American Journal Experts

FAQs

Editing

• Who are your editors?
  Our editors are PhD candidates and post-docs from the top research universities in the U.S. They are all native English speakers, and must meet rigorous selection standards. Read more about their qualifications on the Our Editors page.
• What’s the difference between Standard and Premium Editing?

  Premium editing is performed by two subject-expert editors and approved by a managing editor. In this process, the first editor will correct spelling, grammar, usage and punctuation errors. The second editor will alter sentences that sound awkward or unnatural, and may point out portions of the document that are vague, confusing or need to be rewritten. Premium editing includes an editing summary, which will address any concerns or comments that the editors may have about your paper. Because our Premium service is so thorough, we guarantee that all Premium submissions will receive an editing certificate.

  Standard editing is performed by one subject-area expert editor, and approved by a managing editor. Any spelling, grammar, or word usage errors will be corrected, but your editors will not try to improve the style or flow of your paper as they would a Premium submission. You will not receive an editing summary, and we do not guarantee that all Standard submissions will earn an editing certificate.

• Does your editing service include formatting?
  We do not include formatting in our standard or premium editing services. However, you may add journal-specific formatting to your order for a fee of $200, $250 or $300, depending on the length of your paper. We will also add 48 hours to your selected deadline.
• Will you help me re-edit my paper?
  We understand that you may have to make changes to your manuscript before submitting it to your journal. You may resubmit your paper to us for a re-edit at a $40 discount.
• Will you help me to reduce the word count of my paper?
  We do not shorten manuscripts or rewrite any text; however, your editors may be able to point out areas that are repetitive and could be safely removed from your manuscript.
• Do you recommend journals?
  Our journal recommendation service is currently offered for a limited set of biological areas of study. If the service is available for your field, you will see the option to purchase this service when you are submitting your manuscript. Read more about our Journal Recommendation service here.
• Do you edit LaTeX documents?
  If you created your manuscript in LaTeX, please save it as a .doc or .rtf file before you submit it for editing. We will also need you to upload a PDF of your manuscript as a secondary file for your editors' reference.
• Do you guarantee my paper will get published?
  Publication is a subjective process, so we are not able to guarantee that you will be published after you use our services. We do guarantee that we will re-edit your paper for free if it is rejected by a journal for reasons of English language alone.
• How do I collect on your guarantee?
  Please e-mail us the same draft of your paper that you submitted to your journal along with all of your reviewers’ comments. We will review your files immediately and contact you with additional advice.
• What is the AJE Editing Certificate?
  AJE will provide a certificate confirming that your paper was edited by a native English speaker at AJE and, assuming all of the changes we proposed are incorporated into the manuscript, is ready for journal submission. It will allow journal editors to feel confident that the English language in your paper has been reviewed and verified. This certificate is limited to documents that are deemed the highest quality AJE submissions (documents that require only one round of language editing from AJE before they are publication ready). Not every paper will earn a certificate but every paper will have the opportunity. Visit our Certificate Program page to learn more.

Submission Process

• Is your website safe?
  We use the most up-to-date website security features available. We also require that all of our staff members sign a confidentiality agreement to protect your research.
• Are weekends and holidays included in the turnaround time?
  Weekends are included in our deadlines, so if you submit your paper on a Thursday with a four-day deadline it will be ready for you by the following Monday. AJE is closed for holidays five days a year and deadlines are delayed on those days. You will see an announcement in your AJE account if there are any upcoming holiday delays.
• How do I get the most accurate word count?
  To calculate the word count, you should open a copy of your manuscript and delete any parts that you do not need us to work on. In a letter to your reviewers, you can take out all of the reviewers’ comments. If you submit for editing only or have a translation submission but don’t need your references translated, then you can remove the bibliography section. You can also take out any numeric table data. Next, perform a word count on the remaining text using the Word Count feature in Microsoft Word on every file you plan to submit to us and add it all together. This is your final word count. Our support staff can perform a word count for you if you e-mail us your files and ask for confirmation.
• What happens if I enter the wrong word count?
  Our staff members will verify each paper’s word count before it is assigned to an editor. If we find that your file’s word count is over the category you selected, then we will place your submission on hold while we e-mail you for further instructions. Your deadline will be reset to begin at the exact time of your reply. If your paper is shorter than indicated, we will refund the price difference to your AJE account.
• Do you include references and tables in the word count?
  We do not edit references or numeric tables, so they are not included in the word count when calculating your price.
• What if I don’t want you to work on my entire paper?
  You will need to highlight the sections that you want us to ignore and will be prompted to include some instructions about this when you upload your file through your AJE account. Please keep in mind that we may withhold your editing certificate if you ask us to leave out large portions of your paper. If you submit your file for NewReview™ then we will need you to send us your complete manuscript and will require you to let us review all of it. Our reviewers cannot review an incomplete paper.

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