The Chicago Manual of Style is the industry standard for magazine articles, trade journals, and books, both fiction and nonfiction. In academe, it is almost always used for history papers. Book publishers may change some elements of the article or manuscript to conform to house style, but having your work in "Chicago format" is always appreciated.
The Chicago Manual of Style, in print, is over 900 pages. It is also available online by subscription. But, if you're doing a final edit on your document, do you know what term to look up when you have a question?
For instance: Do you know when to put a hyphen between two words? (Hint: Do the words form a compound adjective or adverb? Is the compound permanent or temporary?)
Our Chicago Manual of Style experts can help finalize the editing and formatting of your project so that your submission is clean, coherent, and compelling.
assistance to nonfiction book authors on works related to science, medicine, health, psychology, education, and related fields. Brynie provides substantive and developmental editing, rewriting, and ghostwriting of manuscripts and assistance with proposals and query letters.
critiques of novels for fiction writers working in the genres of mystery; science fiction; action adventure/thriller; literary; contemporary/mainstream; detective/crime; horror; and children/juvenile/young adult. (No romances or fantasies, please.)
Brynie is the author of 25 nonfiction works. Her latest, Brain Sense (Amacom, 2009) explains the latest advancements in neuroscience for general audiences. She has won numerous awards for her juvenile and young adult nonfiction, including “Best of the Year” from the American Association for the Advancement of Science and “Best for Teens” from the International Reading Association.
She has a Ph.D. in science curriculum and instruction, and she is an experienced editor of science activity books, trade books for middle school and high school, and textbooks K-12. She has worked for major publishers as writer, substantive editor, developmental editor, copyeditor, and fact checker. She excels at communicating complex ideas clearly and simply. Over the last eight years, she has assisted more than 20 authors with preparation of their nonfiction proposals and development of their manuscripts. Several have gone on to achieve publication and commercial success.
Brynie loves fiction, and she has written three novels, all published by Geneses under a pseudonym. She has won several contests and awards for her short fiction, which has been published in such magazines as Thema, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Midnight Zoo, Aberrations, Over My Dead Body!, Haunts, and others. She critiques novel manuscripts, helping authors develop their characters, plot, dialogue, voice, and style. Over the last eight years, she has critiqued more than 30 novels. Her advice has led to publication and commercial success for several novelists.
Nonfiction: assistance with the development of manuscripts, proposals, and queries; developmental/substantive editing; rewriting, ghostwriting
Fiction: novel critiques: mystery; science fiction; literary; action adventure/thriller; contemporary/mainstream; detective/crime; horror; children/juvenile/young adult (no romances or fantasies, please)
Note: Faith is not taking submissions until March 2012.
LES FOXMAN is a public relations professor. He currently teaches Technology and Ethics, "which examines the impact that technology has upon the foundations of social, legal, cultural, and moral systems as it pertains to education. The course also addresses the challenges of copyright, intellectual property, privacy, free speech, and ethically responsible behavior. The technological and ethical issues studied helps students gain the experience, perspective, and confidence needed in an educational environment increasingly shaped by immersive, convergent digital media technologies."
Dr. Foxman has a great deal of empathy for those involved with extensive writing projects and he is willing to help writers meet the challenge at virtually any stage of the writing process – from framing good research questions to presenting results and conclusions in clear, detailed language. He works closely with students in developing the appropriately narrow focus essential to writing effective introductions, conclusions and abstracts. Likewise, he helps students work through the systematic procedures for identifying relevant theoretical literature, substantiating the significance of the research problem, describing research variables, and demonstrating how the study advances the academic discipline’s knowledge base. Well versed in the full spectrum of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies common to public relations and mass communications, he also works with students on framing the valid research protocol for their theses and dissertations.
He also teaches and writes about journalism history, popular culture, criticism, integrated marketing communication, public policy issue management, crisis communication, and media message planning and management for organizations. Dr. Foxman is the U.S. editorial advisor for an online art design publication and is a contributor to a Utah business magazine.
"Les is very professional. An incredible writer. His instruction is helpful in the professional work place. He is a fabulous teacher."
"Les was a hard, but good teacher. I realized just how much he taught me after I graduated and went to the 'real world.'"
is a professional copy editor and proofreader who specializes in the editing of scholarly works, specifically academic and student documents. Many of her clients are authors whose first language is not English.
She has edited hundreds of academic titles and has been involved with dozens of scholarly journals, primarily in the fields of psychology, scientific measurement, and communication.
Tina has been repeatedly recognized for her ability to grasp complex concepts and for expertly balancing between reader comprehension and instruction. She is an expert in Chicago and APA formatting.
* Copyediting, line editing, and proofreading (nonfiction)
* Specialties: scholarly/academic manuscripts, education, psychology, communication, and scientific measurement
* Website copyediting and proofreading
* ESL editing
* Developmental editing (nonfiction)
* Formatting: Chicago Manual of Style, APA 5th and 6th editions
If you are writing a scholarly article, academic essay, thesis, dissertation, or research paper, Tina will ensure that your grammar, spelling, punctuation, tense, and so forth, are 100% correct.
She will review your document and ensure total compliance with your style of choice, using her extensive expertise in Chicago or APA style as her guide. She will work to mold your document into the appropriate form, ensuring items such as headings, abbreviations, technical terms, citations, references, and so forth, all conform to the appropriate style.
She will work with you to ensure that your word choice and word form flow naturally, so that each sentence builds on the next to advance your argument in a logical, consistent, and cohesive manner, all while keeping your natural voice intact.
This will result in a document that is precise, exact, and
flawless in its message and presentation.
Recent books Tina has edited include the following:
Collaborate, Communicate, and Differentiate! (Wendy W. Murawski and Sally Spencer), SAGE, forthcoming (2011).
Homelessness Comes to School (Joseph Murphy and Kerri Tobin), SAGE, forthcoming (2011).
Making ALL Kids Smarter: Strategies That Help All Students Reach Their Highest Potential (John DeLandtsheer), SAGE, 2011.
Social Problems: Community, Policy, and Social Action (Anna Leon-Guerrero), Pine Forge Press, 2011.
Encyclopedia of Religion in America (Charles H. Lippy, Peter W. Williams, Eds.), CQ Press, 2010.
Testimonials:
"You are so skilled at making recommendations, asking questions, and eliciting creativity from us. Your thoroughness and thoughtfulness in editing made our revisions easy and logical. We will ask for you again!” Margarita Calderón, Johns Hopkins University, coauthor (with Liliana Minaya-Rowe) of Preventing Long-Term ELs
“Tina Hardy’s editing skills are outstanding. Her ability to revise in a way that captures the original intentions of the author is top-notch!” Maria Grant, Director, Secondary Teacher Education Program, California State University, Fullerton, coauthor (with Douglas Fisher) of Reading and Writing in Science: Tools to Develop Disciplinary Literacy
"Tina Hardy is a quality professional copy editor with an enormous understanding of the concepts and extraordinary attention to even the smallest details. I would confidently recommend her services to those who want their projects manicured properly. She's on my extremely short list of trusted editors for anything I'm involved with." Stephen Thomas, The Pioneer News
“I have worked with many editors. I have written 20 books. This is the best job I've seen to date. You have made what we said clearer with every edit and NEVER compromised the message we want to send. We accept everything you have done gleefully with no changes. Thanks so much. This has been a total pleasure for both of us.” Peter Desberg, coauthor (with Jeffrey Miller) of Understanding and Engaging Adolescents
"I had the good fortune to link up with Tina Hardy at precisely the time when I was unable to see through my writing and identify those crucial moments when meaning was lost. These are those elusive ideas you understand well, yet they reveal themselves when the manuscript is done and resist your best efforts to bring clarity. Tina’s approach was timely, painstaking and very effective in helping me get close to a goal of effective writing I strive for, which is that clear writing reflects clear thinking. Tina helped me think." - Graeme Sullivan, Teachers College, Columbia University,
Author of Art Practice as Research: Inquiry in Visual Arts
Herbert M. Levine focuses on nonfiction books and articles. Publishers of books include St. Martin's Press, McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hall, M.E. Sharpe, Franklin Watts, Wadsworth, Regnery, and the University of North Texas Press. His books consist of trade books for the general public, college texts, a biography, and young adult publications. The subject matter of these books includes American government, state and local government, world politics, terrorism, arms control, state and local government, public administration, civil liberties, gun control, illegal drugs, chemical and biological weapons, and immigration. His articles have appeared in newspapers, magazines, journals, and reference books (including an encyclopedia). From 1999-2004 he served as a consultant for book projects on counterterrorism and evaluated and edited the work of academics and former government officials that appeared in these works. He holds a Ph.D. in public law and government from Columbia University. He taught courses in American government, international relations, arms control, U.S. foreign policy, and introduction to politics.
Suzanne Manness, Ph.D., is an English
professor who teaches APA, MLA, Chicago/
Turabian, Harvard,AMA,
and AAA documentation
styles in her research
writing classes. She has
edited many college
textbooks and
professional articles
and has extensive
experience in editing,
proofreading, and
formatting theses and
dissertations. She
specializes in
proofreading and
formatting articles for
APA journals. She is
known for a special
ability to help
international / ESL
students, her attention
to detail, and her quick
turnaround time.
HOLLY MONTY, MA, MAComm, ELS, has been a professional APA and Chicago style editor and writer for 10 years.
Since operating as a freelance editor and writer, Ms. Monty, a Microsoft Word and LaTeX expert, has worked on books and articles published by many of the world’s leading publishers, including Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, MIT Press, John Wiley, Springer, Lawrence Erlbaum, Pearson-Prentice Hall, Berg, Macmillan, Berkshire, American Geophysical Union, Praeger, Greenwood, Blackwell, Elsevier, Sage, Begell House, Teacher Ideas Press, Libraries Unlimited, UTH Zürich, RAND Corporation, and other top names in academic and nonfiction publishing. To date, she has edited over 1,500 published journal articles, over 100 nonfiction books, and a wealth of dissertations and theses. An elected member of the board of governors of the Editorial Freelancers Association from 2007 to 2008, Ms. Monty is proud to have worked with a diversity of students and academics from a broad range of our nation's universities. Given her wealth of experience, she is adept at working within the precise terms of your university's thesis/dissertation guidelines or with the publication guidelines of any peer-reviewed journal.
JAMES N. POWELL, with MA degrees in both English Literature and Religious Studies, is a former Professor of English Literature. He has been editing, coaching, and tutoring writers and students for years. He was inhouse APA proofreader of doctoral dissertations at the Fielding University. He excels at working with international / ESL students. Specializing in APA and MLA styles, he has proofread hundreds of doctoral dissertations and papers. He is an internationally published writer, with books issued by major houses: Prentice Hall, William Morrow, and Hosei University Press (Japan).
A. J. Sobczak is an editor, proofreader, and writer (business writing, business methods, business history, communication, literary analysis) with more than 18 years of experience in the publishing industry. He works directly with authors of academic articles and books as well as working for publishers. As an in-house editor for Salem Press (6 years) and freelance editor for Sage Publications (since 1993), along with work for University of California Press, ABC-CLIO, Rowman & Littlefield, and other clients, he has edited dozens of books and journals in various topics in the social and hard sciences, including economics, research methods, mathematics, political science, psychology, business and management, supply chain theory, and history. He holds an MA in economics from UCLA, has done graduate-level coursework in mathematics, and taught economics at California State University, Northridge, for 4 years.
He is an expert in
APA and Chicago styles
and is on several
publishers' lists of
"go-to" editors for
manuscripts with heavy math content. His writing on
business and economics
has appeared in several
reference volumes, and
he is the editor of and
a contributor to Great Events from
History II: Business and
Commerce, containing
approximately 500
articles on critical
events in 20th-century
business history.
Donald Wells has more than 18 years
experience as an editor
and writer. He has
edited for and written
with accountants,
agriculture researchers,
economists, educational
researchers, educational
psychologists,
engineers, historians,
lawyers, Master's
students, nurse
researchers,
nutritionists, PhD
candidates,
philosophers, political
scientists,
psychiatrists,
psychologists,
sociologists, soil
scientists, UN experts,
university professors,
and veterinarians. He
has edited more than 200
published journal
articles, some of which have won awards, many
dissertations and theses, annotated
bibliographies,
reference books,
textbooks, and academic,
engineering, government,
and scientific reports.
He is an expert in APA style, Chicago
Manual of Style, and MLA format and is familiar
with AMA. He has
extensive experience
with ESL writers. Don is
dedicated to maintaining
the individual voice of
the writer, and he
follows two rules of
style: A document must
be clear and concise. He
has found that these two
rules of style produce
documents that are
elegant and
professional.
"I had a very unfortunate contract end with another editing service that did not perform nor consider my timelines for my dissertation proposal. I received an immediate phone call from the network coordinator. She provided me with a consultant referral. Within hours, I received a response ... [my editor] went above and beyond in her services. Her guidance and expertise was exact and accurate. She was professional in her communication style, but demonstrated her sensitivity and compassion towards my circumstances. Her contract was easy to understand and specific to the tasks. I am forever grateful to the network; their ethics and standards extend beyond industry standards." Cheryl Moore, PhD Candidate, Capella University
"Just a note to let you know that my dissertation was approved today, so again thank you for your help and I will definitely tell my friends about your excellent services. You are a true professional." Miriam Golbert, Nova University
"Overall this is a very nice service. The work was done to more than my satisfaction, and the services went over and above what I expected. The consultant saved me about a week to 10 days worth of work considering my very busy schedule." Dave Wickman ERAU / UTC employee
"Being a full-time teacher and student, my life is extremely stressful. Perfecting work for my Ph.D. program is time-consuming and quite intensive. Suzanne helped to alleviate much of my stress and allowed me to finally get some much needed rest! She was very patient and helpful during the review process of my paper. Her review of my paper was first-rate and her response time was quick. She was also prompt in all emails sent to her concerning any questions that I had. My dissertation proposal is on its way for the IRB approval. I must thank Suzanne for her hard work, dedication and expertise with APA writing." Dawn Adams, internship coordinator, Wheeler High School
1. Your agreement, whether oral or written, is with your thesis or dissertation editor/consultant, not with the network as a whole or its coordinator.
2. It is the client's responsibility to review all work completed to ensure accuracy and adherence to specifications.
3. We do not write or sell dissertations, theses, term papers, or essays. We will, however, polish your draft. The final product will be yours — legitimately.
REQUEST FOR ESTIMATE/CONSULTATION
Cut and paste the text that follows into your e-mail editor (e.g., Outlook, Word) and answer each question.
A sample is required to receive an estimate for editing services
6. Describe your project: (e.g., book, business document, dissertation)
7. Describe the level of writing or editing required: (e.g., copyediting, proofreading, content editing, fact-checking, ghostwriting, formatting)
8. Current word count of document:
9. Your deadline date:
10. Required manual of style, if any: (e.g., Chicago Manual, APA, MLA, AP, AAA, CBE/CSE)
11. If you are a student, please provide the URL of your university's style manual:
12. Number of charts, tables, and pictures: ____________ Do you need them edited and/or formatted?
13. Do you have a budget for the project? (Please be specific.)
14. Number of footnotes and entries in reference list:
15. Do you want to contact a particular writer/editor?
16. How did you learn about our service?
Attach a sample chapter/section or other important documents related to your project. Please zip large files (max 1MB)
YOUR NAME MUST BE IN YOUR SAMPLE DOCUMENT OR IT CAN BE THE FILE NAME (e.g., johnsmith.doc).
A sample of the material is required to receive a quote for services. If you did not send a sample and/or description of the project with your first submission, please resend.
Once your e-mail is received, the network coordinator will forward it (plus any attached files) to the consultants you selected. If no selection is made, your submission will be forwarded to several consultants who might be a good match. Final choice of consultant is yours.
If you do not receive a response within 3 hours (M-F, 7a-7p Eastern), please RESEND your submission. You may also use the chat button or leave a message: 469-789-3030.
Allow a longer response time if you sent your submission during the weekend or after U.S. business hours.
All of the consultants listed on this site are freelance. They are located throughout the U.S. The coordinator cannot answer cost/timeframe questions for each consultant. You must go through the submission process to receive direct responses from the consultants listed on this site.
