FAQs
Over the course of my 20-plus years of professional experience copyediting and formatting academic theses, journal articles, and book chapters, it has been demonstrated to me repeatedly that all writers differ in terms of their writing styles, English language fluency,* adherence to academic tone, attention to detail, word-processing skills, and document formatting abilities. Additionally, the styles, standards, and other requirements of universities and journal and academic publishers vary. Consequently, each writer requires a unique blend of services.
Inkdrop editing's strapline, "A boutique editing experience," came into being as a result of my understanding of the need to tailor my services to meet the individual needs of writers. A boutique business is one that is "small-scale and specialist in its operations" (Macquarie Dictionary), which is a perfect fit for a freelance editor specialising in providing copyediting and formatting services to meet the unique needs of academic writers.
Elsewhere on this site, I’ve provided a detailed account of the copyediting and formatting services I provide to academic writers. This current page provides information on the process of copyediting and formatting, and attempts to provide answers to some of the questions I'm frequently asked.
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"What fields and types of research do you copyedit?"
If you've already read about my experience, you may think that I only edit music-related texts. While it’s true that I have edited many music-related theses, journal articles, and book chapters, as well as a selection of books, the bulk of my copyediting and formatting experience is in general educational research. This includes, for example, topics associated with educational leadership and principalship; higher education; initial teacher education; literacy, mathematics, and STEM education; physical education, human movement, and sports programs; teacher beliefs, self-efficacy, and pedagogy; rural and remote teacher recruitment and retention; psychosocial development; visual arts and artistic practice; place and identity, intercultural awareness, and foreign language teaching; social capital; and hospitality management education to name a selection.
I copyedit narrative, qualitative, mixed methods, and quantitative research.
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"How much will it cost to have my thesis copyedited?"
Naturally, one of the most frequently asked questions I receive relates to the cost of copyediting services. Typically, a doctoral candidate (or one of their supervisors) will email me to ask, "How much will it cost to edit my thesis?" or "My thesis is 74,000 words. Can you quote me a price for editing it?" This is a bit like asking the proverbial “How long is a piece of string?” question, given all the variables listed in this page's first paragraph.
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I’ve found that the easiest way for me to answer the “how much” question is to perform a sample copyedit of a 1,000-word literature review extract, plus a 1-page sample of the reference list (if that’s also to be copyedited). I time myself performing these copyedits and use these times, the thesis word count, the reference list page count, and my hourly rate to calculate an estimate of costs.
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“How much do you charge for thesis formatting?"
The charge for formatting depends on the amount of formatting required. Some candidates are quite capable of doing most of their own document formatting, however there may need assistance with particular issues, say getting their page numbering correct or adding or styling multilevel numbered headings.
“How long will it take to copyedit and/or format my thesis?"
I like to allow up to 3 weeks ​to copyedit a thesis. A complete thesis format will generally take a couple of days.
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"What do I need to provide to you before you start work on my thesis?"
Supervisor permission. University order.
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“What do you send me at the end of the copyediting and/or formatting process?"
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* This applies to both native English writers and writers whose first language is one other than English.
