Who Is Jot or Tittle?

Jot or Tittle Editorial Services is Samuel Kelly, a manuscript editor with a background in biblical studies, Christian theology and biblical languages. Sam is an alumnus of Fresno Pacific University (BA English; BA Biblical and Religious Studies, 2012) and Fuller Theological Seminary (MA Theology, 2016) whose experience in editing includes copy from short-form web content to technical biblical commentaries.

Sam has been married to Katy, a fellow FPU and Fuller alum, since 2014. They live with their son and their dog in Fresno, California, where they worship and serve at Free Grace Church. Sam and Katy enjoy tabletop board games, reading (for work and for pleasure), baking, and excursions to local and far-flung national parks. When Sam isn’t reading about the Bible or spending time with Katy, he might be found writing poetry about them.

“I have worked with numerous copy editors during several years of working as a project editor, and Sam is in the top tier. He has several strengths that I particularly value: he adapts his work to the particular project, always accounting for the level of editorial input that I request and paying attention to the special needs of any given project; he communicates clearly and regularly; he asks the right questions, and the right number of questions, when beginning a project; and he has not yet missed a deadline. I’m comfortable giving him an array of projects, and my stress level always diminishes when I hand off a project to him because I know I don’t need to worry about it being finished punctually and well. Most highly recommended!”
Andrew Knapp
Project Editor
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

“Sam’s editing of my dissertation exceeded my expectations. His communication throughout the process was timely and clear. Sam caught many errors and inconsistencies in the manuscript that other readers and I had overlooked. His clarifications preserved and enhanced my voice as a writer. I would gladly work with Sam again!”
Robert Howe
Campus Minister

“I was so delighted with Sam’s attention to detail and his communication style throughout my book writing project. Sam has a superb combination of professionalism and personalization. I found the quality of his work exceptional and his timeliness of responses outstanding. With me being an Englishman living in California, Sam also taught me much about the English language, albeit the adaptations since kicking us out in 1776! As the locals in Southern California say, ‘He’s like totally awesome!’”
Paul Butler, CIMA, CGMA
Newleaf Training and Development

“Sam joined my team in the final phases of publishing my latest book. He immediately dived into the project, bringing expert editing talents that improved the work. Not only was he able to clarify complex concepts, but he was able to do it without disrupting the author’s voice—extremely important when a writer’s reputation is built on ideas expressed through a trusted voice. He was sensitive to the material, understood its significance, and strove to bring it to life in a meaningful way. I found Sam easy to work with one-on-one, and he developed an excellent rapport with other members of the team. I recommend him highly.”
Beth Wilson
Author of Meditations for New Mothers and He’s Just No Good for You

“Samuel Kelly's work on our content has been invaluable. His copy editing has helped eliminate barriers to help better serve our audiences. His work is consistently precise and timely. Our team, our content, and our website are better because of his skills, time and effort.”
Deanna Kustas
Content Strategy Lead
Cru

“We are especially grateful to Samuel Kelly and Andrew Knapp for their superb editing to help us speak more clearly.”
Bruce Waltke and James Houston
Authors of The Psalms as Christian Praise
Regent College

“The copyeditor, Samuel Kelly, … has my gratitude for his judicious work cleaning up this book.”
Johanna W. H. Van Wijk-Bos
Author of The End of the Beginning: Joshua and Judges
Louisville Presbyterian Seminary

“I can highly recommend Sam Kelly as a solid professional in the field of editing. He truly put my work under a microscope to make sure it was polished and well written. But he is also knowledgeable in the study of theology, which enhanced the work he did for my particular project. He went far beyond what I had expected and he was a pleasure to work with.  Sam can give your work the boost it needs to truly stand out from the crowd.”
Jane Woolsy Gropp
Master of Arts in Theology, Talbot Seminary
Bible Teacher

“JoT was excellent. A truly professional editor that met not only the demands of my dissertation, but the flexible approach my need for an editor required. Samuel is top notch and I highly recommend him to anyone need of a strong academic editor for graduate level work.”
Brian D. Bennett
Pastor

“Sam's edits and comments were intelligent, helpful, and flowed with my writing style.”
Dr. Jonathan M. Finley
Missiologist

“As a doctoral student, I worked with multiple editors throughout the revision process on my dissertation. Sam was able to catch errors others missed in my writing and in my visual graphics (figures, tables, charts, etc). His method of communicating revisions was always very easy to understand and timely.”
Amber Smith
Doctoral Student, Fuller Theological Seminary

“This being my first time to work with a professional editor, it was a major learning curve. I thought I was fairly good at editing until I worked with Sam. Going far beyond basic issues of spelling, grammar, and punctuation, he saw a lot of nuances and word selection issues that I had missed, and he made appropriate proposals for changes that made my text more readable, concise and professional. He went far beyond the call of duty to communicate with me frequently on issues of clarity, even making some helpful comments on the content of my research. I would highly recommend Sam for his services and would use him in the future when in need of editorial services.”
Larry Sellers
Doctoral Student, Fuller Theological Seminary

“Sam did a great job editing my documents. He helped me achieve my goals through his quality work, finely honed editing craft, and timely turnaround. He provided his service with excellent professionalism. I highly recommend him for your editing needs.”
Helen M. Edwards
Faculty, Renavaré Institute
Doctoral Student, Fuller Theological Seminary

“Learning my Hebrew class hadn't prepared me for my exegetical class, I looked for help and found Samuel Kelly. He was patient, sensitive to my anxiety, and provided resources that helped me. He provided hands-on resources, handouts, and exercises I could do on my own, and he worked through exercises with me. He encouraged me, helped me understand my mistakes, and celebrated my successes. Just a few weeks after starting tutoring with Sam, one of my fellow students, whom I didn't know well, noticed I'd improved. Sam is great to work with. He even helped me talk through my final paper.”
Julia Wells
Master of Divinity Student, Fuller Theological Seminary

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