The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.—Mark Twain
Welcome to Compass Rose Horizons.
We offer expert proofreading, editing, book design, eBook formatting, and transcription services.
The Reader, also known as Young Woman Reading a Book, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1874. Renoir was a French Impressionist artist known for his use of vibrant light and color, as well as for his focus on capturing people in intimate, private settings.
Our Freelance Services
If you are in need of quality pre-publication services, including proofreading, editing, transcription, book design, and eBook conversion and formatting, you have come to the right place. Compass Rose is a Chicago-based, mom and pop editorial services company with clients all over the world. Please visit our Editorial Rates page for current prices.
Editing and Proofreading
You know what you want to say, you just need help with the presentation. Even great writers can have problems with poor or inappropriate word choices; awkward or convoluted sentence structures; or occasional lapses into bad grammar, creative spelling, or incorrect punctuation. Using the spell checker tool included with your software is a terrific start toward creating a client-ready document, but it certainly won’t help you catch everything. For example, it won’t differentiate between to, too, and two; merry, marry, and Mary; weather and whether; caret, carat, and carrot; or witch and which. Only a human reader can help you with that! Typos and grammatical errors can discredit your message and spoil your professional image. Mistakes can cost you time, money, and clients. You need a professional editor or proofreader on your side, one whose only job is to look for errors and to make your work shine. Hiring an independent freelance editor has never been more important than in this age of self-publishing. If you do not have an in-house staff to handle your proofreading and editing jobs, our freelance proofreaders and editors can help.
We Can Edit or Proofread Your Printed Materials
This includes academic papers, capstone projects, essays, dissertations, theses (APA, MLA, or Chicago Manual of Style); book manuscripts (autobiographies and biographies, fiction, non-fiction); classroom materials; journals; manuals (how-to books, textbooks, technical publications); screenplays; research papers; transcripts; and news articles.
We Also Edit and Proofread Electronic Media
We can handle all of your electronic media needs, including Web site content, PDF documents, eBooks, PowerPoint® presentations, and e-mail correspondences.
Make sure your documents have been checked for accuracy before they are presented to the public!
>>> Go to Proofreading and Editing Services
A. B. Adair, of the Chicago Daily News, at his desk, circa 1915. The Chicago Daily News was an afternoon daily newspaper published between 1876 and 1978.
Manuscript Preparation, Typesetting, and Book Design
Have you written a novel but you’re not sure of the proper format to use when submitting it to a publisher? Do you need a handwritten manuscript typeset into Microsoft® Word? How about a printer-ready book layout for your self-published novel — along with cover design — suitable for either print-on-demand or traditional printing? We can help! We offer a full range of formatting, typesetting, and book design services.
>>> Go to Typesetting and Book Design ServiceseBook Conversion, Formatting, Editing, and Design
We believe that eBooks deserve the same care and attention we give to print publications. With this goal in mind, we hand code each eBook individually, instead of relying on conversion software to do the job, and test it on the very devices that will be used to read it, including the Kindle and Nook. We are also able to prepare and format your Microsoft Word document for publication through Smashwords.
>>> Go to eBook Conversion, Formatting, Editing, and Design ServicesTranscription Services
Compass Rose Horizons provides transcription as a supplementary service for our writers. Our transcription services are designed for the client who only needs the occasional audio file transcribed as part of a project, e.g., the doctoral student with a handful of interviews to be included with a dissertation or the family historian who needs an oral history included in a manuscript.
We can produce both verbatim and non-verbatim transcripts and timecode them if desired. Each and every audio sample is transcribed by a professional transcriptionist and proofread by an experienced editor. You won’t be disappointed!
>>> Go to Transcription ServicesGift Certificates
We now offer gift certificates! Certificates are redeemable toward the cost of any editorial, proofreading, book design, or transcription service offered by Compass Rose Horizons.
>>> Go to Gift Certificates“Thank you for your wonderful contribution to [The Demise of Luleta Jones]. I truly appreciate your excellent proofreading.”—Mark Allen Boone, editor and publisher, Blacksmith Books LLC
Meet Our Staff
Our editors, proofreaders, and typists have paid their dues and are experts in their respective fields. To learn more about the people who will be handling your creative work, visit our About Us page. You will always know exactly who you are going to work with before the project begins—unlike with many larger online editing service providers, who will randomly assign your paper to the next available editor.
Visit Our Bookstore
Through our own Kalevala Books imprint, we publish the series Classic Cocktail Guides and Retro Bartender Books and the Folklore and Mythology Archive.
>>> Go to the Bookstore
