If you’re interested in working with me, please email < annotatedscience at gmail dot com >
Writing
I’ve been actively practicing writing since 2012 in a myriad of forms. I learned how to write compelling essays in college for philosophy classes. I transitioned to science writing while trying to compile complex ideas from academic literature to transform them into something meaningful, and I’ve continued this journey of sensemaking even after completing my Ph.D. You can find examples of this type of writing all throughout this blog. If you’d like me to write for or with you, my rate is $1/word, but if the project is exciting I’ll make exceptions and potentially do some pro bono work with you so feel free to reach out and pitch me an idea or outlet.
Editing
When I was in graduate school, I joined Michigan Science Writers and became the editor-in-chief. Through that student-led organization, I was trained in the different types of editing: structural, content, and copy. You can find examples of the work I’ve edited with them here. I also created a magazine, EquilibriUM (volume 1), and was one of the editors of that project. Now, I’m the managing editor of Commonplace and my editing hands are on all of the pieces published.
Even before becoming a scientist, I’ve always been filled with curiosity and excitement. I’ll bring that enthusiasm to your ideas and I’m ready to discuss and dive into them fully with you. I use a collaborative approach to revision and feedback that is timely and thorough. My vision as an editor is as follows:
And every phrase
— T.S. Eliot, “Little Gidding”
And sentence that is right (where every word is at home,
Taking its place to support the others,
The word neither diffident nor ostentatious,
An easy commerce of the old and the new,
The common word exact without vulgarity,
The formal word precise but not pedantic,
The complete consort dancing together)
Structural, Content, & Copy ($15-20/page): The whole kit and caboodle. With a completed draft, I’ll read it through once completely to get a gist of the order and progression of the ideas. Then, I’ll go back through and reverse-outline to ensure cogency and readability. With comments and questions, I’ll suggest and inquire with the goal of adding clarity and reframing ideas. Sentence structure is not taken into account during this step of editing. Once you have gone through my suggestions, you can start working on a refined draft (and I’d be happy to set up a one-time one-hour meeting if you have any questions or want to discuss in depth). With a fresh draft, I’ll see if there are other structural edits and if not, I’ll dive into the more granular work of content editing in addition to improving sentence structure and grammar. I strive to maintain your authorial voice because I believe this is important to communicate your unique perspective. If your piece is intended for a specific outlet, please let me know their style guide before this step. The price range depends on how technical the writing is such that a general audience piece will be closer to $15 and a journal article will be $20.
Content & Copy ($10/page): Clarity + grammar. This bracket is if you do not want round(s) of structural edits and merely want me to ensure readability (hard editing) in addition to sentence structure and grammar (light editing). If your piece is intended for a specific outlet, let me know the style guide.
The page count is the highest number of pages the article ends up being. If your initial draft starts at 100 pages and ends at 80, OR if it starts at 80 and ends at 100, you’ll be billed for the 100 pages in both cases.
Series/guest editor ($500-1,500): I’ve had the pleasure to be a part of organizing and managing journal series on Commonplace and would be honored and privileged to contribute as a guest series editor for your journal or project. I really enjoy the high-level idea-based work of assembling authors or contributors to create a well-rounded conversation around a topic. I feel qualified to curate ideas and themes on publishing, open scholarship, philosophy of science, and topics related to my Ph.D. thesis (cellular trafficking and cryo-EM). The range depends on your timeline and the expected roles I’d play within your project. Like writing, if the project is interesting enough to me I’ll make exceptions.
Audio editing
Since 2021, I have been dabbling in podcast editing through the New Books Network and Commonplace. Given an audio file, I use Adobe’s Audition program to do some light sound editing such as removing very long pauses and cleaning up noise imperfections. Please share with me any intros, outros, and music that you’d want me to add. Since I am not trained or an expert at this and it takes me about four hours per hour of audio, my rate is $100/hour (ex. if your podcast is 90 minutes, it’d cost $150).
Transcription (market rate, please inquire): In addition to audio editing, I can transcribe your podcast. The rate will depend on turn-around time, how many speakers, and the clarity of the audio.