What is academic editing?

Writing, revising, and reviewing text is one important part of your research career. Academic editing—also called scientific editing—is a skill set that can help make writing and publishing easier, more efficient, and more effective.

Every art form calls for skill development, practice habits, and a community of support. In performing arts, this team might include stage management, front-of-house, and massage or physical therapy. In scientific writing this team might include editing, data analysis, and university support.

Scientific editing uses language to:

• Show the significance of the research
• Help readers identify and understand the scientific arguments
• Improve grammar, clarity, and flow of the text
• Ensure that the document meets funder or journal guidelines and expectations

An academic editing approach addresses grammar, clarity, and flow of the text, while also suggesting ways to use language to help the reader easily understand the argument, whether the reader is a journal editor, peer reviewer, funding panelist, clinician, or colleague.

I work most often on journal articles and grant proposals. I also edit:

• Dissertations and book chapters
• Biosketches and CVs
• Letters of inquiry, cover letters, and letters of response to reviewers
• Tables, figures, and reference lists

My overall goal is to make writing and publishing easier.

My editing philosophy

Academic editing can help make writing and publishing easier and more efficient. It can also help increase accuracy and care by focusing on:

• The editorial process and communication, to increase efficiency and ease of revision
• Plain language, to increase readability
• Conscious language, to increase accuracy, respect, and care for both participants and readers of research

I view all edits as suggestions for you to consider. My goal is to increase clarity and accuracy in each sentence and paragraph. I will at times misunderstand and make mistakes. As the expert in your research, you will need to review all suggested changes carefully and decide how to help your intended readers avoid similar misunderstandings.

Areas of expertise

My educational background is in anthropology, environmental science, and interdisciplinary gender studies. Over the 15+ years I have been editing, the majority of my clients have been publishing research in biobehavioral health care, public health, global health, and environmental health. These fields align directly with my interests in how people work together in different cultures and contexts to help each other thrive.

I look forward to working in additional areas of interdisciplinary social sciences, such as arts education and social-emotional learning, community-based research, gender and sexuality, disability studies, and more.

About two-thirds of my current clients are multilingual, and most of my clients these days come through referral. This means I get to work with people who value and prioritize language skills!

Current and past clients have published in journals like these:

• BMJ Global Health
• BMC Public Health
• Clinical Simulation in Nursing
• Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology
• Environmental Health
• Global Health Action
• Interdisciplinary Studies of Music
• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Journal of Behavioral Health
• Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
• Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care
• Journal of Transcultural Nursing
• The Lancet
• The Lancet Regional Health – Americas
• Medical Decision Making
• Music Educators Journal
• Pain Medicine
• Pediatrics
• PLoS ONE
  
• Psycho-Oncology: Journal of the Psychological, Social and Behavioral Dimensions of Cancer
• Social Science & Medicine

How I work

Below you will find some information about how I work. I am happy to hear from you at any time and with any questions!

I am also happy to make different arrangements as needed: Find my contact information at the bottom of this page. I generally return emails and phone calls on weekday afternoons (Pacific time).

Getting to know each other

• If it is easy for you, I’d love to schedule a 20-minute phone call to hear about your work and what you need most from an editor. No charge for initial consultations. Email me at kyra@bridgecreekediting.com to get started.
• If a phone call isn’t convenient for you, for any reason, I’m happy to ask and answer questions by email. Email me at kyra@bridgecreekediting.com to get started!

Scheduling and referrals

• I usually schedule new projects about 2 months into the future. Click here to learn how I schedule.
• A good fit between writer and editor is important. If my schedule will not work for you, or I am not the right fit for any other reason, I am always happy to refer you to other academic editors I know. Just ask!

Manuscript editing

• I will ask you to answer a short questionnaire about your goals for each manuscript I edit. This helps me get started with the appropriate focus (and journal style).
• I schedule most journal manuscripts to be completed in 1 week. I sometimes send a question by email mid-week.
• You will receive your edited manuscript file in Microsoft Word with Tracked Changes, along with a cover letter that includes a few notes about the edits and style decisions made while editing.

Revisions editing

• I will be available afterward as needed to review specific sentences or paragraphs—or the entire manuscript—after author review of the edits. This is not always necessary but can be helpful to make sure the final file is clear and clean for submission.

Invoicing and payment

• I charge for each hour of editing. My current standard rate is USD 90 per hour.
• The first edit of a manuscript can take 5–12 hours, depending on length of manuscript, topic, and number of figures, tables, and references. Edits to revised paragraphs or an entire revised manuscript take much less time: often 1.5–3 hours.
• I will send an invoice after editing is complete. I can accept payment by check, credit card, PayPal, or bank transfer. Please email me with any questions about invoicing or payment arrangements.

Partnerships

I work as part of editing teams managed by Mightier LLC and Rainier Editing LLC for larger global health or nonprofit communication projects.

I volunteer editing time for three to four journal manuscripts per year through the Academic Editing Circle, which exists to connect Black and/or Indigenous researchers with pro bono editing by professional academic editors. Ask me if I have time available!

I value all my connections in the scientific writing and editing world and am happy to provide referrals to colleagues I know and respect.