Additional Info on Fact-Checking + Research Services
Fact-checking can be a rigorous process. In most cases, I will be re-reporting your story or book by contacting your sources to confirm information, ensuring you have proper primary sources to back up claims (especially legally-sensitive ones), as well as reviewing the overall tone of a piece to make sure it stands up to journalistic principles. I love diving deep into research on new or familiar topics, and I see my work as a partnership with a writer and editor to make a story or book the best it can be.
Below are some things I expect from myself and the writers and editors I work with on fact-checking projects. Only looking for a researcher? I'm happy to help you find trustworthy sourcing for your upcoming story or book. I charge an hourly rate for these services.
Please get in touch if you'd like to learn more or chat about a project!
What I bring to the table:
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Thoroughness and a meticulous attention to detail
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The aim to develop rapport with each writer and editor I work with to ensure a smooth fact-checking process
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Compassion when dealing with emotional and personal story subjects
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Consideration of your timeline and honesty about the time it'll take me to complete a project
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Ability to fact-check long form features and breaking news stories, as well as take on longer projects like non-fiction book research or fact-checking
What you bring to the table:
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Annotated draft. This is a version of the story or book with sourcing for each sentence/paragraph/section. Don't have a fully annotated draft? Let me know and we can talk about the sourcing you do have to create a fact-checking plan.
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Contact information for your human sources. Interviews are a big part of the fact-checking process. Be sure to tell your sources that a fact-checker will be contacting them!
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Interview recordings and transcripts. These are important for a fact-checker to confirm quotes. They also come in handy when a fact-checker cannot reach a source for an interview.
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Patience and understanding for the work of a fact-checker. This is not always a fast process, but it is a methodical and organized way to make sure your story or book is 100% accurate.