Academic Editorial Services
“Maya’s proofreading on my book was in a word, excellent. When she returned the manuscript with her corrections, comments, and queries, everything was so clear and helpful that I didn’t need to ask her any additional questions. I am especially grateful for her thorough work with the Works Cited list and in-text citations. Thanks to Maya’s proofreading, it is a book I can now feel proud of having written. I also found Maya to be very personable, and I enjoyed our correspondence. I will recommend her to my colleagues working on similar projects!”
 
Laura Castor
​Academic Author
Welcome, students, academics, and independent researchers and scholars!

Here you'll find out all about working with a professional editor to help you express your ideas clearly in your writing.

Do I need to hire an editor?

Are you:
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  • a student looking for an expert to ensure your paper conforms to your department's style guide?​
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  • a journal editor looking for style and formatting consistency across all the articles in a volume or issue?
 
  • an academic author looking for help polishing your English writing?
 
  • an academic supervisor looking for a professional and reliable proofreader to recommend to your students?​
In the current "publish or perish" academic climate, having a regular output of innovative and clearly written academic writing has never been more important. A professional editor can help ensure that typos, awkward wording, and inconsistencies don't undermine your ideas, and a fresh pair of eyes can give your research a better chance of being accepted in the top journals in your field.

What information should I include when I ask for a quote?

​Your manuscript and the level(s) of editing that you want
I need to see your full manuscript (including footnotes, endnotes and/or bibliography, if you require editing or proofreading for those as well) before I can determine whether it falls within the disciplines that I work with and provide a precise quote and timeline for my editorial services.

This is because I need to see whether the writing style and quality vary across the length of the text and get a sense of how long it would take me to edit or proofread any notes and bibliographic material.
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Rest assured I treat all client documents with complete confidentiality, as per my Terms and Conditions.
(For students) Written permission from your supervisor to hire an editor
I require written proof from your department or supervisor that you have permission to use the services of an editorial professional before I will accept any work from you.
Your budget and your preferred payment method
Knowing what your editorial budget is, and the level(s) of editing and proofreading you want to spend it on, helps me tailor my quote to your needs. If your preferred level of editing is outside of your budget, I may recommend a different level that will still help your writing shine while being more affordable for you.

I accept payment by Canadian or UK bank transfer; an electronic bank transfer is my preferred method of payment for clients in Canada and the UK. I also accept payment through PayPal or Wise for clients who are based elsewhere. I normally invoice for 50% of the full payment up-front and the remaining 50% on the date when I submit my completed work to you, although I am happy to discuss other payment arrangements with you if necessary.
Your deadline
Deadlines shape an editor's schedule, so your deadline will be a big factor in determining whether I can work with you on your text.

I am usually booked several weeks or months in advance for larger projects, so for monographs, journal volumes and other large texts I recommend getting in touch at least a few weeks before your text will be ready for editing.

If your text is on the shorter side (under 20,000 words), I may be able to fit it in around my larger projects right away, but the more advance notice you give me the more likely I'll be available for your project. 

If you tell me that you will have a text ready to be edited in a few months, I will follow up with you at a later date, but please note that I must prioritize clients who make firm commitments. I can only reserve an editing or proofreading time slot for your text if you pay a deposit at the time of booking.
I'd like to get a quote

How long does editing or proofreading take?

As the saying goes, "How long is a piece of string?" There's no single answer to the question.

An 80,000-word monograph can take me under two weeks or over a month to complete, depending on the number of endnotes or works cited, the writing quality, the level of editing or proofreading that you need, how quickly you respond to queries, and many other factors. That's why I ask to see the manuscript in advance and ask for as much information about your text as you can provide in advance.

What types of academic writing does Maya edit and proofread?

I offer editing, proofreading and reference-checking services for all levels of academic writing, from undergraduate essays to journal articles, journal volumes and scholarly monographs.

These are the academic disciplines I specialize in:
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  • the humanities, and in particular
    • philosophy
    • English literature and literary theory
 
  • the social sciences, and in particular
    • political science
    • gender studies
 
  • education
 
  • business and management studies​

Proofreading for students

Your writing, whether it be a piece of coursework, a thesis, a dissertation, or a research paper, should be evaluated based on the quality of your ideas and how well you understand the subject matter, without typos and poor English getting in the way. A professional proofreader can help eliminate these distractions so your writing is judged on its academic merit alone.
 
Academic integrity is my top priority, and it is crucial that your work remains your own. I will proofread student texts for spelling, grammar, punctuation, sense, and consistency, but I will never write, rewrite or substantially edit the content of your work.

What is Maya's academic background?

I have a bachelor's degree in philosophy and English literature (McGill University, 2004) and a master's degree in children's literature (University of Reading, 2005).

Before becoming self-employed, for ten years I was an editor and editorial manager with higher education publisher *Research, and in 2017 I spent six months as Department Manager of the King's College London chemistry department.
I'd like to get a quote

Testimonials

"Thank you so much to Maya Berger for proof-reading my PhD thesis. She has done a great job, and I am very pleased with her proof-reading service. Her working style is very accurate and she pays close attention to grammar, English use, and spelling, and thereby improved my work immensely. She was able to deal with the complexity of human behaviour research and all the vocabulary related to it. Moreover, her comments and edits were clear, precise and comprehensive. I can definitely recommend Maya."

Joerg Berberich
PhD researcher
"It has been a pleasure to work with Maya. She does an exquisite job. Unlike with some other proofreaders, your work doesn’t fail publisher spot-checks over and over again. She knows how to plan her time, she is friendly, supportive and solution oriented. Her strategic guidance is brilliant. Additionally, her response time is also very quick and she delivers the material back in the time agreed. I definitely recommend Maya. I look forward to working with her on future projects."

A. Kara
Author
"I have to thank Maya for editing my paper. I am impressed with the great attention to detail, improvement in clarity, and overall advice around style and flow of the work. I think service is very efficient and effective, and would highly recommend her."

Mohammad Sarshar, LLB
© Maya Berger, What I Mean To Say, 2022