Lex Academic Proofreading

Our humane mission

Based in Chelsea, London, we are an author services firm with a humane mission. Spearheaded by Oxbridge-educated academics, we boast 20 years’ editorial experience in the humanities, social sciences, law, and business with over 100 research publications between us (and hundreds more edited).

We appreciate the challenges encountered by authors in the competitive academic publishing space, especially those who are not native speakers of English. At Lex Academic, we don’t believe that language should be a barrier to publication. That is why a proportion of our profits go towards our three Lex Academic Scholarships, funds that support research students with dyslexia.

We have looked after the manuscripts of hundreds of academics and PhD students, enabling native and non-native English speakers alike to place their work with leading journals and prestigious publishing houses. Our clients have placed their work with Mind, Feminist Modernist Studies, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, British Journal for the History of Philosophy, Journal of Business Research, The Journal of Hellenic Studies, The Review of Metaphysics, Oxford Art Journal, Classical Review, Ancient Philosophy, and many others.

We are proudly, nay uniquely, staffed by editors with PhDs from the world’s most illustrious institutions. We match each client to the most appropriate and accomplished subject editor. Our Managing Director, Louise Chapman, quality controls the entire editorial process, meaning that all work is scrupulously scrutinised before being reunited with its author. Clients can, of course, request that Louise edits their work.

Our boutique author service ensures your work is submission-ready with a tailored menu of proofreading and editing services that promote publication success. Our services extend to editing grant funding applications (e.g., Leverhulme, British Academy, Wellcome Trust, and AHRC/ESRC), as well as MPhil and PhD dossiers. It is our mission to get your academic career off to a flying start.

We are especially beloved by those who have been ripped off and let down by faceless proofreading firms. Indeed, our clients return to us time and again because we offer a service that they can trust.

About our founders

Our Managing Editor and CEO, Louise Chapman, is a consummate editorial professional. Her perfectionistic approach to proofreading—combined with a compassionate, client-centred ethos—ensures that your manuscript receives the care and attention it deserves. Educated at Oxford (MSt) and Cambridge (PhD), Louise combines subject expertise in Philosophy and Classics while also dispensing decades of experience in academic writing and editing. She has copy-edited hundreds of PhDs and academic monographs, exceeding expectations at every turn. During her academic career, Louise won over $250k in research funding from the world’s most elite universities. As such, she is well-poised to transform grant applications into fund-securing proposals.

Our Founding Editor, Constantine Sandis, is a Professor of Philosophy and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Constantine read Philosophy & Theology at St Anne’s College, Oxford and has hundreds of publications to his name, including books with Bloomsbury, Cambridge University Press, Palgrave Macmillan, Routledge, and Wiley-Blackwell. Constantine edits Bloomsbury’s Why Philosophy Matters and Palgrave’s Philosophers in Depth series, as well as Anthem Studies in Wittgenstein. As Associate Editor of Philosophical Explorations, Professor Sandis knows what it takes to publish with leading journals and guides the Lex Academic editorial process with this wisdom.

Other author services

Copy-editing

Copy-editing is for those clients who are hoping to improve the overall style and concision of their writing, while making a guaranteed impression with academic journals.

Indexing

Lex Academic crafts dedicated indexes for personal names (index nominum), places (index locorum), and words (index verborum).

Substantive editing

Substantive editing is for those clients whose writing expects to reach a wider public, owing to which it needs to be truly extraordinary.

Bibliography compiling

At Lex Academic, we create your bibliography on your behalf. Simply supply the text of your manuscript—with an indication of your citation style—and we will get to work organising a consistent and complete list of works cited.

A trusted resource for leading academics

We’ve supported hundreds of academics and global institutions

Meet the editors

Customer Reviews

Philosophy PhD (University of Padua) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Louise, you did such a nice job with my thesis. I cannot thank you enough. You exceeded my expectations completely. I hope we will continue to collaborate in the future with my academic texts. You are a v. valuable asset to me and my work. Bravo Louise.

About Lex Academic