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.
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 all Standard submissions are eligible (but not guaranteed) to earn an editing certificate.
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 also includes a letter from the senior editor, 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. In addition, Premium also offers a final touch-up round of editing. Once you receive your edited manuscript, there may be comments or questions from our editors that recommend additional revisions or additions. With Standard Editing, you can receive a discount on a re-edit for any revisions, but Premium Editing includes re-edits for up to 1500 words of new or revised text. There is no limit to the number of free re-edits you can claim within 30 days with the Premium service, and the same managing editor will work on your file for consistency.
Journal-Ready Editing offers all the benefits of the Premium service but also includes our manuscript formatting service as well as an additional round of journal-specific editing. If you have already selected your target journal, Journal-Ready Editing will ensure that editing and formatting changes follow the requirements of that journal's guidelines. If you would like to read more about the details of these different levels of service, visit our "Editing Service Options" page.
Developmental Editing provides a detailed report on the presentation of your paper, including advice on revisions you should make before submitting your paper to your journal. If you have already revised your paper according to your journal's comments, then you can upload their review as a reference file and ask our Developmental Editing team to help you determine whether you have incorporated all of their suggestions into your new draft. Developmental Editing is the best service to pick if you are interested in receiving guidance on the structure of your paper.
We do not automatically include formatting in all of our editing services because not all customers require formatting, and some have not yet selected a target journal. Our new Journal Ready service does include formatting, as well as an additional round of journal-specific editing. Alternatively, many customers add our formatting service to their Standard Editing order. Whether you choose our Journal-Ready Editing or add Manuscript Formatting to Standard editing, you can be sure that your paper will match your journal's instructions regarding layout, spacing, and references. Additionally, you can choose our Publication Package if you would like to be sure that not only your manuscript's formatting, but also all your included figures, are tailored to the specific needs of your target journal.
We understand that even after receiving your final edited document from AJE, you may have to make additional changes or additions before submitting it to your journal. If you use our Standard editing service, you may resubmit your paper to us for a re-edit at a $40 discount. If you select our Premium service, re-edits for up to 1500 words of new or revised text are included for up to 30 days. Journal-Ready Editing includes free re-edits for a year. Developmental Editing includes a final Premium Editing step after you have made changes to the document in response to the suggestions made by the Content Advisor.
We do not shorten manuscripts or rewrite any text; however, if you select our Premium or Journal-Ready Editing then our team may be able to reduce your paper by up to 100 words per section. Please include instructions about your required word count when you upload your paper through your AJE account.
Unfortunately we do not offer any journal recommendation services at this time. However, please visit our sister company, Rubriq, at www.rubriq.com if you are interested in receiving recommendations on a best-fit journal for your manuscript.
If you created your manuscript in LaTeX, please save it as a .doc, .docx 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.
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.
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.
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.
At this time, we only offer Developmental Editing for papers that are already in English and do not offer this kind of service bundle. If you are interested in preparing a paper for journal submission and it is in Portuguese, Spanish, or Chinese, you may purchase an AJE Translation service and then submit your translated paper for the Developmental Editing service.
Researchers who use our service have the advantage of having one of our Content Advisors provide field-specific suggestions for strengthening the structure, organization, presentation, and scientific content of their papers. Using this service will allow you to make content revisions before you submit your paper to a journal. You will be able to submit a stronger manuscript, and your journal should be able to review your paper more quickly.
Our Content Advisors are published doctoral-level academic researchers in your field, including tenured professors and Principal Investigators. Our Content Advisors have the field-specific publication experience needed to provide you with detailed, constructive feedback on your paper.
Unlike traditional translation companies, we use translators who are working researchers in your area of study. This ensures that they know the jargon of your field in both English and your native language, guaranteeing the most accurate translation possible. AJE also includes a quality review for every translation by one of our experienced managing translators. We feel this additional step is critical to providing the most accurate translation of your important research. Finally, our translation service includes English-language editing by native speakers in your field, so your final paper will be completely polished and ready for publication.
If you choose Translation with Standard Editing, your paper will receive our Standard editing service after we translate it into English. That means four people will review your file: a translator who works in your area of study, a managing translator who will perform a quality review, an English-language editor in your area of study, and a managing editor.
Translation with Premium Editing includes all the steps of Standard plus an additional review by a senior editor who is a native English speaker and editing expert. This additional round of editing helps to further improve the style and flow of your paper, resulting in a more polished final product.
We have translators in every major field. If you don't see your area of study on our list, please contact us and we will let you know if any qualified translators are available.
If you have any questions about your translation after you receive your completed paper, you are welcome to contact us and we will assist you.
We do sometimes translate from English to other languages, but you will not see that as an option in your AJE account. Please e-mail us directly for more details.
Depending on the availability of qualified translators, we can sometimes accommodate requests for translation for languages other than the ones listed on our site. Please contact us for special translation requests.
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.
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.
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.
Currently we only offer a Formatting Service for journal articles. To find out if we can format longer manuscripts, please e-mail us your formatting guidelines along with a copy of your manuscript or detailed information about its length, area of study, and file type.
Yes. Manuscript Formatting will reorder your citations and references as needed, convert citations and references to the journal's format, and if necessary, correct content based on information in published databases.
We are currently able to process the following file types:
File types that are not on this list should be exported as EPS files. We can also advise authors using alternative software on the best procedure to export figures in one of our recommended file types.
Journals require that tables be submitted in a text format (usually Microsoft Word) for in-house formatting, which comes standard with our manuscript formatting service. If you would like tables formatted and exported as images for use in presentations and posters, we can do this as part of our Figure Formatting Service.
In order to generate publication-quality figures, images that are included within a figure should also be sent independently in the highest available resolution file. For ethical reasons, we are unable to make changes to brightness, contrast, or color balance, and we will not crop the image.
Many journals require figures to be submitted as EPS files, which may not open with your current software. In addition to the submission-ready file, we will also send PDF versions of your new figures for you to review.
We format the figures according to the author instructions for the final publication (assuming that these instructions are available). Figures added or changed after review that need formatting are considered new submissions and must be purchased separately.
You must have access to the appropriate software to make changes to your figures within their new file type. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you send the final version of your figures to us for formatting. We stand behind the quality of our work, and if a figure does not meet your expectations, we will work with you to correct the issue.
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.
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 U.S. holidays eight days of the year and deadlines are delayed for these days: January 1, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the day after Christmas. (For more information about the date of each holiday, email us or visit this site.) You will see an announcement in your AJE account if there are any upcoming holiday delays.
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.
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.
We do not edit references or numeric tables, so they are not included in the word count when calculating your price for editing services. However, word counts for translation submissions should include all text that needs to be translated, which typically does include references and text in tables.
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.
No! At American Journal Experts, we set our prices in advance based on the service you choose, your total word count, and how quickly you need your submission returned to you. Our online price calculator will show you the cost of all of our services based on the specifics of your manuscript. The only service that does require a quote is our Custom Figure Design service, since each project for that service is very unique and specialized.
You are not required to submit your manuscript for a price quote, but if your institution requires a pro forma invoice, you can contact us and we would be happy to provide one for you.
As long as your card shows the logo of one of the credit cards we accept--Visa, Mastercard, Discover, Diner’s Club, or American Express--then you should be able to use it on our site. If you have trouble using your card, please contact us and we will help you.
First, select purchase order as your payment method when you upload your files through your account. After your paper has been received, you will be able to print out a copy of your invoice. The invoice will contain all of the information you will need to send us a wire transfer at your local bank.
Because publishing is a subjective process, we cannot guarantee that your paper will be published after choosing this service. However, we will re-edit your paper for free if it is rejected by your journal.
You can enter your journal name when you upload your file for editing. You will also have the opportunity to email us your selected journal later if needed.
When you submit your order, you can choose to build your own package of services by selecting a custom combination of services available from our menu. The benefit of selecting AJE's Publishing Package is that we are able to deliver you a discount on the bundle of services included in this service.