SciMeditor policies
Policies regarding the Basic Editing package
Editing certificate
The Basic Editing package only provides basic English language checks. As a result, I cannot guarantee that a manuscript that has been edited by the Basic Editing package is ready for publication. For this reason, I do not provide PDF Editing Certificates for this package.
Revision edits
The Basic Editing package provides complimentary re-edits for 50% of the normal rate. However, if the changes made to the manuscript are so substantial that the manuscript barely resembles the original edited document, I reserve the right to charge the full Basic rate.
Policies regarding the Comprehensive Editing package
Revision edits
While I strive to produce a perfect, immediately submissible manuscript the first time I see it, authors often make substantive changes to the manuscript after the first round of editing. This is because of:
- My suggestions in the first edit
- My analysis and suggestions in the Analytical Review (if ordered)
- Outright rejection by the target journal, which means the paper has to be reformulated and rewritten according to the recommendations of another journal
- The target journal requires extensive rewriting and/or additional data before it will approve publication
- Feedback from conference colleagues and other peers
- New experimental results
- New publications by other research groups
It is my experience that it takes at least 2 rounds of editing before a paper is published. As a result, the Comprehensive Editing service offers one complimentary round of editing after the first edit. This applies to previously edited text and new text up to 10% of the word count of the original paper. New text that exceeds this amount will be charged for at the Standard rate. However, if the changes made to the manuscript are so substantial that the revised manuscript barely resembles the original edited document, I reserve the right to charge the full Comprehensive Editing rate.
Additional edits after the second edit will be charged at Basic or Comprehensive editing rates depending on how much the paper has changed since the second edit.
New documents (e.g. replies to reviewers) will be charged at the Comprehensive Editing package rate.
The complimentary edit in this service is valid for 1 year after the first edit has been returned to you.
The turnaround rate for the second edit is generally 7 days.
Recommendation
Many authors first send their paper to the highest-ranking journal that is suitable for the manuscript's subject matter. As a result, a large proportion of first submissions are rejected: indeed, 60% of the papers I edited in the last 5 years underwent at least one rejection before they were published. This practice means that some papers will require more than 2 edits before they are published. Therefore, if (i) you intend to send your paper to a journal that is known to have a high rejection rate and (ii) your second-line target journal will require substantial rewriting, the Comprehensive PLUS Editing service may be the most cost-effective option for you.
Policies regarding the Comprehensive PLUS Ongoing Support Until Submission editing package
This package provides free cover letter editing, word count reduction, and unlimited re-edits. Note, however, that if the changes made to the manuscript are so substantial that the manuscript barely resembles the original edited document, I reserve the right to charge the full Comprehensive Editing package rate.
Additional documents that were not included in the first edit (e.g. replies to reviewers) will be charged at Comprehensive package rates.
There is no time limit on the re-edits.
The turnaround rate for the re-edits is generally 7 days.
Substantial word reductions will be performed free of charge for the first edit only.