You’ve written a novel, or a short-story assortment, that you just hope to publish your self in print or on-line, or maybe you propose to ship it to an agent within the hopes that an editor at a publishing firm will think about it. Or maybe you have got, or work for, a enterprise that distributes printed communications, otherwise you’re accountable for a Web page that posts numerous written materials.
You recognize the content material isn’t prepared for prime time. You want an editor. What do you do?
Decide the Kind of Enhancing You Need
First, make clear what sort of help you search. Does your content material want a substantive edit, copyediting, or proofreading? Substantive enhancing entails intensive consideration to plotting, narrative, characterization, tone, and different holistic elements for fiction, and group, logic, and efficient messaging in advertising and marketing communications or different nonfiction. In case your novel has been rejected for publication or your articles (or another person’s you’re shepherding) lack the influence they require, you must seek for an editor who performs substantive enhancing.
Should you imagine the content material is principally sound, however you imagine it wants revision for grammar, utilization, model, and punctuation, discover a copy editor. Should you’re involved solely about typographical errors, rent a proofreader. (However notice this: You may most likely get away and not using a substantive edit, however content material that has been proofread however not copyedited might be substandard.)
Establish the Venture’s Scope and Schedule
Subsequent, think about the parameters of the project. Is the mission a single guide, or a collection of essays to be assigned over a matter of weeks, or an ongoing assortment of articles for a Web page? Whoever you rent will wish to know your timeframe. Do you count on the project to be returned in weeks, days, or hours? Will or not it’s delivered, and is it to be returned, unexpectedly, or piecemeal?
Fee Coverage
Subsequent, resolve how you’ll compensate the editor. Will you pay by the hour, by the mission (a flat charge), or by the web page? Most editors work with an hourly charge, which is the fairest and the best, as a result of it permits the editor to do their finest work. You may, in fact, specify a cap on what number of hours the editor is allowed to invoice for.
And the way will you pay? By verify, or cash order? By PayPal, or one other on-line service? Some editors could ask for a proportion of the whole fee up entrance or after you obtain a specified proportion of the edited materials. You may ask the editor to finish a pattern (paid) edit of 1 chapter or a single article that you just consider earlier than approving them to finish the project.
Get hold of an Editor
Now, the place do you discover an editor? You may put up bodily or digital notes in your space to solicit native academics or English majors, however although they could be a cheap selection, academics and English majors aren’t essentially good editors. You may put tasks up for bid on Websites like Guru.com, nevertheless it’s a sophisticated course of, and plenty of editors who supply their providers on the positioning are underqualified or aren’t proficient in American English or British English. (And for those who lowball the speed you’re prepared to pay, you’ll get what you paid for.) Employment websites similar to Media Bistro are efficient for locating media professionals however not a lot for acquiring assist with fiction tasks or small-scale assignments, and posting employment listings will be expensive.
Craigslist, nevertheless, stays a superb useful resource, and job postings price solely $75. (And also you needn’t prohibit your search to your native market.) As well as, organizations such because the Bay Space Editors’ Discussion board
are applicable sources for personal people and smaller companies and organizations in search of editorial help. (Once more, it doesn’t essentially matter the place you or a potential editor dwell.) Alternatively, many freelance editors promote their providers on their very own Websites. (As soon as once more, geographical location is basically irrelevant.)
Take into account the Prices
Substantive enhancing is prone to put you again $50 or extra per hour, and the everyday working charge is a number of pages per hour. Copy editors cost about $25 to $50 per hour, relying on their stage of expertise and experience and on the subject material, they usually typically full 5 to 10 pages an hour. Proofreading prices much less and is completed extra shortly, however except the content material is on-line, you’ll should mail the proofs, ship them as a PDF Moveable Doc File (the editor will want an enhancing program), or have the proofreader full the mission on web site or decide it up and ship it on completion. (And bear in mind, proofreading with out copyediting is a dangerous shortcut.)
As you’ll be able to see, hiring an editor is an costly proposition. Partaking even a $25-per-hour copy editor for a 100,000-word novel will price you a couple of thousand {dollars}. An skilled substantive editor might find yourself billing you a number of hundred {dollars} for serving to you craft a 2,500-word article for a specialised publication. Even having some Internet pages proofread can simply grow to be a three-figure expenditure.
However think about the return on funding: A literary agent is impressed along with your tight, cleanly written prose. A periodical accepts your clear, concise, assured technical article. Your typo-free Web page (which your proofreader has additionally improved with some apt solutions about format and design) attracts guests, who may additionally grow to be clients. It’s almost unimaginable to quantify the impact of an editorial skilled’s contribution to the influence of any piece of content material, and in lots of instances, the enhancing you don’t discover is the perfect sort.
In a way, it’s a leap of religion to rent an editor. There’s no assure that using an editor (even one armed with a powerful resume or glowing testimonials) will end in publication of your content material or another definitive marker of success, and the method of acquiring an editor’s providers isn’t easy even in the perfect circumstances. However for those who’re cautious, you’ll reap the advantages of higher content material.
