Copyediting & Proofreading — per 500 words

Overview

Your reviewers accepted the science, but the manuscript is hard to read, the references are inconsistent and the terminology changes halfway through. Your editors do not have time to fix it, and the author has done what they can. Copyediting & Proofreading takes each accepted paper and makes it clear, consistent and correct before it is typeset.

This is for journals on any platform, including Open Journal Systems (OJS), the free, open-source software from PKP, that want professional language editing without a production contract.

What’s Included

• House-style copyedit — grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence clarity, consistency of terminology, abbreviations, headings, numbers and units, applied to your style sheet (or a style sheet we create with you on first use)
• Reference and citation check — in-text citations matched to the reference list, list formatted to your style
• Author queries — a numbered list of points needing the author’s decision (ambiguities, missing information, permissions)
• Tracked changes — the edited manuscript returned with all changes visible so editors and authors can see exactly what was done
• Proof cycle — a proofreading pass after the author has answered queries, before or after typesetting as you prefer

How It Works

1. You send the accepted manuscript and your style guide, if you have one.
2. We copyedit and return the tracked manuscript with author queries.
3. The author responds; we incorporate answers and proofread.
4. The clean manuscript goes to typesetting. Pricing is per 500 words of manuscript text. No minimum order.

Important Limitations

• Not rewriting — copyediting improves clarity and correctness; it does not restructure arguments or rewrite substantially unclear text. Manuscripts needing that level of work are flagged before we start.
• Not fact-checking — we check internal consistency, not the accuracy of the science or the references’ content.
• Language — copyediting is offered in English (American or British to your style). Other languages are handled through Multilingual Production.
• External fees — none.

Common Questions

How much will you change?
As much as needed for clarity and consistency, and no more. The author’s voice and meaning are preserved, and every change is visible.

Can authors buy this directly?
This service is for journals. Author-facing editing is available through our sister services; ask us.

Do you work inside OJS?
Yes. We can take the copyediting stage in your OJS workflow so the audit trail stays in one place.

Request a proposal, or begin with the Journal Health Check.