KOK Edit: Your favorite copyeditor since 1984(SM)
KOK Edit: your favorite copyeditor since 1984(SM) KOK Edit: your favorite copyeditor since 1984(SM) Katharine O'Moore Klopf
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Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Is Editing Cheaper the Second Time Around?

Dear journal authors, both those who are native speakers of English and those who are non-native speakers of English:

Sometimes after I have edited an article for you and you have submitted it to a journal, the journal then requests that you revise it for science-related reasons rather than language-related reasons. And then you ask me to edit the revisions before you resubmit your article. Does that mean I am going to edit just the sections that you tell me you have revised?

No.

Why?

  • Because it is my experience that authors always make minor revisions throughout a manuscript after I have edited it. I must reread the entire manuscript to make sure that the supposedly unchanged parts mesh with the officially revised parts.
  • Because I must double-check that in revising your manuscript, you have addressed all of the points made by the journal's reviewers.
  • Because often when authors revise their manuscript for resubmission to a journal, they plan to submit it to a different journal than their original target journal. Each journal has different preferences for how to handle reference citations, headings, tables, figure legends, and many other elements, so it is important that I check all parts of your revised manuscript to ensure that they follow the requirements of the journal that is your current submission target.

So no, it may not be hugely cheaper for me to edit your revised manuscript than it was for me to edit it the first time. Editing takes time; it does not go at all as quickly as reading for pleasure does.

Sincerely,
Your editor







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