Alice Underwood

Alice Underwood - Editor

San Francisco, CA, USA

10 years specializing in copy-editing for academic non-fiction. Communication, depth, and precision for any manuscript.

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Overview

I specialize in copy-editing, ensuring consistency in argument and narrative, and proofreading for academic publications in the fields of literature, politics, history, and the Classics. Books I’ve worked on have been published with university presses at Stanford, Cambridge, and Oxford, as well as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Lexington Press. Michael McFaul’s From Cold War to Hot Peace was a #1 New York Times Bestseller (a good statistic regardless of your politics). I also have 10 years experience editing for magazines, educational resources, and web journals.

My goal is to make your writing clear, precise, and accurate, and to ensure that your text comes across to your readers the way you want it to. That might mean clarifying or developing your argument, streamlining the flow of your narrative, or just checking your p’s and q’s. I enjoy the process of getting to know an author’s style, goals, and personality, and I ensure that the full editing experience is friendly, professional, and rewarding. I’ve worked with tenured professors and students for whom English wasn’t a first language, and my focus is always on honing the author’s language but staying true to his or her style. No matter what your background or writing methods, I’ll do my best to help you find your voice.
Languages
English (UK)
English (US)
Non-Fiction
History
Humanities & Social Sciences
Political Science & Current Affairs

Work experience

Content Writer

Grammarly
April, 2016 – December, 2018 (over 2 years)

Wrote over 50 blogs on grammar (including current highest-ranked Google result on affect vs. effect), writing tips, and business communication.

Managing Online Editor

Russian Life Magazine
March, 2015 – January, 2018 (almost 3 years)

Edited articles for print and online publication in leading English-language magazine about Russian culture.

Content Editor

Shmoop
April, 2014 – December, 2017 (over 3 years)

Edited over 100 learning guides for students on history, literature, theory, and how to write a good essay.

Developmental and copyeditor

Stanford University
September, 2013 – Present (over 9 years)

Edited academic books published by Cambridge University Press, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Oxford University Press.

Portfolio (7 selected works)

From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin's Russia

Michael McFaul

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the diplomat Putin wants to interrogate—and has banned from Russia—a revelatory, inside account of U.S.-Russia relations from 1989 to the present“A fascinating and timely account of the current crisis in the relationship between Russia and the United States.” —New York Times Book ReviewPutin would need an enemy, and he turned to the most reliable one in Russia’s ... read more

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the diplomat Putin wants to interrogate—and has banned from Russia—a revelatory, inside account of U.S.-Russia relations from 1989 to the present“A fascinating and timely account of the current crisis in the relationship between Russia and the United States.” —New York Times Book ReviewPutin would need an enemy, and he turned to the most reliable one in Russia’s ... read more

The Cambridge Companion to James Baldwin (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

This Companion offers fresh insight into the art and politics of James Baldwin, one of the most important writers and provocative cultural critics of the twentieth century. Black, gay, and gifted, he was hailed as a 'spokesman for the race', although he personally, and controversially, eschewed titles and classifications of all kinds. Individual essays examine his classic novels and nonfiction... read more

This Companion offers fresh insight into the art and politics of James Baldwin, one of the most important writers and provocative cultural critics of the twentieth century. Black, gay, and gifted, he was hailed as a 'spokesman for the race', although he personally, and controversially, eschewed titles and classifications of all kinds. Individual essays examine his classic novels and nonfiction... read more

Russian Life

A bi-monthly magazine of Russian culture, history, travel, cuisine and life. Colorfully illustrated. Refreshingly honest.

A bi-monthly magazine of Russian culture, history, travel, cuisine and life. Colorfully illustrated. Refreshingly honest.

Mythos and Voice: Displacement, Learning, and Agency in Odysseus' World

Charles Underwood

This book focuses on mythos and voice in the Odyssey, to illuminate its characters’ journeys from social displacement through discovery and recovery. Mythos and Voice approaches the Odyssey as a narrative of displacement – a narrative that maps the social displacement of its characters, explores the cognitive consequences of that displacement, and embodies the variable strategies by which thos... read more

This book focuses on mythos and voice in the Odyssey, to illuminate its characters’ journeys from social displacement through discovery and recovery. Mythos and Voice approaches the Odyssey as a narrative of displacement – a narrative that maps the social displacement of its characters, explores the cognitive consequences of that displacement, and embodies the variable strategies by which thos... read more

The Whole World in a Book: Dictionaries in the Nineteenth Century

Nineteenth-century readers had an appetite for books so big they seemed to contain the whole world: immense novels, series of novels, encyclopaedias. Especially in Eurasia and North America, especially among the middle and upper classes, people had the space, time, and energy for very long books. More than other multi-volume nineteenth-century collections, the dictionaries, or their descendant... read more

Nineteenth-century readers had an appetite for books so big they seemed to contain the whole world: immense novels, series of novels, encyclopaedias. Especially in Eurasia and North America, especially among the middle and upper classes, people had the space, time, and energy for very long books. More than other multi-volume nineteenth-century collections, the dictionaries, or their descendant... read more

The Cambridge Companion to English Dictionaries (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

How did a single genre of text have the power to standardise the English language across time and region, rival the Bible in notions of authority, and challenge our understanding of objectivity, prescription, and description? Since the first monolingual dictionary appeared in 1604, the genre has sparked evolution, innovation, devotion, plagiarism, and controversy. This comprehensive volume pre... read more

How did a single genre of text have the power to standardise the English language across time and region, rival the Bible in notions of authority, and challenge our understanding of objectivity, prescription, and description? Since the first monolingual dictionary appeared in 1604, the genre has sparked evolution, innovation, devotion, plagiarism, and controversy. This comprehensive volume pre... read more

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