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James Warren Editing

Professional Editing Services
for Writers in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
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tailoring for your voice, your ideas

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ABOUT ME

I'm a Burnaby-based editor with a passion for assisting humanities and social science authors clearly articulate their ideas. I hold an MA in history from the University of Calgary (2001) and pursued my PhD studies in British imperial history at the University of Illinois, with a research focus on gender and politics in Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and South Asia. I've held adjunct positions at the University of Calgary, the University of Illinois, and at Whitman College.

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Photo by Matthew Gervais

As a managing editor for the Journal of Women's History (2006-2007; 2009-2010), a book review editorial assistant for Politics & Gender (2016-2017), and a freelance editor since 2010, I've been fortunate to work with authors from across the academy, including authors located in history, gender and women's studies, philosophy, politics, sociology, anthropology, ethnomusicology, literature, health studies, religious studies, rhetoric, youth studies, geography, Asian studies, African studies, Jewish studies, ethnic studies, film and sound studies, performance studies, and education.

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I am a member of Editors Canada.

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SERVICES & RATES

Editing

I'm an experienced academic editor, writer, and researcher who can help you bring clarity, consistency, structure, and energy to your book, article, dissertation, thesis, and job or graduate school application materials, making your writing flow and highlighting your ideas. 

Journals

I will draw on my experience as a journal copyeditor, editorial assistant, and managing editor to apply style manuals and guides to ensure continuity and consistency within and between issues. I'll help you, your editors, and your authors prepare clean, print-ready prose and citations. I can also consult with your editorial team to produce or revise your house style guide, documenting the editing practices that define your journal's style and keeping you up to date with changes to various manuals of style.

Faculty and Independent Scholars

I will assist you to produce a polished manuscript before submitting to a press, journal, or book editor, or to revise according to editorial commentary. I will draw on my journal editing background to ensure a consistent style throughout an edited collection. And I will take on the intricacies of checking and applying a consistent style to your citations and bibliography. 

Graduate Students*

I will help you to submit a polished thesis or dissertation by editing for grammar, punctuation, spelling and other mechanics of style, and by identifying issues with structure and clarity. I have experience with a wide range of academic referencing systems and I can also format your document according to your university’s thesis template. 

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* Your institution may have a policy regarding permissible interventions that an editor can make in your dissertation or thesis. Usually only basic copyediting (spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics of style) is permitted (i.e., no structural or stylistic editing). Institutional policies may also require your academic adviser to grant you permission to hire a professional editor. It is in your interest to ask your adviser if your institution has its own policy and to familiarize yourself with the Editors Canada Guidelines for Editing Theses. If your institution does not have a policy, my editing contract with you will be based on the EC Guidelines, which require your academic supervisor's permission for professional editing.

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Proofreading

I will examine the proofs for your book or journal issue to correct for errors in all its textual and visual elements, including consistency and accuracy of design; spelling; style; locations of and captions for art, figures, and tables; and headers and footers. 

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services
Copyediting

  •  Correction of grammar, spelling,  punctuation, and other mechanics of style

  • Ensure consistency of mechanics and internal consistency of facts

  • Correction of citations

  • Application of style guides

  • $45 per hour*

Dissertation editing
  • Correction of grammar, spelling, punctuation and mechanics of style

  • ​Correction of citations

  • $40 per hour*

  • This rate applies to the very basic level of editing universities and colleges permit on a work for academic credit. Editors Canada guidelines state that "editors should not specify changes beyond simple correction of grammar, idiom, punctuation, spelling, and mechanics, being careful to retain content and overall structure."

Stylistic & Structural editing

  • Clarify and reorganize for content and structure

  • Clarify meaning 

  • Smooth language, syntax, and other non-mechanical line editing issues

  • Modulate tone and jargon for audience

  • $55 per hour*

Proofreading

  • Check for accuracy of design elements; minor mechanical errors (spelling mistakes or deviations from style sheet); and consistency and accuracy of such elements as cross-references, running heads, page numbers, and captions

  • $5 per page*

Definitions above are consistent with those developed by Editors Canada. All rates listed are in Canadian dollars and are not inclusive of GST/HST. US-based clients whose institutions require registration as a contractor will be billed at the above rates in USD. Rush jobs will incur an additional charge of 20%. An email agreement usually suffices, but if you wish to have a formal contract for the editing services required, I will generate one based on the Editors Canada Standard Freelance Editorial Agreement (revised, 2018).

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*New rates as of January 1, 2024.

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I accept INTERAC® e-Transfer, bank-to-bank transfer, credit card, PayPal, and institutional/organizational cheques. For payment by credit card or PayPal, click the “Buy Now” button below.

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RECENT WORK

Books

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Allen F. Isaacman, Joy M. Chadya, and Barbara S. Isaacman, Elusive Histories: Mozambican Migrant Laborers in Rhodesia, ca. 1900-1980. Ohio UP, 2025. (Stylistic and Structural Editing)

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Dennis Crockett, Becoming Walla Walla: The Transformation of Cayuse Country, 1805-1879. Washington State UP, 2024. (Stylistic & Structural Editing)

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Jody Benjamin, The Texture of Change: Dress, Self-Fashioning and History in Western Africa, 1700–1850. Ohio UP, 2024. (Stylistic & Structural Editing)

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Ademide Adelusi-Adeluyi, Imagine Lagos: Mapping History, Place, and Politics in a Nineteenth-Century African City. Ohio UP, 2024. (Stylistic & Structural Editing)

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Elyse Semerdjian, Remnants: Embodied Archives of the Armenian Genocide. Stanford UP, 2023. (Stylistic & Structural Editing and Indexing)

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Shailaja Paik, The Vulgarity of Caste: Dalits, Sexuality, and Humanity in Modern India. Stanford UP, 2022. (Stylistic & Structural Editing and Indexing) *Winner of the American Historical Association’s 2023 John F. Richards Prize in South Asian History 

**Winner of the Association of Asian Studies’ 2024 Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy Prize (South Asia)

Journals

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MUSICultures, vol. 50 (2023–present)

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Journal of Sport History
vols. 49-50  (2022-present)

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Italian American Review 
vols. 10-14 (2020-present 

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Journal of Olympic Studies
vols. 1-5  (2020-present)

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Music and the Moving Image

vols. 13 - 17 (2020-present)

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Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society
vols. 113-117 (2020-present)

  • Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, issues 54 (4), 55 (4), and 57 (1) (2021, 2022, 2024)

  • Diasporic Italy, vols. 1–3 (2021–present)

  • Histoire Sociale / Social History, vols. 51–55, 57 (2018-2022; 2024–present)

  • Italica, vols. 99–100 (2022–present)

  • Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures, vols. 11–14 (2019–2022)

  • Journal of Finnish Studies, vols. 25–26 (2022–present)

  • Journal of the Canadian Historical Association, vol. 33 (2023–present)

  • Mormon Studies Review, vols. 6–11 (2019–present)

  • Music Research Annual, vol. 5 (2024)

  • Performance Matters, vols. 8–10 (2023–present)

  • Polish American Studies, vols. 77–81 (2020–present)

  • Romanticism on the Net, nos. 77–80 (2021–present)

  • TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies, vols. 44–45 (2022)

Recent Work
Testimonials

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TESTIMONIALS

Working with Jamie Warren has been transformative for my writing experience. On the one hand, he is 100% reliable in terms of responsiveness and deadlines. On the other hand, Jamie deeply appreciates how writing is a process, and it is always only good to invite him into my texts as I am working on my ideas. In addition to his excellence on all purely technical writing matters, he also  helps me see what communicates, what doesn't yet quite work, and suggests ways that might be better. Working with Jamie is a deeply creative, fun collaboration. Jamie has assisted me with a variety of texts at this point—from articles and reviews to responses to critics and popular philosophical writings—and I'm so glad to have him with me as I'm embarking on my next book. If anything, I only wish I had found him earlier!
- Helga Varden

   Professor, Departments of Philosophy (home), Gender and Women's Studies, and Political Science, University of Illinois 

James Warren is the finest editor with whom I have ever worked. He is careful, creative, and prompt. I highly recommend him.
- Allen Isaacman

   Regents Professor of History, Department of History, University of Minnesota

   Coauthor of Elusive Histories: Mozambican Migrant Laborers in Rhodesia, ca. 1900–1980
 (Ohio UP, forthcoming 2025)

Jamie Warren's skills and services were a lifeline at what was an editorial crunch time for me. He was an engaged, careful reader who made thoughtful suggestions to improve my final manuscript. He also worked fast on a tight deadline. I recommend his services highly.
- Jody Benjamin

   Assistant Professor, Department of History, University of California, Riverside

   Author of The Texture of Change: Dress, Difference and History in Western Africa 1700-1850 (Ohio UP, 2024)

Working with Jamie was an incredible experience; I wish I had hired him earlier. When I was stuck during a major restructuring of my book manuscript, Jamie swept in for the rescue. He offered excellent editorial advice at a much-needed time in the process. I plan on hiring Jamie to look over my writing moving forward.
- Elyse Semerdjian

   Professor, Department of History, Whitman College

   Author of Remnants: Embodied Archives of the Armenian Genocide (Stanford UP, 2023)

As a non-native English speaker working with vernacular Marathi materials, I needed assistance with smoothing the prose and making unfamiliar concepts accessible in The Vulgarity of Caste: Dalits, Sexuality, and Humanity in Modern India (2022). James was undaunted in taking up the task. His academic training in British imperial history put me at ease as he worked with the many layers of my arguments, being attentive, asking questions, and making comments that helped me make the book accessible to a larger audience beyond the academy. He is excellent and paid close attention to both the small and the big pictures, improving the book immensely with his careful editing. His is indeed the magic touch! Many, many thanks James, for your commitment, reliability, and being ready to engage my endless queries. I feel lucky to have worked with you over the past years.
- Shailaja Paik

   Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Cincinnati

   Author of The Vulgarity of Caste: Dalits, Sexuality, and Humanity in Modern India (Stanford UP, 2022)

James Warren Editing is a one-stop shop for everything a scholar needs in an editor. James offers the calming influence of experience, from the smallest details to the biggest of the big picture. His work is built on a strong foundation of excellent communication regarding deadlines and open-ended dialogue. This care for the author’s project shines through his intellectual generosity to patiently understand your work on its own terms. He has helped me at every stage of my research, from early conceptualization to preparing manuscripts for final submission. And I know my future work will be in good hands for indexing, editing, editorial feedback, and more.
- Andrew Culp

   Professor, School of Critical Studies, California Institute of the Arts

   Author of A Guerrilla Guide to Refusal (U of Minnesota P, 2022)

I highly recommend James Warren to anyone in need of an erudite editor who can provide both careful copy editing services and thoughtful editorial support. My coeditor and I hired James Warren to help us prepare our volume for submission on a fairly tight timeline. Our project involved contributors from a number of different fields and perspectives and James was able to jump right into this interdisciplinary complexity. The anonymous reviewers and the press all praised the polished quality of our manuscript. We also hired James to index the volume, and he did a wonderful job. I will definitely be turning to James for my next projects, and continue to recommend him to colleagues.

- Sailaja Krishnamurti

   Associate Professor, Religious Studies and Women & Gender Studies, Saint Mary's University

   Coeditor of Relation and Resistance: Racialized Women, Religion, and

   Diaspora (MQUP, 2021)

James did a terrific edit of my completed manuscript, and was wonderful to work with. The format of my book was somewhat experimental scholarship—a collection of open letters on art and politics—and I felt at all times the utmost confidence in James's grasp of and appreciation for what I was trying to do, and his ability to help me meet the press's expectations for a properly formatted bibliography and footnotes. He did a great copy edit of the entire manuscript, and I felt really confident sending it off to my press, who were glad to receive it in such great condition. He turned it around quickly, and his rates were impressively reasonable. James was recommended to me by a colleague, and I have already been recommending him to others. At the end of a long, arduous process, he was, not to mince words, a godsend.
- Janet Sarbanes

   Professor, California Institute of the Arts

   Author of Letters on the Autonomy Project (Punctum Books, 2022)

Positive results follow from working with James Warren as a developmental editor! I was at an impasse with my writing and James’s advice was just what I needed to tighten my arguments and get different projects submitted and accepted. It is such a joy to work with someone who immediately grasps the big picture of what you’re trying to do. When Reviewer #2 tells me I have to add eighteen things but also cut 1000 words, I turn to James and he is always positive, incisive, thorough, and timely with his feedback. I highly recommend him – your research output will thank you.

- Danielle Kinsey

   Assistant Professor, Department of History, Carleton University

This was my first time working with James Warren. Mr. Warren has shown adaptability with work timing, as well as diligence. Most importantly, he achieved the main goal we had set together. I appreciate that he took the time to discuss my work and help me prioritize my goals, at the same time as responding to my intellectual inquiries. In fact, the latter was a pleasant surprise. Mr. Warren has the intellectual flexibility to discuss historical and methodological matters, thus helping clarify one’s thoughts and intents, and one's argument. Finally, Mr. Warren showed a good notion of work feasibility, thus setting up achievable tasks. I will seek his services again.

- Meriam Belli

   Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Iowa

James was tremendous help when I was struggling to complete a long-delayed article. I had circled for considerable time on this project, cutting and pasting in seemingly endless revisions, without any real progress. James cast an analytical eye on the argument and evidence, providing clear suggestions for improving them, and finally moving the piece to completion. I highly recommend James as a skilled editor.

- William Knight
   Curator, Canada Agriculture and Food  Museum

I worked with James Warren on finalizing my book manuscript draft. After an initial conversation about where I felt I needed help with balancing theory and history, James was able to quickly grasp the argument and intellectual thrust of my book. He offered careful consideration to my work that helped make the manuscript better connected and enhanced my argument throughout. James is understanding and a good listener, he always responded promptly and was an overall pleasure to work with.

- Crystal Eddins

   Assistant Professor, Africana Studies, UNC Charlotte

   Author of Rituals, Runaways, and the Haitian Revolution: Collective Action in the African Diaspora (Cambridge University Press, 2021)

A colleague of mine highly recommended James's editorial services, and I'm grateful for the recommendation. James helped me revise and resubmit a journal article. He did a terrific job at both big-picture tasks, like helping to clarify and sustain the argument, as well as smaller, sentence-level tasks; and he did so in a timely manner. It was great to work with James and I plan on doing so again in the future

- Diana Solomon

   Associate Professor, English, Simon Fraser University

Jamie Warren was an absolute joy to work with. His professionalism, eye for detail, and his intellectual investment in the project made what are normally challenging tasks a genuine pleasure. We highly recommend him for the expertise, care, and rigor he brings to his work.

- Antoinette Burton (History, University of Illinois) and Renisa Mwani (Sociology, University of British Columbia)
   Editors of Animalia: An Anti-Imperial Bestiary for Our Times (Duke University Press, 2020)

James Warren did an exceptional job copyediting the most recent issue of our journal. He was professional and courteous in his communications with me and our authors, and his copyedits were clear and thorough. We were very impressed by his flexibility with regards to our timeline and his ability to complete his edits in record time when we faced a tight deadline. We will absolutely reach out to him in the future!

- Lauren Bosc
   Managing Editor, Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures   

On recommendation from a colleague, I reached out to James for assistance with a university press book. He edited sections of the book, harmonized the citation style, and provided an index. Put simply, his work is superb. In addition to technical expertise, he brings academic acumen and intellectual depth to a project. Working with James is a genuinely rewarding collaborative process. He replies promptly and thoroughly to inquiries, offers thoughtful advice and guidance, and cares deeply about the work.  I look forward to working with James in the future and recommend his services without hesitation. 

- Jack Jackson
  Assistant Professor of Politics, Whitman College
  Author of Law Without Future: Anti-Constitutional Politics and the American Right (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019)

I hired James to help me work on an ethnographic chapter with lots of moving parts, including stylistic registers that ranged from the poetic, to highly theoretical, to the scientific. He took great care to investigate the larger project, my writing goals, and how to reorganize chunks of writing in a way that built suspense and clarity for the reader. James is a superbly qualified editor who is also a coach.  He can open you to your own greatest potential as a writer. James listens and he knows how to craft edits so that your words still feel like your own. He deftly maneuvered the delicate process, tinkering words in sentences and rearranging paragraphs for maximum clarity. Significantly, his pricing was straight forward, and we accomplished what we set out to do within my set budget. Working with James will bring you a sense of relief as he can root out problems in your writing and shed new insight into your project. I highly recommend James Warren’s work to anyone writing a book.
- Eunice Blavascunas
  Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Environmental Studies, Whitman College
  Author of Foresters, Peasants, and Bark Beetles: The Future of Europe's Last Primeval Forest (Indiana University Press, 2020)

James was recommended to me by a trusted colleague, and he exceeded my expectations. I needed an editor for a complete book manuscript, fast—within six weeks, the text was to be edited for style, “jargon,” syntax, and structure. We met the deadline, and the book went into production very quickly after that—in other words, James’ work was excellent. As a non-native speaker of English, I appreciated his careful interventions, which managed to smoothen out the language while maintaining my style and bringing out my big and small arguments in much greater clarity. Still today I am immensely grateful for James’ availability and diligence under the time pressure, without his intervention at this critical juncture my first English monograph would not have been as successful as it turned out to be. I highly recommend him.
- Anika Walke
   Assistant Professor of History; Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; and International and  Area Studies, Washington University in St. Louis
   Author of Pioneers and Partisans: An Oral History of Nazi Genocide in Belorussia (Oxford University Press, 2015).

An editor who can think at big conceptual scales and sweat the details too is a rare and remarkable find. James Warren has an impressive track record of craft-based editing that ranges from books to journal articles and beyond. During his tenure at the Journal of Women’s History he was a painstaking reader who was deeply sympathetic to the work at hand and invested in bringing clarity and readability to the manuscripts placed in his care. He is fully engaged in the projects he takes on and utterly timely and reliable. Your work is in good hands.

- Antoinette Burton

   Swanlund Chair, History, University of Illinois

   Editor, Journal of Women's History (2005-2010)

For over two years, while a PhD student at the University of Illinois, James Warren served as the managing editor of the Journal of Women’s History. James’ editorial work on the journal was nothing short of amazing.  As co-editors, Antoinette Burton and I worked hard to internationalize the journal’s content and its contributors, which meant lots of submissions from across the globe from authors whose first or even second language was not English. James’ expert editorial hand ranged from word- and sentence-level corrections to substantive content edits to clarify argument and analysis, which he managed while keeping the author’s voice fully in tact.  As I’ve come to realize over many years of working with journals and two book series, editorial work is a true craft. James Warren is a masterful practitioner of that craft.

- Jean Allman

   J.H. Hexter Professor in the Humanities, Washington University in St. Louis

   Editor, Journal of Women's History (2005-2010)

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