Editorial Services

Hi there! I’m Jessica Lagos. I’m a freelance copyeditor, formerly a marriage and family therapist for over 16 years. I have earned a Copyediting Certificate from the University of California, San Diego Copyediting Certificate Program. I can help you refine your manuscript, polish it to industry standards, and prepare it to be submitted to a publisher. We can form a collaborative, supportive working alliance as copyeditor and author to achieve your project goals. My aim is to maintain your unique voice as the author and bring your best work to life. My work focuses on fiction genres of romance, science fiction, and mystery/suspense, and nonfiction categories of self-help, memoir, and mental health. I work on any written format from novels, essays, and presentations to articles and blogs.

Hello!

My educational background is diverse liberal arts. My bachelor’s focused on European World War II history, with double minors in psychology and religion. I also hold a master’s in library science, a certificate in editing and proofreading, and teaching certificates (a 120-hour TEFL and 50-hour CTEYL). I authored two researched primary-source honors theses, one of which is held in the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Editor and writer specializing in nonfiction trade books, educational and technical materials,  grant proposals, and journal articles. My career in publishing began at Encyclopaedia Britannica, where I was the earth sciences editor; now I am  a full-time freelancer. I have considerable experience with ESL (English as a second language) editing, particularly of manuscripts prepared for submission to geoscience journals. My MS degrees are in marine science and earth science, and I have taught geology, oceanography, and geography at the college level. My clients include W. W. Norton, American Institutes for Research, Encyclopaedia Britannica, National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning, Pearson Scott Foresman, McGraw-Hill Ryerson, and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists.

464 Amsterdam Avenue
Apt 10KE
New York, NY 10024
US

Years in the field: 1
Years freelancing: 1

I have been involved with a wide variety of editorial projects, both in terms of subject matter and type of editing and/or writing, from writing and editing material for the K-12 school market to ghost writing a full-length non-fiction book in the adult trade market (Jan. 09 publication). I’ve even edited some fiction.

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I love to laugh. As an English teacher, I relished in listening to a classroom full of students laugh. It’s always refreshing to hear people express their joy.

Meticulous editor with 20+ years of experience. Let’s talk about how I can help bring polish and finesse to your projects. I’m especially interested in:
✏ Book-length copyediting projects: fiction, and nonfiction.
✏ Developmental editing for content marketing: higher education and healthcare.
✏ Plain language and low-literacy editing.

Amalgamate: to unite, blend, or merge parts into a single whole.

Write and edit business, marketing, public relations copy; academic and consumer articles and texts; scripts; speeches. Former general interest newspaper columnist and feature writer, teacher, focus group analyst. Retired from 22-year career as writer/editor for a national nonprofit trade association, where I developed original white papers to assist members in business operations and legal compliance. Work with AP, Chicago styles, familiar with APA.