Marisa Antonaya – Editor

I'm a former literature professor who switched to full-time freelance work over ten years ago. I specialize in academic editing and back-of-book indexing in most humanities-related fields. Some of my recent projects have been on topics such as philosophy, theology, social sciences, political science, history, and business.

My clients include both traditionally published authors working with university presses and indie authors looking to self-publish. If you're unsure whether I'm a fit for you or your book's subject matter, please don't hesitate to contact me and tell me about your project. My goal is to help your manuscript reach its highest potential fulfill your goal--whether that means landing a publishing deal or submitting an error-free manuscript for self-publishing.

For a more detailed description of my specialty services, please read on.

INDEXING

As an indexer, I'm a mediator between the author and reader. As such, I seek to condense the essence of your book into an efficient, useful tool that will help your readers understand not just the basic contents but also the tone and underlying themes of your work.

Unlike a concordance (a type of index listing which words appear in a text and how often), a subject index requires careful planning and close collaboration between author and indexer. Therefore, I will remain in constant communication with you, and work through as many drafts as necessary before arriving at a final index.

EDITING

I specialize in copy editing and line editing. In general terms, copy editing looks at the fine details of sentence structure and grammar, and also weeds out errors and inconsistencies in content. As a copy editor, I will go through your manuscript with a fine-tooth comb to make sure it's free of any mechanical errors and that it conforms to any style guide you might need to follow (such as the Chicago Manual of Style).

Line editing, on the other hand, focuses on the style and readability of language. Is there an expression you tend to overuse? Do you feel your sentences just run on and on and on? Line editing can help with that!

I'm happy to combine both services into a single contract. Simply let me know what your editing needs are when you contact me.

PROOFREADING

Proofreading is the final step in your journey to having your work published.

As a proofreader, I will correct any final typos and grammar issues, but also make sure the manuscript looks right by fixing any weird line spacing or heading issues. I will also make sure your table of contents and chapter headers match (because we all forget to update that TOC sometimes!).

I look forward to hearing from you!