Scholars & Academics
copyediting, line editing
Does your article, chapter, or book need professional styling and sprucing up before being presented to peers or handed off to publishers?
Don’t let your brilliant ideas and compelling data be dulled by distracting grammar and style errors, lazy language, and needless jargon. Whether expert peers or a general audience, your readers want good writing. Let them enjoy your clear and cohesive storytelling as they gain insights from your work.
I use Word’s Track Changes to fix, strengthen, tighten up, smooth out, and make suggestions about the things that could take away from your writing. Following the guidelines of your publisher, I aim to present to you your writing in its best light. Your readers will never know I was there.
What does a line edit or copyedit with me look like?
- You contact me with some basic information about your project.
- If your project is a potential fit for me, we meet to introduce ourselves, discuss your project, and see if we vibe.
- If we agree to move forward, you send your manuscript—held in confidence, of course—so I can assess the scope of the project, estimate the hours needed to complete the project, and determine a project rate. During this assessment, I do a sample edit to time myself. I then share the edited sample with you so that you can see how I work.
- If you are still interested in working with me, I write up an agreement outlining my services and your specifications, handoff and due dates, project rate and deposit amount, payment information, and contingencies.
- You sign and return the agreement and pay the deposit.
- You send your final manuscript by the handoff date, and I complete the edit by the due date.
- You pay the balance of the project rate, and I send you your edited manuscript.
- If you opt for a follow-up, we meet to discuss any questions you have about specific edits or the revision process so that you feel confident about reviewing and revising your edited manuscript.
- You revise your manuscript. You’re one step closer to publishing your work!
Select academic books and articles
Selections listed with permission.
Aithamon, Marielle. “Silence: A Predicament for Feminist Anthropology and Social Innovation.” Feminist Anthropology 3, no. 2 (2022): 373–80. (copyedited for client Ideas on Fire)
Benjamin, Jody. The Texture of Change: Dress, Self-Fashioning, and History in Western Africa, 1700–1850. Ohio University Press, 2024.
Blackford, Mansel G. Land Hunger: Ohio and the Western Frontiers. Ohio University Press, 2025.
Carter, Dre, Eghosa Obaizamomwan-Hamilton, and simple ant, eds. “Thinking Beyond Carcerality and State Education Toward Black Futurities and Freedom Dreaming.” Guest produced by David Stovall. Black Educology, Mixtape “Journal” 3, no. 1 (2025).
Crosby, Richard Benjamin, and Isaac James Richards, eds. Latter-day Eloquence: Two Centuries of Mormon Oratory. University of Illinois Press, forthcoming.
Cummiskey, Julia Ross. Virus Research in Twentieth-Century Uganda: Between Local and Global. Ohio University Press, 2024.
DuBois, Lindsay. “Valuing and Devaluing: Struggles over Social Payments, Dignity, and Sneakers.” Economic Anthropology 10, no. 2 (2023): 233–45. (copyedited for client Ideas on Fire)
Eaton, Robert, Steven V. Hunsaker, and Bonnie Moon. Improving Learning and Mental Health in the College Classroom. West Virginia University Press, 2023.
Erlank, Natasha. Convening Black Intimacy: Christianity, Gender, and Tradition in Early Twentieth-Century South Africa. Ohio University Press, 2022.
Gürsel, Zeynep Devrim. “Looking Together as Method: Encounters with Ottoman Armenian Expatriation Photographs.” Visual Anthropology Review 39, no. 1 (2023): 200–29. (copyedited for client Ideas on Fire)
Jaji, Rose. “Ethics and Intellectual Harm in Research with Refugees.” Social Science Research Council, Kujenga Amani, February 21, 2024. (copyedited for client Ideas on Fire)
Long, Lucy M. Sweet, Tart, and Golden: Apples in the Midwestern Imagination. University of Illinois Press, forthcoming.
Marchbanks, Jack. Art and Activism: Jazz Artists and Writers in the Civil Rights Vanguard. Ohio University Press, forthcoming.
Muñoz, Joaquin. “‘All of This Is Whitewashed, All of This Is Colonized’: Exploring Impacts of Indigenous Young Adult Literature on Teacher Candidates’ Perceptions of Indigenous Peoples.” Critical Education 15, no. 3 (2024): 62–78.
Olma, Nikolaus. “The Collective Image of the City: Informal Taxis and the Production of Vernacular Toponyms in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.” City and Society 35, no. 2 (2023): 101–111. (copyedited for client Ideas on Fire)
Osborne, Myles. Making Martial Races: Gender, Society, and Warfare in Africa. Ohio University Press, 2023.
Parvin, Nassim. “Just Design: Pasts, Presents, and Future Trajectories of Technology.” Social Science Research Council, Just Tech, February 1, 2023. (copyedited for client Ideas on Fire)
Peoples, Gabriel A. Goin’ Viral: Uncontrollable Black Performance. University of Illinois Press, forthcoming.
Russell, Alexandria. Black Women Legacies: Public History Sites Seen and Unseen. University of Illinois Press, 2024.
Sheffield, Ric S. False Promises: The Struggle for Black Voting Rights in 1800s Ohio. Swallow Press, an imprint of Ohio University Press, 2025.
Sheikholeslami, Hosna. “Invisible Experts: The Curious Case of the Book Knower in Iran.” Anthropology of Work Review 44, no. 1 (2023): 15–24. (copyedited for client Ideas on Fire)
Soliku, Ophelia. “Living Around Mole National Park: Grassroots Perspectives on Gendered Experiences of Protected Area Conflicts and Peacebuilding Strategies.” Social Science Research Council, Kujenga Amani, February 28, 2024. (copyedited for client Ideas on Fire)
Xu, Yiran. “Grappling with Native-Speakerism as an International Multilingual Researcher: When Idealism Clashes with Reality.” In Narratives of TESOL Professionals: Experiences Navigating the Doctoral Program, edited by Hayriye Kayi-Aydar, Angel Steadman, and Kate Shea, 105–118. Charlotte, NC: Information Age, 2023. (copyedited for client Ideas on Fire)
Testimonials
Dana was an incredibly helpful copyeditor for my book being published by the University of Illinois Press. She picked up on details that I had overlooked and pointed out phrasing or organization that could be confusing to readers. I felt she helped me clarify my writing, all the while keeping to my own voice and style. I have worked with copyeditors at other presses, and Dana definitely stands out as the best. — Lucy M. Long, PhD, Author of numerous articles and books, including Sweet, Tart, and Golden: Apples in the Midwestern Imagination
Dana is a wonderful copyeditor whose deft attention to detail and commitment to clear and conscious writing has been an enormous help on Ideas on Fire manuscripts. Her edits are quick, precise, and thorough while maintaining the integrity of author voices and publisher needs. She gets at the heart of a manuscript’s purpose, and her edits draw that out beautifully. — Cathy Hannabach, PhD, Founder and CEO, Ideas on Fire
Dana is a superb copyeditor. She has edited several academic books for Ohio University Press, and we hope she will continue to work with us on many more! Her edits are detail oriented, precise, and thoughtful, and she writes clear and respectful queries to authors. I feel much less stress about a project when I know Dana is working on it. I would highly recommend her editorial work. — Tyler Balli, Managing Editor, Ohio University Press
DJ went above and beyond for my editing needs. It felt like she was in my writing room thinking alongside me, encouraging me where there may have been doubt and asking questions that readers would need clarity on. Not only that, but all of DJ’s feedback was clean and organized, making it easy to incorporate and keep track of my progress. I would strongly recommend DJ for any writer that needs a copyeditor who will focus on quality and still be efficient with timelines. — Gabriel Peoples, PhD, Assistant Professor, Gender Studies, Indiana University
Dana has done a great job copyediting for the University of Illinois Press. She works well with authors and provides excellent suggestions and respectful queries. I enjoy working with her and would highly recommend her to any press looking to add to their copyeditor list. — Jennifer Argo, Managing Editor, University of Illinois Press
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