Academic and non‑fiction editing services

If you’re looking for an editor, bravo—you’ve probably almost finished a significant piece of writing!

As an editor, writer, and data professional with over 10 years’ experience as an academic, I know the effort you’ve put in to reach this point. With my help, you’ll be able to show the best possible finished product to your audience, whether you’re a researcher, postgrad, author, small business, or not-for-profit.

In this final stage of the writing process, I’ll work with you to elevate your document’s clarity and consistency—and in doing so, enhance its credibility and impact.

The sections below explain what I offer, and how to contact me to discuss your editing needs.

I have copyedited and proofread journal papers, theses, reports, fellowship applications, book chapters and business documents for several years.

My qualifications include:

• Master of Creative Writing, Publishing & Editing, University of Melbourne
• PhD, Cognitive Neuroscience, UNSW Sydney
• Grad Cert, University Learning & Teaching, UNSW Sydney
• Bachelor of Psychology (Hons I), UNSW Sydney

While in academia, I wrote or contributed to 26 peer-reviewed publications about perception (the topic of my PhD), psychosis, and structural inequality. I was also a lecturer and tutor in psychology, providing feedback to many hundreds of students.

Nowadays, apart from freelance editing and creative writing, I work as a data scientist for Our Community, a social enterprise that supports not-for-profits and grantmakers across Australia.

Editing comes in a few flavours, often all at once:

• Structural editing: The big-picture stage, where I advise on how to strengthen your argument or narrative by considering flow and coherence.
• Copyediting: Where I refine grammar, sharpen sentence structure, and perform other systematic improvements to make your writing clear, engaging, and true to your voice.
• Proofreading: A final polish, where I catch spelling slips, punctuation mistakes and formatting hiccups, so your work looks professional and distraction-free.

I’ll provide an editing agreement before we start, so you know exactly what to expect. This is particularly important if your document is an academic thesis, as that has specific guidelines.

If it’s our first time working together, I’ll ask you to send an excerpt of your material (in confidence) so that I can more accurately estimate the total cost. I can also do a sample edit.

As a member of the Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd), I follow their fee guidelines.

Typical academic editing costs in Australia are outlined here, and these hourly rates are the basis for general editing jobs. Of course, my exact quote will depend on the initial quality and length of your material. Get in touch to see whether I can meet your budget and deadline.

You can reach me at mail@nathanmifsud.com or via the form below. I’ll reply within 24 hours.

I designed and built this website by hand. (Need your own?)

The font you see here is Century Supra by Matthew Butterick, whose book Practical Typography is an indispensible source of formatting advice.

I adopted my crab-and-butterfly emblem from a 16th-century printer’s mark. The animal juxtaposition has, since ancient times, stood for the phrase festina lente—“make haste slowly”.