I offer three levels of editing for nonfiction, depending on where you are in the writing or publication process: pre-submission editing, proofreading, and developmental editing. At all levels I’ll work with you to make sure your writing is clear, inclusive, and accurate, honoring your voice as I go.

I have a master’s degree in publishing and was trained to copyedit and proofread in-house at a small university press, and I now edit on a freelance basis for a number of publishers and journals.

I specialize in the humanities and social sciences, particularly the following fields:

gender and sexuality studies
Native and Indigenous studies
history of science and environment
history of the US West
memoirs and creative nonfiction

Though I’ve edited and proofread work by such authors as Judith Butler, Gerald Vizenor, Elliott West, and Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, I love working with first-time authors and am happy to help orient you in the world of academic publishing.

Once you’ve sorted out what kind of editing you need—or if you’d like help doing so—you can get in touch with me via my contact form.

Cover image of "Recreational Colonialism and the Rhetorical Landscapes of the Outdoors" by Kyle Boggs

“Billie is among the sharpest copyeditors I’ve ever worked with in my 20+ year writing career, one that has spanned both journalism and academic publishing. Their suggestions tightened my writing in places that needed it and helped me maintain consistency in my language choices. When they copyedited my manuscript, a book I have been working on for a decade, they were particularly attentive to details that changed during this time: folks I cite who might go by another name now, or different pronouns, for example. That requires levels of verification that goes above and beyond what other copy editors have been willing to do for me. I’ll be requesting future publishers I work with to hire Billie again.”

— Kyle Boggs, Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Community Engagement at Boise State University and author of Recreational Colonialism and the Rhetorical Landscapes of the Outdoors

Pre-submission editing

Pre-submission editing is a hybrid service I developed specifically for authors who’d like someone to take one last look at their manuscript before they submit it to a publisher or journal. We’ll tailor the service to what your manuscript needs, incorporating elements of what editors would traditionally refer to as copyediting and line editing.

I’ll keep an eye out for grammatical, mechanical, and spelling issues, transitions that need smoothing, claims that don’t quite seem to follow from your presented evidence, and similar items. I’ll also conform the manuscript to your publisher’s style guide (Chicago, MLA, SAA, or another guide if needed) and formatting specifications.

If your work includes documentation (notes and references), I’ll clean that up according to your preferred style guide as well. Depending on the style you’ve used, I may be able to convert your documentation to a different style if needed.

I also provide pre-submission editing for shorter pieces like CVs, book proposals, and cover letters.

You may need pre-submission editing if:

You’re preparing to submit your manuscript to publishers and want to be sure it’s tidied up and ready to make the best impression
You’ve been asked to revise and resubmit your manuscript to address writing style issues or reduce word count
You need your notes, citations, and/or bibliography to conform to a specific style guide
You’ve already worked with a developmental editor to hammer out your argument and find the best structure for your piece, but the writing doesn’t flow as well as you’d like

Proofreading

A proofread is a final check of proofs (after the manuscript has been designed and typeset) to identify any remnant grammatical mistakes, typos, and any other layout or typesetting issues. Proofreading is really the last look at a text and should be done only after copyediting.

You may need proofreading if:

Your publisher has asked you to proofread your own book, and you’d like a professional to do the job
You’re self-publishing, have pdf files from your designer, and are gearing up to finalize your work for publication

Developmental editing

Developmental editing is the most intensive level of editing. We’ll be working on your work at a structural level to determine if certain passages are distracting from your central argument, if the structure of your chapters needs revision, and similar big-picture questions.

You may need developmental editing if:

You’re revising your dissertation for publication as a book
You need to cut more than 10% of your word count to meet a publisher’s request or guidelines

A note on pricing

I know it can be frustrating not to find concrete pricing estimates, but without seeing your manuscript, it’s quite difficult to provide an estimate that’s both useful and accurate because the needs of each manuscript vary so widely.

For pre-submission editing and proofreading, I put together a pricing estimate based on a complimentary sample edit of a few pages from your manuscript. This will allow us to make sure we’re on the same page about the editing level and enable me to provide you with an accurate estimate.

Cover image of "Unknowing Fanaticism: Reformation Literatures of Self-Annihilation," by Ross Lerner

“Billie helped me correct the proofs for an academic monograph and did an amazing job. They are transparent about their schedule, rigorous and precise in their review of proofs, and always on time. Billie has experience working at an academic press and can often demystify what is confusing to first-time book authors about the process of publishing an academic book. I appreciated their generosity and professionalism. I would definitely work with them again and I recommend their work highly!”

— Ross Lerner, assistant professor of English, Occidental College, and author of Unknowing Fanaticism: Reformation Literatures of Self-Annihilation