ESL Editing

You're a non-native speaker who has written an article in English, or you have a document that has been translated into English. You want it to read like text written by a native speaker.

You also want it polished, elegant, attractive.

Oh, and your deadline is yesterday.

Who do you turn to?

ESL Editing.*

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* ESL = English as a second language

Wenn Sie wollen, können Sie mir auf Deutsch schreiben.

Vous pouvez m'écrire en français si vous voulez.

Se vuole, può scrivermi in italiano.

About me

I'm Joanna Sheldon, a US native resident in the UK. I edit and proofread texts written by non-native speakers of English – particularly speakers of German, but also French and Italian. The areas I cover are academe (social sciences, the humanities) business (marketing literature, quarterly reports), and technical writing (information technology). Areas of special interest are social and economic theory, literary theory, and the history of religious iconography.

I have a strong feel for the language, a meticulous approach, an eye for detail, and a light but firm editing pen. As a former English teacher, I tend to annotate my edits with short notes on grammar or usage to help educate my clients – and this, in effect, makes them less dependent on me over time.

I'm an active member of the Editorial Freelancers Association.

I am also an active member of Copyediting-L, where professional editors gather to discuss issues pertaining to the trade.

Background, skills, and tools

One of my parents was a linguist, the other a grammarian; both were for many years teachers of English as a second language. I lived for two to three years each in Viet Nam, Turkey, Italy and Algeria when I was young. I went to French lycée and have a Ph.D. in literary theory from the German Department at Johns Hopkins University in the USA. I have taught English grammar and composition to native speakers and English as a second language to non-natives. I've also translated French, Italian, and German texts. In other words, language issues and the processes involved in moving between languages have always been central to my life.

I have 18 years of experience as an editor for the IT industry (training and technical manuals, user guides), for large and small businesses (primarily marketing literature), and for universities and academics (Masters and Ph.D. theses, journal articles and prospectuses).

I edit to US (Chicago, APA, ASA, MLA), British, Australian or EU standards, or I can use your publisher's style sheet. If there is a foreign-language original in German, French or Italian, I will use it to inform my work.

Aside from German, French, and Italian I have some Dutch, Spanish, Latin, and Ancient Greek.

The programs I use: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint; Adobe Acrobat, FrameMaker, DreamWeaver, PhotoShop.

Services and Rates

For new clients the first two pages (500 words) are free of charge.

I see copyediting as a collaborative effort. My objective is to help you create a document that is accurate, clear, concise, and well suited to the intended audience.

The depth of the edit you ask me to perform will depend on your needs and your budget. In the course of performing a full edit I will ensure first that your work contains no spelling, punctuation, grammatical or formatting errors. In addition I can suggest improvements to content, structure, and style. I can also check the accuracy of your references. In the case of translated texts accompanied by an original in German, French or Italian, I can ensure that the translation is accurate and complete.

In any case we will work together on your document, communicating via email or telephone, until we are both satisfied that it meets your requirements.

Rate update, October 2011: For a full edit, as described above, I charge €10 per page, using the industry-standard page of 250 words. If your budget doesn't stretch to the full treatment, we may be able to negotiate a more moderate form of editing for a lower per-page fee. Discounts can be negotiated for documents over 70 pages long.

I accept payment in euros via Paypal or bank transfer.

For a good summary of the copyeditor's work, take a look at this very well-considered description.

Note that copyediting is also legitimately spelled copy-editing or copy editing. That's English for you!

Testimonials

"Vielen Dank auch für die Erläuterungen in den Kommentarblasen; solche Erklärungen sind für mich als Nicht-Muttersprachlerin immer sehr wertvoll. Das mit dem englischen "also" macht mir immer Schwierigkeiten, aber jetzt schreibe ich mir Ihre Erklärung mal hinter die Ohren! :-)" — Silvia Jollois, Edeka

"Thanks for the good work." — Adrian Semmler, Engel & Völkers

"Thanks for your helpful and detailed corrections [...]. I always welcome your comments since they will help me improve my English both in terms of style and grammar." — A German translator

"Glad you're there!" — Dieter Bromberg, Bromberg and Friends.

Recent Clients

Edeka, Engel & Völkers, Hansgrohe, Hering Schuppener, Karlsruhe University, Sal. Oppenheim, Wirecard.

© 2002-2011 Joanna Sheldon
js (at) joannasheldon.com