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Editorial)Review!for$IngramSpark$Publishers!
Title:!!
Author:!!
Project!identification:!!
Cost!estimate:!!
Date!received:!!
Word!count:!!
The$purpose$of$this$analysis$is$to$provide$an$overview$of$editorial$issues$and$concerns$
present$in$the$manuscript$provided.$A$sample$edit$illustrating$how$the$recommended$
level$of$edit$can$improve$your$title$is$included.$
Please!read!this!document!carefully.!Depending!on!the!type!of!book!you!are!writing,!not!all!of!the!
entries!on!this!form!will!apply!to!you.!The!editor!has!marked!these!with!“n/a.”!
Your!manuscript’s!overall!rating!is!on!page!3.!
STYLE!GUIDELINES!FOR!AUTHORS!
What!is!an!editorial!style!guide?!
A!style!guide!is!a!set!of!grammar!rules!and!standards!applied!to!manuscripts!that!allows!for!
consistency!among!published!works.!Since!language!is!a!personal!form!of!expression!where!rules!can!
be!applied!in!different!ways,!a!style!guide!gives!editors!a!specific!point!of!reference!to!review!your!
work!against!and!offers!you!an!accepted!editorial!standard!for!your!manuscript.!!
How!was!IngramSpark’s!style!guide!created?!
While!style!guides!can!allow!for!differences!based!upon!preferences!of!individual!publishing!houses,!
IngramSpark!adheres!to!a!traditional!style!of!editing!based!on!The!Chicago!Manual!of!Style,!16th!ed.!
We!use!Merriam5Webster’s!Collegiate!Dictionary,!12th!ed.!to!reference!spelling!variations.!!
Text!
What!is!the!book’s!intended!readership/target!market!(for!example,!general!readership,!young!adult,!
middle!grade,!etc.)!and!genre!(for!example,!science!fiction,!romance,!selfJhelp,!etc.)?!
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What!is!the!tone!of!the!book!(for!example,!formality,!humor,!ageJspecific,!dramatic)?!
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Are!the!author’s!tone!and!level!of!complexity!appropriate!for!the!book’s!purpose!and!intended!
readership!(i.e.!is!the!language!overly!formal!for!an!identified!audience)?!
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Is!the!use!of!perspective!(person,!point!of!view)!consistent?!
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Describe!any!idiosyncrasies!that!will!require!extensive!attention!(for!example,!nonstandard!spellings,!
nonstandard!syntax,!or!use!of!dialect).!
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English!Usage!
Consistent!Grammar!Concerns!!
(This!includes!issues!with!spelling,!sentence!fragments,!subjectJverb!agreement,!tense!shifting,!
sentence!structure,!syntax,!or!other!grammar!concerns.)!!
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Overall!Punctuation!Errors!
(This!includes!repetitive!issues!with!end!punctuation,!commas,!quotation!marks,!colon/semicolon,!
ellipses,!apostrophes,!en!and!em!dashes,!and/or!hyphen!use.)!
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Word!Usage!
(This!includes!ongoing!problems!with!word!usage!such!as!commonly!misused!words.!For!example,!
their!vs.!there!vs.!they’re,!affect!vs.!effect,!ensure!vs.!assure.!This!may!also!include!issues!with!word!
choices!and!capitalization.)!
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Clear!and!Consistent!Use!of:!
Abbreviations!!
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Acronyms!(pronounceable!
abbreviations)!!
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Numerals!versus!spelledJout!
numbers!(99!versus!ninetyJ
nine)!!
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Dates!and!time!!
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Superscript!Ordinals!
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Percentages,!decimals,!and!
fractions!!
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Content!!
Are!there!problems!with!text!flow!(for!example,!transitions!between!paragraphs!and!chapters,!order!
of!sentences!and!ideas).!
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Manuscript!Formatting!
Extra!spaces!(between!or!within!
sentences)!
n/a!
Extra!hard!returns!
n/a!
Lack!of!paragraph!indents!
n/a!
Font!problems!(includes!misused!
underlining!or!italics!for!
emphasis)!
n/a!
Notes/bibliographies/references/! n/a!
citations!
Figures!and!art!(in!relation!to!
text)!
n/a!
Other!formatting!concerns!
n/a!
Would!this!text!benefit!from!table!of!contents/index?!
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Overall!Rating!(scale!of!1!to!10)!
Grammar!(1!to!10)!
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Punctuation!(1!to!10)!
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Spelling!(1!to!10)!
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Organization!(1!to!10)!
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Editorial!Review!(1!to!10)!
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Recommended!Service!
For!a!description!of!recommended!service,!please!see!the!explanations!starting!on!the!following!page.!
Overview!
Characterization!
Plot!Flow!
Dialogue!!
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Information about your editor:
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Copyedit!
The!purpose!of!this!“standalone”!level!of!editing!is!to!prepare!an!already!wellJstructured!manuscript!
for!publication.!A!copyedit!may!address!any!of!the!following:!
Correct!errors!in!spelling!such!as:!
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Correct!errors!involving!words!that!have!similar!spelling!or!sound!such!as:!!
o “manager”!and!“manger”!!
o “there,”!“their,”!and!“they’re!
o “affect”!and!“effect”!
o “two,”!too,”!and!“two”!
o “it’s”!and!“its”!
o “insure,”!“ensure,”!and!“assure”!
o Correct!errors!in!possessives!involving!names,!as!well!as!both!singular!and!plural!
possessives!
o May!query!inconsistencies!in!specialty!terms!not!commonly!known!by!the!public!
and!are!difficult!to!verify!!
o May!query!inconsistencies!in!names!and!places!that!are!fictional!or!not!wellJknown!!
Correct!errors!in!punctuation!including:!!
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Ellipses!
Different!types!of!dashes!including!en!dashes!and!em!dashes!
Hyphenations!!
Commas!
Colons!
Semicolon!!
Quotation!marks!!
Apostrophes!!
Various!punctuation!marks!within!sentences!and!at!the!end!of!sentences!
Sentence!fragments!
RunJon!sentences!
Correct!errors!in!grammar!including:!!
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Subject/verb!agreement!
Mixture!of!tenses!
Issues!involving!plural!and!singular!
Treatment!of!possessives!
Basic!syntax!(the!way!in!which!words!are!put!together!to!form!phrases!or!sentences)!!
Correct!errors!in!capitalization:!!
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Ensuring!that!proper!capitalization!rules!are!applied!in!different!situations!such!as:!!
o Titles!of!persons!
o Titles!of!various!types!of!works!
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Specific!terms!including!those!referring!to!directions,!seasons,!and!languages!
Identify!some!basic!language!usage!issues!such!as:!!
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Words!that!are!used!incorrectly!as!in:!!
o “Incontinence”!when!“incompetence”!was!intended!
Incorrect!attempted!use!of!a!noun!as!a!verb!as!in:!!
o “Impact”!
o “Strategy”!and!“strategize”!!
Suggest!changes!in!word!choice!in!cases!when:!!
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A!word!is!overused!
A!different!word!choice!may!more!clearly!convey!the!meaning!!
Some!readers!may!find!a!particular!word!offensive!
Content!Editing!!
A!content!edit!considers!a!document’s!concept!and!intended!use,!content,!organization,!design,!and!
style.!The!purpose!is!not!just!to!make!it!correct!and!consistent,!but!also!to!make!the!document!
functional!for!its!readers.!As!the!highest!level!of!editing,!we!recommend!content!editing!for!authors!
whose!work!may!contain!moderate!to!extensive!problems!with!punctuation,!grammar,!pointJofJview,!
tense,!dialogue,!narrative!tone,!and/or!sentence!structure!and!clarity.!Content!editing!may!involve!
restructuring!or!rewriting!part!or!all!of!a!document.!Content!editing!also!benefits!those!writing!in!
English!as!a!second!language.!
A!content!edit!is!almost!entirely!analysisJbased,!whether!at!the!document!level!or!at!the!paragraph,!
sentence,!or!word!level.!Decisions!require!judgment,!not!just!the!application!of!rules,!and!therefore!
should!be!negotiable!with!the!writer;!for!this!reason,!a!content!edit!is!a!twoJpart!edit.!(Contrast!this!
work!with!copyediting,!most!of!which!is!rulesJbased!and!concerned!with!grammar,!spelling,!
punctuation,!and!other!mechanics!of!style!and!the!internal!consistency!of!facts!and!presentation.!
Both!types!of!edit!are!essential;!they!just!focus!on!different!issues.)!!
A!content!edit!deals!with!the!overall!structure!of!the!publication.!This!level!of!editing!asks:!!
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Are!there!structural!problems!with!the!manuscript?!
Are!there!stylistic!lapses!within!the!manuscript?!
Are!there!sections,!entire!paragraphs,!or!sentences!that!should!be!moved!to!improve!the!
flow!of!the!manuscript?!
Does!the!entire!manuscript!fit!together!into!a!coherent!whole?!!
Is!the!order!of!presentation!logical!(from!the!target!audience’s!point!of!view)?!!
Is!all!the!necessary!information!included,!and!unnecessary!information!deleted?!!
Are!the!retrieval!aids!(table!of!contents,!internal!headings,!index)!useful?!Do!they!contain!terms!that!
are!useful!to!the!target!audience?!For!online!materials,!are!the!navigation!aids!logical!and!useful!in!
context?!
The!second!phase!of!content!editing!includes!a!lineJbyJline!review!of!the!manuscript!for!the!
following:!
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Typographical!errors!
Misspelled!words!
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Grammatical!errors!
Punctuation!
Incorrect!usage!(e.g.,!effect/affect)!
Consistency/Standardization!
Sentence!clarity!
Word!choice!
Redundancies!and/or!inaccuracies!in!text!
Maintenance!of!tone/voice!
Content!organization!
Flow/transitions!
Evaluation!of!sentence!structure!
Presentation!