Historical Proofreading and Editing

Rem tene; verba sequentur —
“Grasp the subject, the words will follow.”
—Cato the Elder 234 – 149 BC

Texts handed down to us from earlier stages in the development of English are the primary source for determining whether a particular genre was influenced by, or is reflective of, spoken language at a given time in history. Some historical texts; for example, translations from Latin, are very restrictive stylistically and quite unlike what might have been in used in spoken English of the time.

It is from the varied writing styles of texts such as comedies, parodies, novels, poetry and plays (which are much more likely to incorporate colloquial speech), that we are better able to gauge what was spoken at the time by the general populace. Old English poems such as Beowulf (now a feature movie), where the use of archaic spoken language contributes to the distinctive ambience of the work, is one very specific example of what can be accessed in this way. Some of the pointers to establishing periods in the history of spoken English, include whether —

The text is fiction or non-fiction
The writing is prose or verse
The author is male or female
The age and social ranking of the author
There is a recognizable target audience

SUBMIT YOUR REQUEST FOR A COMPLIMENTARY, NO OBLIGATION
ASSESSMENT AND DETAILED QUOTE NOW!

Historical Fiction Proofreading and Editing

WordsRU’s online editing service specializes in the proofreading and editing of historical works of all types. If your manuscript is in one or other of the two main historical fiction categories —

1) Based on a factual historical period with fictional characters and events or:
2) Recreating actual characters and events within a specific period in history

— our professional proofreaders and editors know how much leeway you have in creating your story before risking that essential quality in all historical fiction — the believability factor. They understand that this genre is not intended to be interpreted as factual nor is it autobiographical or a memoir, which both purport to be factual. In historical fiction you are recreating, to a greater or lesser degree, a fictional story in a historical setting. In addition to checking your work for grammar, spelling, punctuation, POV consistence, tense, sentence structure and general readability, our online editing service will review your plot and character development in addition to the overall structure and balance of your manuscript and offer valuable commentary and feedback.

Historical Nonfiction Proofreading and Editing

Nonfiction historical writing is a vast field and encompasses every facet of human activity. It is also a demanding genre. It is not sufficient to simply write well; the writer must focus on a combination of facts, events and principals and then subject the research to rigorous analysis within a highly specific timeline. Each of these elements must then be assessed in terms of their influence on world events at the time and subsequently. As mentioned elsewhere in these resource notes, questions of when, where, why, who and how are essential questions to be addressed, and never more crucially than in historical nonfiction writing. Objectivity is mandatory, as is a lack of bias. Raw material is drawn from both primary and contemporary sources that in the past were most often found in manuscripts and texts in libraries, but which are now increasingly available in literary, technical and campus bookshops as well as the Internet.

Types of Historical Nonfiction Works

Text books

Usually summarize secondary sources, primarily academic (the works of other historical writers). They will often a bibliography or a list of recommended further reading, or both.

Monographs

Detailed studies of highly specialized subjects, the authors of monographs are advancing historiographical information, theories, discussion and debate.

Journal Articles

These articles are generally focused on a narrow field of research. They may review the literature on a particular subject; address a specific historiographical discussion, conference proceeding, or debate, or offer a significant new interpretation of research or developments in a highly specialized field, such as art, archaeology and paleontology, biology, quantum physics and other scientific disciplines.

Edited Volumes

These usually feature a collection of essays by contributing authors and deal with a specific theme. The essays are generally loosely connected, and may include an introduction to the field as well as offer some concluding remarks.

Works in Translations

Consistent with what might be termed the ‘internationalization’ of so many aspects of society — for example; business, copyright, literature, copywriting, technology, comparative proofreading and editing, and document comparison, there are an increasing number of written works being translated into English in all genres. It is a field in which WordsRU’s proofreaders and editors have increasing experience, most recently with Russian works in translation — literary novels and short story collections, and German art history (see case study below).

Case Study

Background

Werner approached WordsRU for assistance with a major project he had undertaken for a German publisher in the field of art history. The manuscript involved a collection of selected critiques by well known art critics of the day, of celebrated works of art now held in various art museums and private collections throughout the world, but all of which originated in Germany. As comments by the original critics were being translated and presented virtually verbatim, it was of crucial importance that the editing not only be sympathetic to the presentation of the collection as a whole, but the essential widely varying stylistic modes employed in the writing of the individual critics. WordsRU’s chief editor prepared a comprehensive sample edit and after some discussion as to key elements of stylistic balance, terminology and the like, the sample and price quote was accepted and the work confirmed.

Testimonial

"Because this is the first such project, I looked long and hard at many options before selecting WordsRU for the editing of my manuscript in translation. But I have to say that the sample edit provided by the chief editor won the job. I did not think it was possible to have such an empathetic, skilled edit of my flawed translation of the original German text. The full edit was completed on schedule by another senior editor who took his lead from the sample and my expanded brief. The edit was exemplary, and so too the professional service. There is some way to go with the current design aspects etc. of this project but there will be more, and next time I will go directly to WordsRU � well done from a very appreciative customer! �Werner"

* All testimonials have been supplied with the approval of the writers.

View our book testimonials from published authors.

WordsRU Writer Services:

WordsRU offer writers historical proofreading and editing to attract the highest possible quality outcomes.

SUBMIT YOUR REQUEST FOR A COMPLIMENTARY, NO OBLIGATION
ASSESSMENT AND DETAILED QUOTE NOW!

Top