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When choosing an editor for your project you need to make sure the editor is professional, has the right experience, is recommended by referees, understands the exact task, provides you with a written quote and charges a fair price for their services.

Editors have different types and levels of experience

Just because someone has set themselves up online and calls themselves an editor doesn’t mean that they have any editing experience or academic qualifications or that they actually know how to edit.

All professional editors should be registered as full members of a professional editing body. The national editing body in Australia, Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd), covers Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. To be a full member of IPEd, an editor must have proven that they have either several years of full-time editing experience, or appropriate academic qualifications in editing, and their editing skills and experience must have been confirmed by referees. So if someone is a full member of IPEd, you can be pretty sure that they really are a professional editor. If they are also an IPEd accredited editor this means they have passed an accreditation examination which is further proof of their editing expertise.

One way to find and choose the best editor for your project is to go directly to the IPEd website (iped-editors.org) and look up IPEd’s register of freelancer editors. The website also describes the various services provided by editors, outlines the core standards editors should meet and provides a wealth of other information about editing services and editing resources.

Editors are experienced in different fields: theses, reports, policies, technical manuals, children’s literature, memoirs, novels, magazines, scientific journals and cookbooks, to name a few. Once you have identified a few editors or businesses that look like their experience matches your project, check out their websites, blogs and social media profiles (Facebook and LinkedIn) which should showcase their main fields of expertise and include testimonials and examples of specific documents they have edited. Narrow your search down to a shortlist of two or three editors that are the best match for your project.

Briefing the editor about your project

The IPEd website (iped-editors.org) page entitled How to brief an editor describes, in great detail, the information you need to give to the editor so they understand what is required when editing your document, before providing you with a quote.

In summary, you’ll need to tell the editor:

• the level or type of editing required for the project
• the guidelines that need to be followed
• the size of the document
• the timelines and processes involved
• the target audience and purpose of the document
• who the editor will need to work with and report to.
• exactly what to include in the editing brief.

What an editor will do when you first contact them

When a client contacts us* about editing their document, we:

• Offer a signed confidentiality agreement
• Ask how large the document is, whether it’s already been edited, what the timeline is, and ask if I can see either the whole document or a sample; and look at the document to determine the level of editing or proofreading required
• Ask for any other information I need to understand exactly what’s required
• Tell the client about my experience editing documents that are relevant to their particular project and confirm whether I have the expertise required to complete the task to a high standard
• Send the client a formal quote via email
• Do not charge for any of the above.

The editors on our team are highly skilled in editing and proofreading. However, I never take on a job unless I am confident we can do it well, and some subject areas are outside our experience. If I am not sure we can do an excellent job, I explain this to the client and refer them to an editor with the required experience.

If I’m confident I can do the job well, I provide a quote including terms and conditions. Upon confirmation of the booking, I edit the document, consulting with the client as necessary, submit it by deadline, and submit a tax invoice.

* On Time Typing, Editing and Proofreading.

Speak to referees

Unless you have been referred to an editor via word-of-mouth and they have already been highly recommended, it may be a good idea to talk to one or two of their previous clients.

An editor should be able to provide you with the contact details of referees who can tell you about the editor’s:

• experience, relevant to your particular project or document
•  experience in structural editing, copy editing and/or proofreading
• ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
• ability to communicate clearly and professionally; and their honesty, integrity, efficiency, etc.
• ability to resolve the sorts of problems or issues that arise during a project
• ability to provide value for money and charge at or under the quoted amount.

Comparing editors and their quotes

Depending on the size of the project and whether you are working for yourself or for an employer, you may obtain a quote from only one editor, or you may obtain a quote from two or three different editors.

Go to: Comparing editors’ quotes.

Regarding the cost of editing and the different issues around hiring an editor go to: Why is editing so expensive?