The manuscript exists. The worry is whether it reads as well as the thinking deserves.
I sharpen the prose so the ideas land with the assurance they earned.
Who this is for
The serious author at the sentence level.
The nonfiction author, the memoirist, or the academic and multilingual researcher who has a manuscript and wants it made right at the sentence level without losing what makes it theirs. You are not looking for a coach or a co-author. You want word choice sharpened, awkward construction smoothed, and clarity held from first page to last, by an editor who treats the voice as the thing to protect rather than the thing to normalize.
The voice is the heart of the book.
I treat the voice as the point, not the obstacle. The edit protects it, never normalizes it out.
The fear is that unclear language will be mistaken for unclear thought.
I bring close to two decades of publication-ready work for peer-reviewed journals to your manuscript, so the research is judged on its merits.
Three levels of editing
Copy editing. Line editing. Language editing.
The service is defined both by editing level and by author register, because clients arrive thinking in either frame. Tell me what you have, and I will tell you what level fits.
The clean pass that publishers expect.
Spelling, punctuation, grammar, consistency, style-guide compliance. The pass that catches what readers would catch and that editors will catch. House style or yours.
Word choice sharpened, construction smoothed, clarity held.
The pass that does the work of reading you. Awkwardness goes. Cadence comes back. Argument is left visible. Your voice survives intact. This is the core of what most authors want and need.
For ESL and EAL authors writing for English-language publication.
Specifically for researchers whose first language is not English, working toward peer-reviewed publication or trade press. The work reads with natural fluency. The research is judged on its merits rather than obscured by the prose.
Backed by close to two decades of publication-ready work for peer-reviewed journals worldwide, including the International Review of Public Administration, the Korean Social Sciences Journal, and the Korean Public Administration Review.
Nonfiction books, memoir manuscripts, research papers and journal articles, business and marketing writing. All of it, not only book-length manuscripts.
Scope
What is in, what is out.
Inside Editing
Copy editing, line editing, and language editing for serious nonfiction, memoir, and academic or multilingual authors. Books, peer-reviewed papers, business writing, the lot. Edited text returned with all changes tracked.
Available as an add-on to Book Coaching
Copy and line editing on a coached manuscript are delivered through this service line. Quoted separately, not folded into the coaching fee.
Not edited
Fiction. Not the remit. There are excellent fiction editors; I am not one. If your project is fiction, I will say so on first contact and point you elsewhere.
How to start
An email is all I need.
In nineteen years, no editing client has wanted a call before commissioning the work. The pattern is simple: you send the manuscript, I quote the work, you commission it. Editing routes to email.
Send a brief note describing the project, attach a sample (one chapter is plenty), and I will reply with a level recommendation, a timeline, and a quote.
Use the subject line "editing services" so the message lands in the right queue.
jane@meridianeditorial.com More client voices
From editorial offices and authors.
It was Jane Mackay's passion for language that appealed most to me. I was in search of a professional copy editor who offered more than just technical expertise. Jane immersed herself into my text and offered the perfect blend of creative input and highly skilled proofreading.
Ron DeLelles, Author, Roses for Marie (memoir).
I am really impressed at your work. I think you really understood what I am trying to convey.
Francois Mirguet, PhD, Associate Professor, Arizona State University (academic).
IRPA has been very thankful for your prompt and thorough work.
M. Jae Moon, Editor in Chief, International Review of Public Administration.
Just wanted to let you know that the author was really grateful for all your care on the text. Many thanks again.
Production Editor, University of Exeter Press.
Begin
Send the manuscript.
One chapter is enough. I will reply with a level recommendation, a timeline, and a quote. Subject line: "editing services."