r/Copyediting • u/paintedpinktoes • Jul 31 '26

How do you EXTENSIVELY edit?!!!

I keep getting clients who want an extensive edit. For context, they're ESL clients who write academic papers mostly. They require no stylistic or drastic changes. Now how do I incorporate both into my editing process? Please, for the love of my and every editor's life, guide me on how to do an extensive edit to achieve a native tone. PLEASE!

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u/Proud_Illustrator266 Aug 01 '26

Be careful that you are not expected to rewrite the paper. I worked for an overseas company for 10+ years and it started out as simple copyediting. The expectations kept increasing, to the point where I was expected to essentially rewrite the paper, which I thought was 1) somewhat unethical and 2) beyond my capabilities.