An Interview with Dr. Sabrina Leone: Why Copy Editing is Important

eContent Pro values their relationship with the academic community and aims to provide the community with valuable information to enhance their writing. What better way to share information with the academic community than interviewing scholars with years of experience in the editing and publishing world? If you missed our previous interviews with Dr. Jeffrey Morris and Chris Shearer, be sure to check them out.

This week, eContent Pro discussed a variety of different writing mistakes and topics with Dr. Sabrina Leone. Dr. Leone has many years of experience as a research author, editor, and reviewer, having published books, book chapters, journal articles, conference papers, and video lectures. Most of her investigations and publications have been in lifelong learning, eLearning, open learning-research-education, personalized learning, and change management. Besides, her recent research focus has been on the mind-brain relationship, as a result of her strong interest in human beings’ limitless potential. Over time, she has conceived and led many breakthrough research projects, and she has served on the technical program committee for several international conferences. She has also taken on positions of great responsibility and trust, such as serving as a representative of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the University of Wollongong, Australia, and as a European Commission independent expert for research and innovation assignments.

Dr. Leone has academic degrees and professional certifications, among them are a doctorate degree in e-learning, a master’s degree in business management, a master’s degree in English and French language and literature, a degree in sciences of linguistic mediation, as well as a certificate of proficiency in the English language. Learn some of her insights by reading our interview below:

What drew you to copy editing and what inspires you the most in working with authors?

It’s one of my skills. I’m a researcher as well, so I can support authors in adding value to their work.

As a copy editor, what common mistake(s) do you see authors often make?

Authors often miss to apply the required style properly, they use the passive voice extensively, they use verb tenses inconsistently, and they make long sentences.

In academic writing, why is it important for authors to provide accurate references?

References are the snapshot of the state of the art in a certain field and allow readers to exploit them as starting point to step forward with their studies. Research is progressive in nature, otherwise it doesn’t add value.

How can authors eliminate first-person pronouns from their writing?

By simply using expressions such as “the authors” or “the researchers” with the verb in the active voice, in order to adhere to formal style. For example, they can turn the sentence “in our study, we found…” into “In their study, the authors found….”. Easy.

In what ways can an author maintain consistency throughout their manuscript?

By content, expression, vocabulary, and grammar. Asking a colleague, a supervisor, or a friend to read/review his/her work in progress could be helpful.

Why, in your opinion, is copy editing so valuable?

Copy editing services reduce authors’ work overload and the pressure that the rhythm of competitive academic production and expectations demand. Further, a writer may benefit from copy editing services because he/she is unfamiliar with a certain publishing style, is not proficient in English formal writing skills, is overloaded with publications, conferences, and engagements, needs to increase the number of publications, or needs to improve the quality of his/her publications.

What resources do you recommend for authors to guide them during the writing process?

First of all, I recommend using their publisher’s guidelines and free additional resources. Also, they could exploit the many different resources which are available online.

If you could provide just one piece of standalone advice for early-career authors, what would it be?

One piece of advice, but in more parts: Be inspired by your writing flow, trust your research skills, explore your publisher’s resources for authors, and rely on professional copy-editing services.

Many thanks to Dr. Sabrina Leone for her cooperation and insights. eContent Pro hopes authors and researchers around the world found this discussion helpful as they continue their journey in the publishing process.

eContent Pro delivers the highest quality editorial services and content evaluation to ensure polished, presentable, and readable written materials for organizations and independent clients worldwide. To learn more about how eContent Pro’s English language copy editing service can benefit you through complete revisions in your manuscript, please visit www.econtentpro.com and upload your document today.