Of all the choices of editors and proofreaders out there today, you want to work with the top 1% – ideally. Your search for an editor needs to lead you to the most qualified professional, no matter the type of editing service you are interested in – for example, copy editing, developmental editing, an editorial assessment, or a straightforward final round of proofreading.
Importantly, to ensure you can find an editor who is in the top 1% of professionals qualified for your project, you need to know something about the type of editing and proofreading services you require, along with details such as your budget, deadline, and intended communication style. Without this information, it will be difficult to explain to the editor what you are looking for, and you run the risk of being dissatisfied.
Image: Finding an editor for your project doesn’t have to be guesswork
First things first, you should exclude any editing service providers who:
- Exceed your budget
- Cannot meet your required completion date
- Are inexperienced in your subject area (e.g., for a geology paper, an editor with knowledge of the field is desirable)
- Do not have a communication style that aligns with yours
After excluding all available editing services that failed to meet these criteria, it is important to recognise that the remaining service providers should still be screened for eligibility.
In particular, even if a professional editor is qualified, can meet your deadline and budget, and has a communication style that you enjoy, it is still worth considering a few other issues before hiring them.
These include:
- Free sample: You should aim to review a free sample of the editor’s work before hiring them. Without seeing evidence of high-quality work, it is risky to leave a large document with an unvetted freelancer or service provider.
- Language:A large number of proofreaders and editors work online and internationally. An important factor to consider when hiring an editor is whether they are a native speaker of your intended language.
- Specialism:If you can find an editor who is a specialist in your area of study or your genre of writing, this may be of considerable value throughout the editing process. This is because they can bring this experience to bear on their revisions to your work.
Image:If you know what to look for, you can often find a much better editor
Once you’ve found an editor who you think is potentially a good fit for your project, what are you waiting for? As this article has shown, choosing an editor isn’t guesswork, and you have ample opportunity to ensure you pick the winning team for your document without wasting money.
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