Editing
On-screen editing is the cornerstone of our workflow and approach to quality. (Our on-screen training course is always very well received.) We clean up typescripts (in Word) to be consistent, to conform to house style and to simulate the finished design. We work intelligently and precisely. We avoid over-ambitious computer clean-up macros: ‘First do no harm’ is an excellent precept for copy-editors as well as doctors. We then print out and copy-edit in the conventional way. Because many routine changes have already been made, our highly experienced copy-editors really focus on what the text means.
Authors almost always see the editing marks when they answer the queries; they usually have the opportunity to make reasonable and essential changes without charge. As a result authors rarely make expensive changes to the page proofs or index.