Nishigawa Kobo · Editing

Nishigawa Kobo · Editing

Eighteen years of experience in two countries

Chris Ryal’s editing services

I have one goal as an editor: to make your writing better. I hope to help you communicate effectively in Engilsh. To make your ideas clear and convincing for your readers.

If you have an editing assignment and you are looking for an editor to work with, please feel free to send me a message about your project. You can write in English or Japanese, as you prefer.

Please call 092 525-3815, or use the contact form.

What kind of editor am I? And what does ‘editing’ mean?

I am a generalist: I can handle just about anything you want me to look at. For example, over the past eight years, I have worked with specialist papers for submission to academic journals; I have also edited documents about power plants, aquariums, tourist facilities, and ancient tombs. I work with fiction in translation, and also with research publications.

What is ‘editing’? In Japan, people often call it ‘proofreading’ or a ‘native check’. In English, there are different meanings for all these terms. In English, I am a professional editor. In Japan, this means I am a ‘native checker’, ‘rewriter’, and so on. I have been engaged in this work at a professional level for more than eighteen years.

I am not a translator. There are times when I need to refer to a Japanese original text in order to help make the English version read better, but in such cases I try to keep my work limited to rewriting, not retranslating.

How long does it take?

In general, I need at least a full working day per thousand words of text. For example, if you want me to look at a 6,000 word paper, it would probably take about a week. Please try to involve me early on in your writing process. This helps to avoid last minute panic. In addition, I am rarely able to finish a text on the same day you give it to me. For example, if you give me a short letter on Tuesday morning, my first choice is to get it back to you on Wednesday morning.

Please ask questions!

I am always happy to explain why I suggest a particular change in a text. If you wonder ‘Why did he do that?’ please ask me! Also, my academic package rate can include a personal consultation about your paper. Come and talk to me: I have parking, and several bus routes pass close to my house.

How much does it cost?

Cost varies with the job. Show me what you want me to do, and I will tell you how much I need to do it. I’m not cheap, but I’m not expensive either. I accept payment in cash or by bank transfer (furikomi). I always give proper receipts, and I can prepare an invoice for you if you need one.

Academic package rates

Academic papers often involve more than just one session of editing. For this reason, I offer package rates for academic papers: one fee that covers initial editing, help with correspondence, and editing of required revisions. The average price for this package is about 20,000 to 30,000 yen, depending on the length of the paper and the amount of work it requires. Please send me a message if you want more details about this service.

You will notice that the information I provide here assumes that you are in Japan. I accept assignments from clients all over Japan: from Fukuoka to Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Tokyo, and everywhere else. Sorry, but I cannot accept editing work from outside Japan. Time differences and problems with international money transfers make it too difficult.