german jewish philosophy articles
Lev Literary regularly edits and formats the University of Haifa’s Prof. Cedric Cohen Skalli’s articles on German Jewish philosophy, which are published in a variety of academic journals and presented at conferences around the world.
Assignment:
German Jewish philosophy academic articles
Service:
Editing & Formatting
Year
2018 – present
PROCESS
Editing Process
I begin with an initial readthrough and edits of Cedric’s papers, often by hand, so that I am familiar with Cedric’s discussion from beginning to end before delving into a deeper edit. Then, I do several additional rounds of edits: a second, thorough edit, followed by a final readthrough. Depending on the complexity and length of the article, I may require additional rounds of edits to ensure that I haven’t missed any unclear sentences or stray grammatical errors.
I edit for grammar, sentence structure, clarity, organization, and cohesiveness, while ensuring that I preserve Prof. Skalli’s unique writing style and voice. As I edit, I make sure to keep in mind Prof. Skalli’s audience—usually a specific publication or conference—and, when necessary, I format his papers according to his publications’ respective guidelines.
My aim is to ensure that Cedric’s papers are easy to understand, given their complexity, and that the paper flows well from beginning to end from a grammatical, structural, and argumentative standpoint.
Excerpt from Cedric’s article, “The Resort to Geistpolitik.”
Complex Material
Prof. Skalli’s papers, which specialize in German Jewish philosophy, include a variety of sources translated from several different languages and time periods, as well as specialized philosophical Germanic terms. This means that I need to edit and ensure accuracy of source translations and to work with several different languages—English, German, Hebrew, and occasionally other languages. The complexity and specialized nature of Cedric’s articles is not a barrier, though: I am adaptable and can edit across many fields, making sure to ask for clarifications if needed, in order to ensure the accuracy of my work.
Review of Edits
Upon completion of edits, I send Cedric’s articles to him with my edits and comments marked with track changes. After Cedric reviews my edits, I answer any of his questions by email, phone, and on the editing document itself. Some edits require additional discussion if unclear or if Cedric and I disagree, and we work together to arrive at solutions and to finalize edits.
After Cedric’s review, I do a final readthrough to ensure that his articles are spotless.
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Comfortable Working Relationship
When I first began working with Cedric, his articles were quite challenging. But over time, and with each paper I have received, I have become more acquainted with Cedric’s field, voice and style, which allows me to intuitively understand what Cedric means, the flow and structure of his papers, and what he wants edited. Cedric and I are comfortable working with each other and understand each other’s process of working. We feel comfortable with last-minute changes and deadlines, discussions, occasional last-minute papers, agreeing or disagreeing with each other, and I make sure I do what I can to accommodate his requests because I am invested in his success.
This regular working relationship with Cedric—and any regular clients in general—continues to improve upon the editing process. Plus, I am increasing my vocabulary of complicated, non-colloquial philosophical Germanic terms such as Vernunftglaube and Geistpolitik.
What Cedric has to say about Lev Literary:
“Lahevet edited for me several complex academic articles I wrote on different topics in Jewish Philosophy (Hermann Cohen, Leo Strauss, Martin Buber). The articles contained many historical sources from different periods. Lahevet did a wonderful job of editing. She helped me to improve my work while respecting my style and ideas. She knew how to deal with the guidelines of different journals. The exchanges with her were always friendly and insightful. I recommend warmly the editing of Lahevet.”
