Harms & Company provides the following professional services:

Writing/Rewriting
Creating a new manuscript or parts of a manuscript on the basis of content and research supplied by Author.

Substantive/Structural Editing
Clarifying or reorganizing a manuscript for content and structure.

Stylistic Editing
Clarifying meaning, eliminating jargon, polishing language, and other non-mechanical line-by-line editing.

Copy Editing
Editing for grammar, usage, spelling, punctuation, and other mechanics of style; checking for consistency of mechanics and for internal consistency of facts; inserting head levels and approximate placement of art; editing tables, figures, and lists. “Copy editing” is often loosely used to include stylistic and even structural editing, fact checking, and mark-up. Up-front clarification of project requirements will determine the level of editing necessary.

Fact Checking/Citation Checking/Reference Checking
Checking accuracy of facts and quotes by reference to original sources used by Author or to other reference sources.

Indexing
Producing a key to the contents of a work. Includes reading and analyzing the work; choosing subjects, concepts, and other elements that together form a systematic guide to the information contained in the work; arranging these elements into entries consisting of headings and subheadings and their locators (for example, page numbers); and arranging the entries alphabetically or in some other searchable order.

Proofreading
Checking proofs of formatted, edited material for adherence to design and for minor, mechanical errors in copy (such as spelling mistakes or small deviations from style sheet). “Proofreading” is often loosely used to include copy editing and other tasks. Other tasks must be specified in any agreements.

The preceding definitions have been adapted from Schedule A of the Standard Freelance Editorial Agreement published by the Editors’ Association of Canada. The original document is available at http://www.editors.ca/hire/sfea/index.html

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