is an easy language for speaking, but a very difficult one for spelling, grammar and punctuation because of archaic rules! This creates understandable problems for authors whose native language is not English, but unfortunately, because proper use of English is not taught in most U.S. schools, a surprising number of Americans also don’t understand these rules. Manuscripts submitted to journals that are written in inaccurate English usually result in critical comments from reviewers and sometimes in outright rejection with a request for complete rewriting. Occasionally, poor use of English actually obscures the author’s meaning.
I meticulously edit manuscripts for errors in English grammar, syntax, punctuation, formatting and for typographical errors. I use Microsoft Word (“Track Changes” function) to indicate errors and show my changes, so authors can see where all corrections have been made, and also learn from the changes so their English writing skills will improve. I do not use “spellchecker” because it is unreliable and inaccurate! I visually check every word and every sentence. However, I do not check references (volume, page numbers, etc) for accuracy; that is the author’s responsibility.
Only manuscripts written on PC computers can be accepted at this time; sorry, I can not edit Apple-computer generated manuscripts.