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Photo: Joanna Pianka

A 12-year track record of getting researchers published & funded

For over 12 years, I've worked with leading researchers to get their work published in top-tier journals like Organization Science and funded by agencies such as the ERC. My specialty is developmental rewriting and revising - the kind of deep, intensive text work that is often needed to get a paper or proposal from first draft to acceptance. One of my key strengths is identifying what researchers are trying to say but can't express clearly themselves. I revise their work by sharpening their arguments and emphasizing the significance of their research.

WORKING WITH RESEARCHERS AT

Freie Universität Berlin logo
Universiteit Antwerpen logo
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität logo
Vaasan yliopisto logo
Universität Innsbruck logo
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen logo
Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft logo
Universität Mannheim logo
Jyväskylän yliopisto logo

What my clients have to say

They can say it better than I can

Editing Client

University of Mannheim

"Hi Marc, I received a message that the paper about [...] is now conditionally (some small changes) accepted to the A* Journal outlet. So, thank you so much for your great job. Without your support and patience, this would have been impossible! You are awesome...."

Editing Client

University of Göttingen

"Marc, thank you very much for your work, I saw that substantial effort has gone into the manuscript and I think the quality and readability has improved a lot! Also the paragraphs where you had questions made clear that we are not getting our point across, and, thanks to you pinpointing at those parts, we now also improved them. Overall, all remarks were very clear and are now integrated..."

Editing Client

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

“Dear Marc, Thank you so much for your incredible work. I am very grateful for the detailed editing you did. It was all pretty straight forward, so I don't have any open questions and I do agree with all your comments. This has also been a great learning process!"

Why your research might not be getting published & funded

If you're a PhD candidate or postdoc, your career prospects depend on publishing your research and obtaining funding. Like most researchers, though, you likely struggle to communicate the value of your research to the peers, editors, and reviewers who hold the keys to acceptance. Even if you're blessed with a skill set that combines research prowess with a gifted writing ability, you may not be publishing in the journals you want to or being awarded the funding you think your research deserves.

And the competition is only getting tougher.

Some top journals accept only 1% of the articles submitted. Success rates for funding agencies are as low as 12%. Even excellent research is rejected or not funded, and a clearly written text with strong arguments and well developed statements of significance and contribution could make the difference.

The key to getting published & funded

Many times it's not simply a matter of fine tuning and polishing the language. These surface fixes are often the ones that most hired editors and proofreaders find and correct. The work I do on texts includes deep revisions - rewriting and restructuring to pull out and emphasize the clearest and most compelling argument and reformulate it to articulate a clear contribution. Most researchers don't have someone who can give their manuscript or proposal a thorough, objective evaluation and revision. Advisors, PIs, and colleagues are busy with their own work, and doing it on your own is hard for anyone, since seeing your own work through the eyes of another reader is difficult.

What's more, researchers are specialists in their field, not in rhetoric and scientific communication. You might know that something's not right with the writing, but not how to fix it.

I know how to fix academic texts. And I've been doing it for more than 12 years.

 

Starting as a consent form editor, my job was to translate lengthy and complicated research protocols into readable and comprehensible informed consent documents. My bias and my perspective has always been toward the reader, and I spent many long hours decoding, deciphering, and rewriting complex medical language that explains, clarifies, and resolves ambiguity.

You don't have to go it alone. Writing is hard, and sometimes you need a partner to help craft a text that communicates what it has taken you years to research.

My clients have come back to me again and again with their toughest and most-critical projects - some clients since I began editing. My job is to get you published and funded. Let's talk today to see if I'm the right person to help you.

Book a free introductory call today to see if we're a good match

Services

What my clients say

Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft logo

LBG Winter School Workshop 2022 participant

"Marc was fantastic on so many levels! Especially during the 1:1 session, where he helped me set up an adequate strategy for writing my paper and gave me specific advice for structuring my arguments."

Better writing today

You don't have to go it alone. Writing journal articles and research proposals is hard. I help make the process a little easier. Let's talk today to see how I can help you.

About Me

I'm a developmental academic editor, writing coach, and writing trainer with over 12 years of experience helping PhDs, postdocs, and professors get their journal articles published and their research proposals funded.

Marc Abernathy
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