Ayesha Chari | Academic & Scholarly Editor | Publishing Consultant

Hi! I'm Ayesha and I specialise in sensitive editing of academic and scholarly writing.

I offer different editorial services, all of which have at their core perceptive problem solving, constructive creativity and conscious collaboration.

With nearly two decades of editing experience, I'm a friendly professional offering exemplary commitment to quality, schedules, budgets and client confidentiality.

• Types of material: Academic | Non-fiction | Scholarly works | Journal articles | Monographs | Conference proceedings | Multi-author book chapters | Reports | working papers and other short pieces
• Editing & related services: Copyediting | Line editing | Substantive editing | Developmental editing | Plain language editing | Reference editing | Proofreading | Research | Publishing advice
• Who I work with: Publishing co-workers | New writers | Established authors | Academics | Researchers | Publishers | Research organisations | Think-tanks | University Presses | Agencies
• Preferred subjects: Interdisciplinary | Culture studies | Anthropology | Ethnography | Identity and gender studies | Performance studies | Developmental studies | Social Sciences | Country/area studies (India, countries of the Global South, Southeast Asia, South Asia) | Economics | Education | Tourism/travel (India) | Transport (policy and planning) | Environment | Biomedicine and related
• House style expertise: Chicago Manual of Style, New Hart’s Rules (US–UK styles), World Bank and UN styles, APA style
• Reference styles: Harvard, CMoS, APA, MLA, Vancouver
• Editing tech know-how: MS Word (with track changes), Adobe Acrobat, Google Docs, MS Office, QuarkXPress, PerfectIt and macros; both macOS and Microsoft Windows

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I prefer projects requiring direct liaison with authors/editors/translators to resolve queries. I can adapt quickly to new styles and delight in creating house styles for projects when required. Technical skills range from in-depth editing of books, journals and monographs to basic typesetting, layout and design of text.

I have limited capacity for full-length book projects through the year with more availability for shorter pieces, but do get in touch to consult on any aspect of publishing and best practices in the industry. (See my website to learn more about the human behind the professional!)

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Partial list of clients

NorthSouth Books (US) | University of Salford (UK) | Ideas on Fire (US) | Kognity (Sweden) | London School of Economics (UK) | The Language Editor (UK) | SLG Press (Oxford) | Menard Press (UK) | Oxford University Press (UK) | Seagull Books Pvt Ltd (India) | SR Nova–Techset (India) | Sunrise Setting Ltd (UK) | International research organisations | Independent academics/researchers (global)

Writings, interview, etc.*

• 'Wherever you go, there you are: Not-so-new learnings from parenting and editing' (CIEP blog, 10 February 2023)
  
• 'Making choices: Mindfulness in difficult times' (ICF blog, 20 May 2021)
  
• 'Editing tests, clients and the editor' (CIEP blog, 10 March 2021)
  
• 'Of Indian Englishes, eating heads and doing the needful' (CIEP blog, 16 September 2020)
  
• Outside the Book interview (6 October 2020)
  

*For more words I've shared, check out my Blog and Other writings

Professional affiliations

• CIEP Advanced Professional Member (active)
• ACES: The Society for Editing, Full Member (active)
• ALLi Partner Member (active)

Relevant experience / In-house publishing roles

• Independent editor since 2013 (previously self-employed 2011–12)
  
• Editor (trade, academic, fiction & non-fiction – humanities and social sciences), Seagull Books Pvt Ltd, Calcutta, India, 2006–11 and 2013
• Assistant Editor (copy-editing – STM journals, particularly bio-medical), Macmillan India Ltd, 2004–06
  

Happy clients, or why I do what I do

“Ayesha Chari acted as copyeditor for [the IPGRC] conference proceedings that encompassed 19 papers written mostly by non-native English speakers. As editor of the proceedings, I highly recommend her as she is an excellent copyeditor. The quality of her work was thorough, her organisation exceptional and her communication with authors and my team and I was clear and precise. It was a pleasure working with her and I am planning to engage her again in the future.”—Dr Tanja Poppelreuter | Director of Postgraduate Research Studies, School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, Manchester, UK (Project completed in April 2023.)

“Ayesha’s service was exemplary with responsive communication and an impressive eye for detail. They kept the clarity of the work whilst improving the flow of the paper. The work to finesse the referencing was particularly helpful.”—RM | Primary author of research on the sociocultural impact of natural disasters in Africa

“Ayesha made the editorial process for our article notably efficient and seamless. Their instructions and queries were very clear from start to finish and they always made themself available if anything was not. I particularly felt that their use of alternative phrasing of sentences helped elevate the paper’s voice to one of greater clarity. Overall, they were a great pleasure to work with and can recommend them for such editorial purposes.”—T. Köhler | Researcher, University of Cape Town

“Ayesha’s copyediting was technically of a very high standard and interactions with her were consistently professional. But beyond technique and professionalism, Ayesha’s character as a personable, ethical, and highly intelligent individual also came through and made the experience actually enjoyable.”—O.S. McDoom | Professor, LSE

“One thing that I found particularly useful was that Ayesha went the extra mile in checking references and making sure the arguments were substantiated. Also provided suggestions for how to streamline my arguments and make my writing more focused! I felt that the editor was a valuable partner in helping me to develop and refine my work, and I am very grateful for their insights and expertise.”—Lecturer | Kings College London

Still unsure if I'm the right editor for your project? Email me and let's find out!

• Editor
• Proofreader

• Anthropology
• Architecture
• Art & culture
• Business & finance
• Education & training
• English as a second language
• Finance
• History
• Humanities
• International relations
• Performing arts
• Political science
• Public policy
• Publishing
• Reference
• Social sciences
• Sociology
• Transport

• Copywriting
• Subtitling/captioning
• Self-publishing
• Business writing
• Formatting/layout