Frequently Asked Questions

You can get started by contacting us through our website to request a consultation, reach out to a management team member, or submit your manuscript for review. We will reach out to your initial request within 1–2 business days to coordinate next steps.

Yes! We are happy to meet with authors to discuss project goals, timelines, services, and pricing before work begins. Use our online contact form to schedule a consultation.

Project timelines vary depending on the length, complexity, and type of service requested. We generally estimate 3–4 weeks for articles and 2–3 months for books; however, we will provide an estimated timeline when you submit your project.

We sometimes have space in our schedule for rush jobs, so don't hesitate to ask if we can fit your project in! We'll try to accommodate your schedule if we can.

You are welcome to share preferences to have your project assigned to a specific editor in the notes of your project submission form. Editor assignments depend on availability and project needs; however, when possible, we will try to accommodate your request.

No, you do not! We service anyone who is able to pay the fee for our work.

As many as you would like! There is no limit per person.

It depends. You are welcome to contact us before a manuscript is finalized to discuss project goals, timelines, and editorial needs so we can begin planning and add the project to our queue. Reaching out early can help reduce wait times and—for larger projects or those with many moving parts—allows us to assign an editor to your project in advance.

You may also submit portions of an unfinished manuscript for review to support your writing and revision process. You may continue revising your manuscript independently while it is with FPS; however, we ask that updates not be expected to be incorporated into the same round of editing once work has begun. If you make significant changes during the editing process, those revisions can be addressed in a subsequent review or combined in a later stage of editing. This helps ensure consistency and accuracy for our editors as they work through a stable version of the text. For additional questions about an in-progress manuscript, feel free to reach out to the managing editor or schedule a consultation.

FPS primarily works with Microsoft Word documents, but we may also accept additional file types depending on the project (e.g., PDF, LaTeX, InDesign, etc.). Contact us if you have questions about submitting a specific format.

FPS offers a variety of editorial services, including copyediting, proofreading, formatting, indexing, and various publication support. Services may vary depending on the needs of your project. Please visit our services page for more information about each type of project request.

FPS editors are experienced with major academic and publishing style guides, including APA, Chicago, MLA, and others commonly used in scholarly publishing. We can also assist with formatting manuscripts according to publisher, journal, or house style guide requirements.

Your manuscript will be reviewed by one or more professional staff editors and may also be worked on by trained student editors as part of our mentorship program. We do our best to carefully match manuscripts with editors who have relevant subject knowledge and editorial experience. You can learn more about our team structure and the editors on our staff on our website.

FPS student editors are BYU Editing and Publishing majors and minors who complete extensive training (through their normal coursework and the FPS onboarding process) in editing-related skills and professionalism before working on any projects. Any work completed by student editors will always be reviewed and approved by a professional editor on staff before being returned to you.

No. Acknowledging FPS editors is completely optional, though many authors choose to thank editors in the acknowledgments section of their publication.

Yes. FPS regularly works with graduate students and faculty on dissertations, theses, and other academic manuscripts. If you are a BYU student, feel free to contact us to discuss possible funding options. Depending on your faculty mentor’s college affiliation, some services may be available to you at no cost.

No, we cannot. Our service provides all the tools that prepare a manuscript for publication, but we are not a publishing house. However, we can provide recommendations for print publishers if you’re interested in pursuing traditional or self-publishing.

Yes, we can absolutely do both!

While both deal with grammar, spelling, and punctuation, they happen at different times in the publication process. A copyedit is a normal round of editing that takes place on a drafted manuscript. A proofread happens after the manuscript has been typeset and designed for publishing to make sure no final grammar or design errors slip through unnoticed.

Yes, we can do that for you. If you would like the same editor, please let us know ahead of time so we can make sure they will be available.

Our editors use Track Changes on Microsoft Word, which means that any punctuation or words they add will show up in a different color, and everything they delete will appear on the side. This allows you to go through all their changes and either accept or reject them. The editors may also leave comments on the side of the document that you can keep or delete as you want.

No. Indexing is one of the final steps in the publication process because it relies on the page numbers of the manuscript not changing. This means the manuscript must be final printing proofs and otherwise ready to go to press before the index can be created.

FPS works with a wide variety of academic and professional materials, including journal articles, books, dissertations, theses, reports, textbooks, curriculum, and other manuscripts. If you're unsure if we can help with your project, feel free to reach out! We often can help with unconventional project requests, so just ask.

Yes. FPS can assist with copyediting, proofreading, formatting, checking citations, and applying style guide requirements to help prepare manuscripts for a specific journal or publisher submission. You can even submit the same manuscript multiple times if you plan to submit the same manuscript to multiple journals with different requirements.

We charge $45/hour for every service, so project cost varies by manuscript length and services provided. If you are working with a tight budget and would like us to stay below a certain number of hours, we can often accommodate the project to fit your needs. If you would like an estimate before beginning your project, please contact us for a quote.

If you are in one of our approved, contracted colleges at BYU, we will invoice your college directly at the end of the year. For non-contracted BYU colleges, we will invoice your department using the provided Workday billing codes after services are completed. For non-BYU-affiliated clients, we invoice authors after services are completed according to the sales agreement set up prior to beginning work. Payment instructions are included with the invoice.

Often, yes. If you are working within a specific budget, let us know when submitting your project. We can often recommend services or adjust project scope to help meet your needs.

Yes! We are happy to provide free quotes and project estimates before work begins. Feel free to reach out through our contact page to request a quote or consultation for your project.

Funding options may be available for BYU students wishing to submit a thesis or dissertation depending on their faculty mentor’s college affiliation and available departmental support. Contact us to discuss possible funding opportunities for your project.

At FPS, we follow BYU guidelines for ethical AI use. FPS editors may use approved AI tools in limited ways to help with editing workflows, but all editorial decisions are made by trained human editors, and the original content of any submitted material will never be entered into a generative AI tool as part of the services we provide at FPS except by request. Your unpublished or in-progress work will not be used to train AI models, generate AI outputs, or be exposed to third-party AI systems in any form. For more information on our guidelines for using AI, see our AI Use Policy.

No. Authors retain copyright ownership of their manuscripts and intellectual property. We provide editorial and publishing services, but we do not claim ownership of your work. For more information, see our Copyright Policy.

We use your submitted information only for purposes related to your project, including communication, editing, invoicing, and publication support. We do not sell or share your information outside of the scope of providing our services. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

We treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential, and files are only shared with the editors directly involved in your project. At times, we may use author-submitted materials to support BYU classroom instruction, editing research, and student portfolios. In all cases, your work will never be shared with any party outside of FPS without your express written permission. See our Copyright Policy and Privacy Policy for more information.

FPS hires student editors and other employees throughout the year as positions become available. Part-time staff employment opportunities are posted through BYU’s Workday site and are available online. Student positions open multiple times each year; more details about student internships and how to apply can be found on our hiring page.

Hiring depends on project needs and available positions, but we hire students multiple times a year for internship positions and staff editors as needed.

Yes. FPS student internships are paid, hourly positions that provide hands-on experience in the editing and publishing field. For more information on student internships, see our hiring page.

You can stay informed about FPS news, services, and announcements by visiting our website or signing up for our monthly newsletter. You are also welcome to contact us directly through our contact form or via email with questions about current services or projects.

Each year, we share an annual report that highlights that year's projects, accomplishments, and impact. To see past annual reports, visit our website.

We typically respond to new submissions and contact requests within 1–2 business days (excluding weekends and university staff holidays). If you have a question about your submission, please reach out to the management team directly.

Most project communication takes place through email with the management team to have a clear record of project details. You can always pass along questions or concerns to the editor at any point in the process. Depending on the project, additional meetings or consultations may also be arranged as needed.

Yes. We are happy to meet with authors by video call, phone, or on campus to discuss project goals, timelines, services, and questions before or during a project. You can request a consultation by submitting our online contact form or by reaching out to us via email.

You can subscribe to the FPS monthly newsletter through our website to receive updates about services, announcements, hiring opportunities, and publishing resources.

Yes! You can find articles written by our student and staff editors on our blog. Our blog is also promoted in our monthly newsletter.