Scholars & Academics
copyediting, line editing
Does your journal article, chapter, or book need styling and sprucing up before being presented to peers or submitted to publishers?
Don’t let distracting grammar and style errors, lazy language, or needless jargon dull your brilliant ideas and compelling data. Your readers, whether experts in your field or laypersons, want strong writing that tells the story of your work with simplicity and elegance.
Following your publisher’s guidelines, I use Word’s Track Changes to fix, strengthen, tighten, and smooth your manuscript. My aim always is to present your writing in its best light.
“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 SWEET, TART, AND GOLDEN: APPLES IN THE MIDWESTERN IMAGINATION
Other testimonials
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
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).
Carter, Dre, Eghosa Obaizamomwan-Hamilton, and simple ant, eds. “Black Sustainability Among the Ruins: The New Technologies of Ancestral Wisdom and Rebuilding the Present.” Guest produced by Tiffani Marie and Kenjus Watson. Black Educology, Mixtape “Journal” 4, no. 1 (2026).
Crosby, Richard Benjamin, and Isaac James Richards, eds. Latter-day Eloquence: Two Centuries of Mormon Oratory. University of Illinois Press, 2026.
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)
Jellison, Katherine, ed. Ohio’s First Ladies: From the Midwest to the White House. Ohio University Press, forthcoming.
Long, Lucy M. Sweet, Tart, and Golden: Apples in the Midwestern Imagination. University of Illinois Press, 2026.
Marchbanks, Jack. Art and Activism: Jazz Artists and Writers in the Civil Rights Vanguard. Ohio University Press, 2026.
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, 2025.
Russell, Alexandria. Black Women Legacies: Public History Sites Seen and Unseen. University of Illinois Press, 2024.
Salgado, Curtis. Walk a Mile in My Blues: A Memoir. With Rebecca Pillsbury. University of Illinois Press, forthcoming.
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)
What does a copyedit or line edit with me look like?
- You reach out using the contact form or by email to tell me about your project (e.g., type of writing, topic, timeline, word count, concerns).
- We meet by phone or video call to introduce ourselves and discuss your project.
- I assess your manuscript, determining the project rate based on the writing’s quality, complexity, density, and other factors. If you’re interested, I provide a 750-word sample so you can see how I work with Word Track Changes.
- We enter into an agreement outlining specifications, including the selection of one or two rounds of copyediting; 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 finalized manuscript by the handoff date. I complete the edit by the due date, following the project schedule for one or two rounds of copyediting, updating you on progress, and informing you of any issues that arise.
- You pay the balance of the project rate, and I send your edited manuscript.
- If you opt to follow up, we discuss any questions about specific edits or the revision process so that you feel confident about reviewing and revising your edited manuscript.
