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About Sandra Creaser - Academic Copyediting and Proofreading for Arts, Social Science and Humanities subje

Sandra Creaser – Academic Copyeditor and Proofreader
Profile and Services

1. Background
A careful proofreader should be able to check text on any subject which is why I am happy to consider your project whatever the topic. I have over 20 years’ experience in UK academic policy and administration but have spent the last three years working as a freelance copy-editor and proofreader primarily for leading UK typesetters, Refine Catch Ltd. In the past, I have worked with senior academics and administrators across the UK to develop and implement research funding policy in the social sciences and have gained a wealth of experience in document production and presentation.

2. What I Can Offer
After taking the opportunity to study for a diploma in professional editing and drawing on my working experience and IT skills I now help others to improve the presentation of their writing, paying particular attention to consistency of technical style, grammar, punctuation and overall presentation, as well as the intricacies of academic referencing!
During the last few years, I have edited or proofread nearly forty Bloomsbury Academic titles including Antipodal Shakespeare, A Cultural History of Money series, Ethnographic Collecting, and many classical studies, linguistics, and arts academic coursebooks, ranging from 40k to 130k words each. Some of these have been multi-author works.
I am also a professionally trained musician and skilled crafter, so can cover a wide range of subject areas including the arts, culture, social sciences, and classical studies for example. I prefer to work with non-fiction, academic texts but am also very familiar with business, commercial-related, and human resources documentation.
I am practised at working with British Standard proofreading symbols on hard copy proofs, and editing electronic copy using Word 2016 or PDF software.
With the aid of editing software and computer programming techniques I am able to ensure consistency of technical layout of documents in addition to considering accuracy and readability of content, paying particular attention to style guides such as Hart’s Rules and the Chicago Manual of Style (for American English texts), and referencing styles such as the Harvard and American Psychological Association (APA) author-date systems.
Furthermore, I have experience of working for a CV writing website so can help with your job searching preparations.

3. How I Work
I can work on hard copy proofs (by post/courier) alongside telephone or email communications, or electronic documents which are returned to my clients using secure platforms such as zip files or online document transfer software. I am used to working to strict deadlines and am always aware of keeping in close contact with my clients to ensure a good understanding of the requirements of the work. You would receive regular updates from me, usually by email, and I would be careful to raise queries in a timely manner. I like to think that I am a sensitive editor and take care to respect the voice of the author. I do not suggest changes unless they are clearly for the better.

4. Skills
• Microsoft Office (Word 2016/365 using a range of complex macros for detailed technical editing)
• Google Docs
• Adobe Package
• Database Management
• English (UK and US spelling conventions and conversions)
• BSI Proofreading symbols for use on hard copy proofs
• Experienced academic referencing editing (checking style consistency, checking cross-references with in-text citations, checking for missing references/citations, incorrect publication information such as dates etc.)
• Chicago Manual of Style/New Hart’s Rules knowledge (as required for grammar and punctuation conventions etc.)
• Experienced in use of bespoke house style guides
5. Pricing

Every project has different requirements and levels of intervention required therefore it is not possible to offer a standard pricing policy. I look carefully at a sample (a couple of pages) of text and consider the background to the document and the overall requirements before giving a guide price. Pricing depends on many factors including timescale, amount of previous editing, speaking language of the author, format of the text (i.e. hard copy or electronic), number of authors involved, style guides to use, type of publication etc.
As a very rough guide my pricing can range from £3 up to £5 per 1,000 words for basic proofreading or up to £10 per 1,000 for copy-editing an academic text which has already been through a peer review process. Line-editing of texts direct from development editing can be much higher and a sample would need to be viewed first. I also have to factor in commission due to any intermediary agency.

6. Testimonials
And here are a few quotes from recent clients:

‘Thank you for the great editing work you have been doing … everything looks great to me. I very much enjoyed working with you on that …Thank you for your excellent job, and I hope there will be more occasions for working together in the future…working with you was a very good experience for me. (I) hope to have the opportunity for future cooperation.’ Professor O, University of Klagenfurt, Austria.

‘Thanks for all your hard work.’ Professor H, University of Cumbria.

‘Thank you so much for your work on my texts. I’m relieved that you caught […]! ‘ Professor C, University of Texas,
followed with a mention in the book acknowledgements as follows:
‘A special note of thanks to … and Sandra Creaser, for her diligent and thorough copy-editing.’

‘Thanks for your careful work on this.’ Dr A, Queen’s University, Ontario.

‘Sandra is very personable and engaging!Thanks for the professional service!’ Reedsy.com client

7. And Finally …..
I have three children and a crazy Labrador, and working from home gives me flexibility to manage my work-life balance and ensure I never miss a deadline!