Since my work options are limited where I'm living right now, I'm doing a bit of volunteer editing to keep myself from getting rusty. It's been all hobbyist fiction writing, which is new for me since my background is in journalism and corporate editing.

I've noticed a trend among several writers where they're punctuating dialogue with full stops instead of commas at the end:

"ABC and XYZ." He said.

instead of

"ABC and XYZ," he said.

My brain is fully broken by this, and I am trying to figure out if this is some sort of shift within online fiction writing that I have completely missed. I'm assuming it's not, but, like I said, it's driving me a little batty.

[Principal Skinner voice] Am I out of touch about punctuating dialogue, or is it the writers who are wrong?

Roll up, roll up, get 'em while they're hot!

Hello beautiful writers! My name is Lauren and I am a journal and magazine editor looking to expand my portfolio into books.

Quick about me: BA English Lit + Creative Writing, MA Publishing, two years editing journals and magazines.

Some sneaky extras: worked with major UK-based lit agency, RCW, and have certifications in rights management and copyright law.

I read (and write) across multiple genres, so I'm open to ANYTHING! 😏 Because of my time working with agents and my understanding of rights, I'm also able to provide some advice on querying/submissions if that would be of use to you!

Now... down to the dirty deets...

I provide structural edits and copyediting. What does that entail? I'm glad you asked!

Structural edits include:

- Manuscript annotation and in-line comments!

- Further suggestions for development or changes!

- Potential selling points for agents!

Rates:

<50k = £200/$275

50-80k = £300/$410

80-100k = £400/$545

Each additional 10k = £40/$55

Copyediting includes:

- Spelling, grammar and punctuation polish!

- Formatting, typography and style consistency!

- Final proofread!

Rates:

0.25p/0.5¢ per word

I'm being upfront with pricing, partially because these are non-negotiable (I gotta eat, sorry guys...) but also because it's the most annoying thing in the world to have pricing be a ✨mystery✨. Save the mysteries for the books.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss further, DM me!

How to practice email copywrighting

My copy editor unfortunately left the industry and I'm having trouble finding a replacement.

The project is on climate change and environmental issues from a socialist perspective. It was ideal working with a socialist copy editor because she understood where each piece was supposed to go (ie persuading the reader that stopping catastrophic climate change is not possible under our current political/economic system). Regrettably, "card carrying socialist" isn't an option on copy editor directories.

I need approximately 60-80 pages copy edited every 3-4 months. Substantive editing will already be done. My prior copy editor can provide a reference that I'm easy enough to work with and pay promptly. The project itself is having a bit of a soft launch right now.

The format is long form. For example, issue 1 was trying understand the effect of climate change on freshwater using the collapse of Lake Chad as a case study -- so it covered some history as well as science and economics. A few representative examples:

https://www.finitemag.org/2025/11/climate-models-economic-models-william-nordhaus-obama/

https://www.finitemag.org/2025/11/debt-structural-adjustments-imf-world-bank-mobutu-marcos/

https://www.finitemag.org/2026/05/car-culture-urban-planning-congestion-parking-personal-finance-mass-transit-phase-out-cars-climate-change-electric-cars/

Anyway I'm really struggling to replace my copy editor and hoping for some help.

ADD: I've gotten more DMs and responses than expected. It will take me some time to go through these. Realistically I won't be able to follow up until next week.

To me, changing U.S. in a direct quote to US falls cleanly under CMOS (18th) 12.7, but it's not explicit, and I don't see anything addressing this in the wonderful Q&A, blog, or forum.

Going to go with my instinct and change it, but interested in what the community thinks.

Im still in school and its difficult to make and edit videos while trying to do homework

I finished the Poynter/ACES Introductory Certificate in Copyediting a few weeks ago. I have the mechanics and style guides down, but the transition from “certified” to actually landing paid gigs feels like a void of vague advice.

Most of the beginner guidance online sounds like pure vibes:

• "Build a portfolio with 200-word before/after Track Changes samples." Does a paying client or managing editor actually care about mock samples, or do they just want a live trial edit / formal test?
• "Join job boards." Reedsy requires five commercially published books to even create a profile. Upwork is an exhausting race to the bottom against AI churn. EFA is another $145–$180 paywall before seeing a single listing.

For working freelancers and in-house editors: what did the actual bridge between earning your baseline credential and cashing your first invoice look like?

A few specific questions:

1. Did mock sample edits ever get you hired, or is offering a quick 500-word sample on the client's actual manuscript the only thing that works?
2. Where did you find your first real, low-friction reps (i.e., indie authors, student papers/theses, content agencies, or local orgs)?
3. Is cold emailing managing editors asking to take their freelance overflow test viable when you have an ACES credential but zero published client credits yet?

Looking for practical, direct advice from people doing the work rather than the run-of-the-mill "build a website and network" stuff.

I recently purchased PerfectIt and linked it to my Chicago Manual of Style account. Does anyone know where I can find style sheet files (.pft) for AP style and APA style? I understand that these are not native to PerfectIt and that I have the option to build them myself, but I'm wondering if it's possible to buy them or access crowdsourced versions.

I am a student in the UW Editing Program. As part of my final unit, I have a required assignment to do a written interview of someone currently working in the field. The details of this is a couple email exchanges where I would ask basic informational questions (How’d you get into the field, what advice would you have, what do you like about your job, that kind of stuff.) I’m hoping to gain insight into what working in the field is really like, since I’m nearing the end of my program and hope to gain work as a freelance copyeditor! Please comment or message if you are willing and I will reach out!! Thanks so much (:

I am a beginner proofreader and would like some advice. Where should I start and how much should I pay for my services?

Hi everyone,

I’m from Pakistan and I’ve been working as an English proofreader for around two years now.

I currently work for a company where I proofread, edit and amend entire manuscripts. And when I say entire manuscripts, I mean the whole thing. Grammar, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, awkward sentences, consistency, formatting, little errors that authors might miss, basically everything that needs fixing before a book is ready.

The funny (or honestly, not so funny) part is that I get paid peanuts for it.

I can spend hours going through a manuscript and fixing hundreds of things, but the pay really doesn't match the amount of work involved. I've been doing this for about two years, so I know I have the experience, but I feel like I'm stuck working for someone else for very little.

I really want to start freelancing and work directly with authors instead. I've tried Fiverr, but I haven't had much luck there. I made my gig, but getting your first few clients seems almost impossible when you have no reviews. It's frustrating because I know I can do the work, I just don't know how to get people to actually find me. So I'm trying Reddit now.

If you're an author who has a manuscript sitting somewhere that needs a good pair of eyes on it, I'd genuinely love to help. I work with both fiction and non-fiction and I'm comfortable going through an entire manuscript rather than just correcting a few pages.

And if you don't need a proofreader yourself but have any advice on where people actually find freelance editing/proofreading clients, I'd really appreciate that too. I’m just trying to get out of the "working for peanuts" phase and start building something of my own. 😅 Feel free to message me if you need someone to look over your manuscript.

I fear the beta reader I hired on fiverr used Ai for my notes. The thing is….a lot of the notes seem relevant. Should I still consider them useful and make edits based off the notes? I’m torn. Any advice is appreciated.

Side question, should I be worried that they might take my manuscript? I’m now nervous because it seems shady that they did this when I specifically asked them not to use Ai.

Your advice is appreciated. 🙏

I work in corporate business copyediting RFPs. We're currently getting "dead" versions but due to really tight timelines and turnarounds the company wants us to work on "live" versions - that is, versions on the SharePoint that both project managers and designers are also in at the same time. That way they can be implementing our edits (and sales' edits) while we're working on other parts of the document.

One concern is them delete our comments as they go - we won't be able to see what's already been edited, make sure queries didn't get lost to computer hiccups, etc. They'll also need to not be inserting text while we're editing, just limiting to small changes.

But even if they don't delete our comments and mark them as done some other way, I'm a tad concerned about it. How do we handle if they follow too closely, make our suggested edits, and then we want to go back and undo those edits?

How normal is it for editors to work on a live version versus a dead version? And what's a reasonable turnaround time for a certain size of documents? Asking for a reality/sanity check. (The company already has us edit mostly in Photoshop, again because sales can't get their hands out of the damn thing until a day before shipping, so I know this company's processes are wackadoo.)

Hello!

I am a professional editor based in India, and have native fluency in English. I have done a BA and MA in English literature and a diploma in creative writing. I have been working in the publishing industry for over 6 years now and have received professional training in line editing, copy editing, developmental editing, and proofreading.

I enjoy reading and writing romance in my free time, and am also a published author in other genres with major publishers. I adore reading romance and helping authors polish their manuscripts and get them submission-ready!

If you're looking for an editor/proofreader/beta reader who has a genuine passion for the genre and can also help you craft query letters/emails to publishers, do consider getting in touch.

I work remotely but am always available to answer the author's queries over email.

Please comment if you need any of these services. I work at the standard Indian rates for my level of experience.

Regards.

Need fresh copy but tight on budget? I’m an adaptable, entry-level copywriter with a strong grasp of SEO and digital growth. Since I’m building my portfolio from scratch, I’ll write your first social post or email for FREE. If you love it, we can talk about my discounted rates.

AI can not do tone.

Grammarly once fascinated me, but it only flattened everything.

So I present to you ... Human copyediting! Unheard of since 2022. We can not let our writing erode as AI's mechanical sea sands it down, making the web a repetitive shitfest.

I am looking for clients as I set up my brand. I've made my logo (see above) and an expenses account as an under-18 sole trader, so don't laugh my business idea out. Us humans have hope, if we reject Big Tech's polishing our ideas into nothing.

Automated looms weaved just as well for less - down with the Luddites. AI is a brilliant proofreader because it only has to follow clear rules. But it confuses the author's tone and evident errors, thus wrangling out every shred of humanity from the work and leaving behind a barren junk pile. However, my service will add to the author's glittery awesomeness, and I will debate with clientele for their best work. I won't cave, or be a dunce. Because I kept away from chatbots.

Any feedback? Anyone want service? YOU must speak out! I'll respond after finishing Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style.

Hello!

I completed a copyediting certificate program and have been doing web editing for a non profit, but my main goal has always been to work with fiction indie authors.

My issue is that I'm struggling to figure out the best way to connect with these authors.

Freelance job boards like Upwork get swarmed with applications, and I can't afford to keep spending money to apply to jobs that are unattainable.

I have a presence on Instagram (1.2k followers), but have had no luck. I think it's hard to start conversations on Instagram since it's more media focused.

I have tried my luck on Threads as well, but editors seem to have a bad rep on there on account of many advertising themselves unprompted and being pretty overbearing.

I don't want to give up on pursuing a job I feel
passionate about, so any productive advice helps!

Looking to polish your novel, short story, or manuscript? I offer copy editing and proofreading to clean up grammar, smooth out pacing, and fix typos - all while keeping your original voice intact.

Services:
Grammar, punctuation, & line edits
Flow, pacing, & consistency checks

📥 Rates vary by length. DM me your word count and genre for a quick quote! (Feel free to drop a sample page and I’ll edit it for free to give you an idea of what you’ll be paying for).

I want to share this with r/Copyediting because it's an excellent guide for how to detect AI-generated writing, and also covers the ethical and quality issues involved with it. Not just "it's bad," but why it's problematic. I know we've all been grappling with how to work with this prose. Solomon Nelson also did an excellent critique of Mike Israetel's doctoral thesis that I have watched numerous times, as it's so well-argued and thorough.