As a professional editor in Hamilton Ontario, many people ask my just what exactly an editor does, besides checking commas and periods.
Truth is: There are many different ways in which an editor can help you, your business, your creative project, or whatever it is you are working on.
Professional editing services range from blog editing services to editing business writing and even editing personal letters and emails.
Yes, an editor can correct your writing. A professional editor can tell you whether that comma should be a full-stop. Technical writing is certainly one of the main types of professional editorial services. But there are many more.
As a professional editor for hire in Hamilton Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area, I’ve personally been involved with a diverse range of projects, and I’m continually finding new ways to lend my editing services to business and professionals in the area.
Some clients want excellent copywriting services for their business. Some want substantive editing for their novels. Some want blog editing services. And some want a set of fresh eyes to proofread their work before they publish it.
There are so many different ways a professional editor can help.
Let me share with you my list of the most popular professional editorial services so you know everything you can get when you choose to hire an editor.
The old & true types of professional editing services
Substantive and developmental editorial services
Substantive editing is the most intense form of professional editorial services. In substantive editing, the content (be it a book, article, essay, or any other form of writing) is edited for its organisation, structure, continuity, coherence, and style.
During a substantive edit, the book / article / blog post / document may be changed in major ways. Whole paragraphs may be deleted, rewritten, or expanded.
As A Hamilton editor for hire I’ve been involved with work that left the office almost unrecognisable to how it came in.
A substantive edit is a serious undertaking in which the entire document is edited.
Substantive editorial services are helpful for:
Lengthy pieces such as novels, books whitepapers, essays, and articles.
Benefits of substantive editorial services:
- The work will be more professional
- The work will flow better
- The work will make more sense to the end reader
- The work will have an improved writing style
- A business editor, when working on a substantive edit, will make sure the writing actually achieved its objective (sales / funding etc.)
Substantive editorial services may take weeks or even months depending on the nature of the work. Turnaround times vary. Contact me for details.
Copy editing services for blogs / business / marketing
Copy editing is the type of professional editorial service in which the editor ensures the accuracy and consistency of the work, while also check for technical writing errors. The copy editor also checks for potential legal liabilities. This is one of the most popular business editing services. It’s also the main type of professional editing service for resumes, cover letters and similar pieces of writing.
Copy editing services are helpful for:
- Books
- Blog posts / whole blogs
- Dissertations
- Business letters
- Edtiting resumes
- Business proposals
- Cover letters
- Essays
Turnaround time for copy editing services is usually from a few days to a few weeks depending on the length and complexity of the work. Some editing, such as professional editing services for resumes and cover letters, can be done in a few hours.
Contact me for details.
Proofreading services for blogs / novels / marketing / letters
Proofreading services are the quickest and least intense form of editing services. The job of the professional proofreader is to check for minor errors, including grammatical errors and stylistic errors. This is vital for business editing services as it ensures the writing is professional but it is also vital for sales and creative writing too. Plus, it’s a great idea to have your resume and cover letter proofread.
Professional proofreading services are actually helpful for very any different kinds of writing, even for personal but important writing.
Professional proofreading services is helpful for:
- Books & novels
- Blog posts
- Business letter
- Personal letter
- Personal and business emails
- Business proposals
- Cover letters
- Resumes
- Obituaries
- Newspaper and magazine articles
As a Hamilton proofreader for hire, I’ve been involved with proofing all different types of work. It is surprising just how variable a proofreaders work is. For instance, many people hire proofreaders for important personal emails and letters. This might seem like overkill, but when the letter or email matters to you and you have to get it right, why not hire a proofreader?
Turnaround time for professional proofreading services is usually one day and sometimes even quicker if an express fee is paid. Contact me for details.
Hiring an Editor for Formatting
Formatting is the art of checking the document for proper font style, borders, headers and footers and so forth.
Sometimes simplistic, formatting can be more advanced when it comes to design-intensive documents such as newsletters, books, and marketing materials.
Formatting is helpful for:
- Books and novels (including ebooks)
- Newsletters
- Magazine articles
- Marketing materials
- Important letters and documents
Turnaround time for formatting is negotiable. Contact me for details.
Professional Editorial Reviews
Professional editorial reviews involve the editor judging the document on various criteria and suggesting edits, then either feeding the ideas back to the original author or making amendments on their own.
Review turnaround time is dependent on the complexity and length of the work. Contact me for details.
Blog Editing Services / Website Editing Services
Today, the majority of my Hamilton editorial services involve the internet in some way or another.
- Blog posts
- Guest posts
- Facebook and Adwords ads
- Email newsletters
- Social media posts
- Advertorials
There are many different ways to use editor for online content.
Let’s take a look at some of the most important editorial services for online.
Content marketing editorial services for blogs / business
As an editor in Toronto, Hamilton and the surrounding areas, I find that a good deal of my work is as a content marketing editor, which is basically the main editorial service for blogs and websites.
The content marketing editor wears a lot of hats, and the position is becoming ever more important. SEO. Social media. Blog posts. Guest posts. A content marketing editor is involved with many different types of work, and can help in many ways.
Let’s take a look at some of the different ways a content marketing editor like myself can help you.
The SEO Editor (one of the main blog editing services)
We are witnessing the rise of the SEO editor, the talented individual who bridges the gap between the creative aspect of content and the technical side.
This is the more technical side of blog editing services
As a professional blog editor in Hamilton, I find that this role is becoming more and more important.
SEO editors and professional blog editors check online content in terms of both the writing and its SEO (search engine optimization) performance. This includes editing the keywords, checking the anchor text, making sure LSI keywords are in-place and so on.
One of the main benefits of hiring blog editing services is that an SEO Editor such as myself can simultaneously work wonders on the writing and the content’s performance in Google search.
“Great. But what the hell is SEO?” If you’re wondering, here’s my guide to SEO.
Professional Editing Services for Blog Content strategy (another type of blog editing service)
Professional blog editors are often involved in the content strategy.
As a Hamilton editor for hire, I find Webmasters are increasingly more aware of how important the overall content strategy is, and the fact that no one blog post exists in isolation but as a part of the overall structure of the blog.
As a content strategist and professional blog editor in Hamilton, it’s my responsibility to make sure that content achieves its overall aim as part of a client’s online marketing strategy.
This guarantees that the content actually achieves the aims of the business.
If, for instance, you’re running a store in, let’s say, Burlington, and you want to produce content that generate leads so people end up coming to your physical store, you need the editor to make sure that the content meets that aim.
That’s what content strategy is all about. During the professional blog editing service, the editor will not just edit the writing but will make the content serve the overall marketing objective of the business.
Editing for online marketing (editing for blogs / social media / Google etc.)
As well as editing for blogs content, SEO, and content strategy, a professional editor like myself will also check the editing for online marketing.
This is a broad angle of editing.
This style of editing includes:
- Editing for brand personality
- Editing for social media marketing
- Editing for email newsletters and eblasts
- Editing for online ads including longer-form advertorials and ads like those on Adwords and Facebook
- Editing for guest posts
Editing is evolving. And editorial services are expanding
With the rise of content marketing online, editorial services are expanding. We’re no longer living in the age when an editor checked only for grammar and style.
Of course, business editing services are always in hot demand, but online editing is bringing with it more creative and technical editing too.
Today, editors like myself are involved with writing and content in many different ways, from technical writing to SEO to content strategy. And professional blog editing services (along with SEO and content marketing services) are in hot demand.
Businesses that hire editors are setting themselves up for success online and offline.
Professional editorial services are essential for making sure content is a) professional and b) achieves its purpose.
If you would like to hire editorial services to guarantee the professionalism, accuracy, and efficacy of your content, contact me today.
