Why your spell checker isn’t good enough for editing

Spell and grammar checking software can help, but they have limitations. If it doesn’t fit into the confines of the program’s rules, then it will see it as an error or ignore it completely. If the wrong word is used, but is spelt correctly, then the program will not pick up the error. A thinking brain is needed to pick up all possible errors.

The challenges of self-editing and proofreading

Editing and proofreading your own work is one of the hardest things to do. When someone writes something, and probably rewrites it many times, the brain fills in what should be written instead of noticing what is actually there.

The spelling of a word can change over time. Sometimes it may be a minor change, for instance, ‘proofread’ used to be two words, and then a hyphenated word (proof-read), but now it’s represented as one word. The change can result in a word being changed completely. Did you know the word ‘choose’ was spelt as ‘chuse’ at one time?

Don’t forget what is considered right for one country may not be right for another. For example: Australian’s spell ‘colour’ with a ‘U’; however, American’s spell it as ‘color’. While this example is well known, there are many others less familiar that can cause confusion.

Is my privacy protected?

Personal details are handled confidentially. We don’t store any of your details on this website. Your name, contact details and type of services conducted are kept for our business purposes only, and/or form part of our mailing list. No one is added to the mailing list unless we receive a request to be added, or acceptance to be included.

Information and all parts of a service provided on a project are not stored past the duration of the project’s completion, and are disposed of in a responsible way (meaning any hard copies are shredded and incinerated, and electronic/soft copies are completely wiped cleaned).

We don’t condone buying or selling mailing lists; therefore, your details will not be sold or given to a third party.

Are there any hidden or additional costs charged?

Our firm quotes are based on provided samples of work. The price charged will match the firm quote. However, if the project presented to be worked on differs from the sample provided for quoting, or if the requested service has changed, then a new quote will be issued, which will take the changes into consideration. No work will begin until the customer has accepted the quote in writing.

How accurate are your estimated deadlines?

We book each project in upon quote acceptance, taking into consideration the work required and the time required to complete the job. We work on your project during this period. However, if a project is to be sent to us in instalments and one or more of those instalments fail to reach us on time, then this would alter the booking time. The same applies if a project in its entirety is expected on a particular date and it doesn’t reach us until a later date.

How do I receive my finished product?

When the service of a project has been finished, we will send an invoice. The completed project will be released once full payment has been received. The project can be delivered electronically, as a hard copy (printed material), or a saved file onto a USB flash drive. The preferred delivery option (email, or Australia Post) needs to be provided to us at the time of quoting.

What are your payment methods and terms?

We require full payment before the project can be released. Our first choice of payment method is PayPal, as it provides the customer with online security. You must have a PayPal account to use this method. You can transfer funds from your bank account to PayPal, which can take up to a week to clear, or transfer the funds from a credit card.

We also accept cheques (please allow one week for cheques to clear), and direct deposits. Please be advised that the Australian Government has announced that cheques are being phased out. The 30 June 2028 is the deadline to stop cheque issuance, and the 30 September 2029 is the deadline to stop cheque acceptance.

Please wait until the invoice has been received before making a payment. This applies to book purchases as well.

What happens while my project is being worked on?

We are in constant communication via email throughout a project’s progress to ensure customer satisfaction. Any questions, specifications or concerns that may arise while working on the project is checked with you, the customer. We may offer our experienced opinion, but all decisions are the customer’s responsibility. Having a project edited or professionally worked on doesn’t guarantee it will be published. Publishing houses are usually looking for a specific niche to fill their quota.

Who owns the copyright?

All work conducted by Broad Editing and Services is the property of Broad Editing and Services until payment has been received. It is a breach of the copyright act to use all or any part of the work provided by Broad Editing and Services where payment has not been paid in full.

I’m worried about someone taking my story idea. How is it protected?

Your writing project is important to you; therefore, it’s important to us. Your work and information are always treated with the utmost confidentiality. While ideas are not subject to copyright, we still treat it with respect and will not discuss it with third parties.

Do you handle non-fiction as well as fiction?

We work on fiction and non-fiction works submitted to us for editing and proofreading, manuscript assessment and memoir refinement. Non-fiction projects and creative non-fiction projects benefit from manuscript assessments too.

My question hasn’t been listed here, what should I do?

If your question is regarding obtaining a quote <online quote request> or summitting your manuscript to us<submitting work to us>, please visit our Summitting Work to Us page <submitting work to us> or quote <online quote request> for more information. However, if you have a concern or question that we haven’t addressed, then please email sales@broadedit.com.au us for more information.