If you are a freelance editor, you may target providing basic editorial services like copyediting, line editing, and proofreading. There are clients who require more. That is because many manuscripts may require more work. For such kinds of editing work, authors, publishers, and other clients turn to the more experienced and well-seasoned editors who are very familiar about the industry and the entire genre. Advanced freelance editorial services are necessary to make copies more marketable and publishable.

If you are a seasoned editor, you may offer advanced freelance editorial services. Of course, you may charge higher rates for rendering the following important services.

Acquisitions editing

This kind of editorial service is usually required by publishing firms. The acquisitions editor should be well educated and trained to cope with the market or industry where he or she would be working. It is important for such a professional to constantly get updates about marketing news, data, and even printed works of competitors. This editor is also responsible for finding publishable materials that could be logically and obviously accepted and patronized in the market. Other responsibilities include reviewing submissions, signing new authors, and recommending several other editorial services in preparation for any publication.

Developmental editing

In general, developmental editing involves evaluation of manuscripts for possible broader inconsistencies. This kind of editor is tasked to closely examine a copy's content, level of detail, organization, style, and tone. The editing task includes deleting and flagging text that is found to be inaccurate or inappropriate. He should also identify gaps in the content and eventually fill up those gaps. Developmental editors should also move sentences as well as paragraphs in copies to improve overall organization and flow of ideas. There is also the task to rewrite portions of the content of a manuscript for consistency and then recommend other ways to improve readability and effectiveness.

Ghostwriting

Have you heard of a ghostwriter? Ghostwriting is one of the most popular advanced editorial services provided by freelance editors. The ghostwriter is tasked to write a copy on behalf of an author. He should use the author's research or original draft to make an article for different purposes. In the end, all the rights to the written piece would be held exclusively by the author instead of the ghostwriter. This is more of a writing task (instead of editing) but it is usually considered as among the advanced freelance editorial services.

Fact checking

Of all the freelance editorial services rendered by independent editors, this one is the easiest. Fact checking does not require changing any part of a manuscript. It only involves verification of the accuracy of the manuscript's content before it gets printed. Publishers consider this a very important service specifically for publishing periodicals and nonfictional books. In most cases, publishers consider fact checking as an entry-level service. However, fact checkers who work for large publishing firms are truly paid well. Even freelance fact checkers are compensated attractively. No wonder, many editors openly offer this service to their clients.

After you write your document, the next thing you have to do is to proofread your work. That way, you can be sure that your work is not filled with errors that prevent you from sending your message across to your intended readers. However, you cannot always rely on yourself to spot all the lapses in your document. Chances are, your eyes have gotten used to your writing, and you will surely miss several errors. And you cannot afford to publish or submit an error-filled written material, especially if it is a major paper for school, an important business document, or a novel. To be sure that your written work looks professional and can be understood by all readers, it is best to use editorial services that will improve the copy's quality.

You can gain many benefits from hiring an editor to check your work. First, you get an expert's opinion on how to improve your manuscript. Editing services usually include an editor's analysis or critique of your work, which states what needs to be adjusted, added, or removed from your document. Second, you get fast results, typically within one or two business days. As a result, you can save time to complete your other tasks.

The greatest thing about having your work checked and edited by an editing firm or a freelance editor is that you can rest assured that your work is clean, clear, concise, and readable enough. In particular, an editor helps you improve the quality of your work by doing the following:

* Ensure that sentences are grammatically correct

* Organize thoughts to make sure that the sentences are coherent

* Fix transitions to make sure that the sentences flow smoothly

* Remove redundant and unnecessary words or sentences to ensure brevity

* Check for jumps in logic and inaccuracy of facts

* Enhance word choice and sentence structure for clarity of thought

* Correct formatting and style inconsistencies

* Checking the copy for jargons, slang, sexist language, etc.

* Ensuring that all cited references in the manuscript are added to the bibliography

Many editing services also offer ghostwriting services for those who are constrained by time to write their own work.

The only drawback of hiring an editor is that you may have to pay more if the editing firm offers fast response times. Editing services may cost you a few bucks, but the amount you spend is nothing compared to the disaster that would happen once you find out that your work reeks of grammatical errors and confusing statements. Simply put, you may have to spend more money for a book or a printed thesis that is inferior in quality.

Many editorial services offer editing and proofreading services for a wide array of writing projects such as books, magazines, newsletters, brochures, college essays, among others. To find the best editing firm or freelance editor for your writing project, do a background research online, read feedback and testimonials made by customers, and ask around for recommendations.

Editorial services are the new hybrid service providers in today's highly-competitive arena in writing and communications. Whereas in the past these people were employed by publishing houses, some of today's enterprising editors banded themselves together or singly and put up their own editorial services businesses.

The services they offer run the full gamut of editing processes employed by the big publishing houses in the business. These include project development, manuscript consultation, and copy editing and proof-reading, among others.  

Editing route

In the old days, when a publisher decides to publish what a writer had just written, the writer simply hands them over the manuscript. This manuscript will then follow the typical publishing route of procedures. 

Line editors will check for grammar, punctuation and problems in format and other copy-editing concerns. The acquisition editors may help shape the general direction of the work.

Developmental editors are sometimes hired by authors (and the publishers at times) to give shape to the work and make it marketable.

However, no editor will ever bother to check the facts written in the manuscript. Until recently, everybody assumes it is the job of the author. Or, perhaps someone hired to do the job.

The facts

Good editors will clean up all the sloppy details in the book (changing of names, conflicting character traits, etc.) including misplaced adverbs and dangling participles.

However, he is not obligated to find out if airplanes were already around in the 1800s.

He assumes the author had known that fact, the reason why it is included in the story in the first place.

Or, who should be responsible with checking of facts?

Fact-checkers

Aside from engaging the services of an editorial service group, an author must have his book quality-tested by an expert reader. This reader does nothing but double-check on supposed facts in the manuscript.

Fact checkers are hired to work on travel guide books, historical fiction and some other literary categories and genres. Travel books have hundreds of thousands of statistics on sizes, hours, prices, and phone numbers.

Few travel publishers hire fact-checkers, relying on the author for the authenticity of all their entries.

Almanacs, dictionaries, atlas

Ideally, a writer must have some fact books in his library for references - encyclopedias, atlas maps, almanacs, dictionaries and many other guide books. This is especially true if his work deals with some history or science or some other specific topics and professions.

Authors

After the fact-checker and the line editor have finished their jobs, the author must go over his work one more time. Of course, some unavoidable circumstances happen.

Phone numbers in travel books go out of kilter when area codes of places are changed, restaurants close down, and names of streets and airports are changed.

Disclaimers on the copyright page can sometimes help but if the authors had re-checked one more time just before the book was printed, the error may have been averted.

Fortunately, the good news is that all of the editorial services groups today are savvier than before with fact-checking and other potential publishing disasters.

For writers, the primary idea of editorial services is both a bane and boon to the literary scene. It had been a definite advantage to aspiring writers who were able to pass through the watchdogs at publishing houses and have their work evaluated.

The extra expenses might be justified somehow although some people think it is unnecessary. The most annoying part of this development, however, is the proliferation of bogus, under-qualified people passing themselves off as editing experts.

Editing your own

Some successful writers, past and present, are one-man bands. They write their work, rest them for a time period, and later go back to edit and proofread it themselves.

After judging their work to be adequate, they ask their agent to sell it to publishing companies. Does the process look easy? Both the writing and the selling are definitely hard to do. But, both can be done.

For the writer, the mantra had always been "good writing is re-writing." For the agent, having enough good sense to spot a good literary work is a must, or he should not be in the profession at all.

Judging from the horror stories (wrong formats, errant words, spelling mistakes) propagated by these free-lance editors in editorial service companies, the problem looked like proofreading lapses more than anything.

If writers can do their own editing, they certainly can learn how to do proofreading.

Proofreading

This is the end part of the editing process, focusing on surface errors like wrong spellings, grammar and punctuation errors. Proofreading should be done only after the editing revisions are finished.

Put another way, separate the editing work from your proofreading work. When editing, you want to connect ideas, smooth out the word flow rather than thinking of punctuation, grammar or spelling.

Here's a sampler on how to proofread your work.

Some proofreading tips

Never depend on grammar and spell checkers. They have limited dictionaries. Spell checkers will not catch the error if your misspelled word is also a valid word. (Your and you're, there and their, etc.)

Proofread for only one kind of error at a time. It is easier to catch grammar errors if you are not checking punctuations and spelling mistakes at the same time.

Read slowly. Better yet, read the words aloud. Two senses (sight and sound) are always better than one. You can do this if you separate the text into separate sentences.

Press the return key after each period so that every line begins with a new sentence. Use a ruler if you are working with a printed copy.

Circle every punctuation mark to force you to look at each one. Later, go back and ask if these punctuations are correct. (Commas usually flood some long-winded sentences without your knowing it.)

Read the paper backwards. This technique is best in checking spelling. Start from the last word and work your way to the beginning. Since grammar is incoherent, your attention is solely on the spelling of each word.

Learning process

As you do your own proofreading, you would know your weak and strong points. You would then know how to do a systematic strategy to find errors that are typical of you. You will learn to discover specific areas in your writing that need careful attention.

Do you think paid editorial services can do this for you?

The literary scene (and the whole writing world, for that matter) is now into some exciting new times. Where writers had always been on their own, editors moved out from stuffy publishing houses and schools, and re-invented themselves and their work by offering free-lance editorial services.

These editorial service companies are already recognized as innovative alternatives in the literary world. For one, they are doing a great service to free-lance writers who want to polish their work before being presented to actual publishers.

Reviews on the work of these editorial services groups had been very positive at best. Their works were cited as excellent from top companies. Now, editors from book and magazine publishing companies are assured of better quality of publishable materials in terms of polish, absence of errors and professional qualities.

All these are results from good, old-fashioned excellent editing.

What is editing? Is it an art in itself, just like writing? What makes a good editor?

Editing

Writing schools have branded editing as spelling, capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, grammar, subject/verb agreement, consistent verb tense, and word usage among others.

In addition, the methods of editing are self-editing, reading your own work backwards, reading the last sentence, then the second last sentence and so on, and asking questions like "does this sentence makes sense?" and "are there errors here that can be seen or heard?"

Editing tips

There are various tips from experienced editors regarding editing, most of which are the good old language lessons at school.

The most important of them is making sure every sentence has its two parts - subject (who or what) and predicate (what's happening). Some tips are reminders on the use of combining words - and, but, or, yet, so, who, whom, which, that, whose, because, although, when, if, where, and others like using periods and not overusing commas and exclamation points.

It also advised to use the dictionary to check spellings and not the computer's spell checker.

Cut, don't add. Almost all of us are always too wordy. While there might be need to add some words in editing, removing words is better. Concise writing has more power.

Kill adverbs when you see them. Some are fine but most often they only pad a sentence that doesn't need them.

The sentence "He ran quickly" makes one wonder if running is not quick enough. The reader would know. "He ran slowly" could pass muster. There is now a qualifier different from the usual nature of running.

Better writing

Writing teachers have always emphasized that there is no good writing, only good re-writing.

The problem is that good editing is not taught at all in schools. Or, if it is, they are tucked away into some other writing subjects and are simply skimmed over. This makes for an uneasy feeling when one remembers that editing is where the real work of writing is really at.

Good editing, like writing, is in itself an art. It takes years of practice to develop the editing talent. Today, there is a proliferation of these new artists in free lance editorial services companies. Finally, they are rediscovered.

With the explosion of communications in every facet of life in the planet, the need for writers and the demand for the written word had grown exponentially. The growth of the writing profession and the number of writing practitioners have, in turn, spawned more people who work in tandem with writers - the editorial services sector. 

Editorial services as an adjunct to the writing business are a relatively new sector. (Or, it could be they are highly visible now because of the demand.) In the past, it was only the people of the academia and those in the publishing industry who are the most active practitioners in this support sector of the literary world.

Because of the size of the many industries they are now servicing, their own industry has become highly specialized, too. Now, there are many sub-groups (and personnel) to what were once offices and positions traditionally manned by only one person or two.

Foremost among these people are those who have their noses, so to speak, closest to whatever manuscript they are working on for the moment - the copy editor.

Copy editing

Copy editing (copy-editing in Britain) is the process where the copy editor makes formatting changes and other improvements to the text. In publishing, this is the man who performs the actual task of editing the copy (text) of a written work (manuscript).

Basically, copy editing involves correcting spelling and punctuation, and making right those grammatical and semantic errors. They also check for factual or plot inconsistencies (for stories) or too much use of passive voice. The copy editor makes sure the text flows well, makes sense, fair and accurate and will cause no legal problems.

The copy editor may abridge text (called ?cutting" or trimming), thus reducing the length of the piece or to improve the material. In the old days, they sometimes re-write parts to make the piece coherent.

Skills and training

Foremost of the copy editor's skills would be an excellent command of the language. They must also have a broad general knowledge to spot factual errors, and excellent critical thinking skills to recognize inconsistencies.

They must have some very good skills in people handling, too, especially with writers who are mostly very sensitive, high-strung, or short-tempered.

Copy editors are usually college-degree holders, often in journalism, English or communications. Nowadays, copy editing is taught as a college journalism course under some other names.

Job evolution 

In the past, a copy editor reads a written text and, using a colored editing pencil, edits the work and marks it with a handwritten proofreader's marks. Nowadays, the text is on the screen and corrections are directly made to the text, using XML or some similar coding system.

With the advance in technology (and desktop publishing), many copy editors now also perform design and layout work. It was only a few years ago that these were once the exclusive province of production crews of publications.

Today, the skills needed for the job are shifting and evolving. With the addition of other technical knowledge which is sometimes considered just as important as the writing skills, copy-editing is heading into more interesting areas.

Copy-editing is only one of the many specialty jobs within the many editorial services companies now sprouting all over the world. Other surprises are expected to come in the editorial services field.

College students would always be required to create and submit term papers. You should not be surprised that such students would be always willing to pay for hired editorial services. If you are a freelance editor, you could take the opportunity to accept editing jobs offered by students who are willing to pay just to ensure overall accuracy and quality of their term papers. Needless to say, editorial services for academic writing are lucrative because academic writing almost always needs reliable editing.

Editorial services for term papers could be varied according to the nature of the material. If you are a freelance editor, you should make sure you have sufficient knowledge about technical and scientific subjects, especially the terms. Otherwise, it would be harder to edit the term papers for accuracy and sense. The job of the editor is to clearly figure out and guide what it is that the student-client is trying to point out. There is a need to ensure that the information presented in the term paper is accurately and clearly stated, free from unnecessary misspellings, arguments, and grammatical errors. The term paper might need complete revision. When this happens, be honest to the client and offer guidance by providing tips on how the term paper should be rewritten.

Use a reliable spell checker program for every academic editing work you may have. Most college students today use grammar and spell checkers that come with the word processors they use. However, many of such students would not even bother to use such spell checkers especially because they know their hired editor would do the task for them. The easiest to identify and correct are obvious spelling errors. In editing college students' term papers, deal with such errors first.

Proceed to review the term paper. Do so as if you are the professor who would assess the research output. Make notes of everything that you think would give the paper a failing mark. These could include grammatical errors, awkward writing, poor arguments, empty sentences, and vague claims. Identify and determine the doubtful factors of these parts before editing them. You might like to make several notes to the client.

Do not overlook run-on sentences. In many cases, such sentences may be grammatically correct but they might sound awkward. In general, a sentence that is too long, it covers a whole paragraph may be boring and confusing. To boost the quality and understandability of the term paper, make it serious and interesting at the same time. The best way to do so is to divide a run-on sentence into several shorter ones.

Adhere to the preferred or required style guide. The MLA and AP styles are the more commonly used in academic writing. Ask the student-client about the style guide required by the professor. Use the style guide in correctly formatting punctuation, grammatical, and citation methods.

Lastly, analyze the validity of the arguments raised and check for plagiarism. Editorial services rendered by professional and freelance editors are expected to detect any intellectual property violation. You may use several anti-plagiarism software or programs that are available online.

You could have many considerable options if you decide to be a freelance writer. Writers have the privilege of offering different services to clients. These could include copywriting, Web content writing, résumé writing, and the like. Freelance writers could also offer editorial services. After all, they surely have developed keen editorial background and an eye for details. The demand for such services has always been robust. Thus, there are great opportunities available to such writers. Offering editorial services to clients could be a very profitable niche.

Freelance writers and editors could work for various newspapers, magazines, book publishers, and other writers. If you are considering being a freelance editorial provider, you should first get familiar with several widely used style guides. The most recommended and popularly used among such guides are The Chicago Manual of Style and The Associated Press Stylebook. If you are pursuing more technical niches, you may look at other stylebooks as well.

Here are several editorial services you could offer to your prospective clients. Take note of the basic requirements and the features of such services so you could not get lost when offering services.

Copyediting

Many online magazines, newspapers, and blogs are currently looking for good and reliable copyeditors. Many freelance writers and editors are taking advantage of such great demand. If you have basic copyediting skills, be prepared to receive editing assignments that are more advanced. Your basic knowledge of English grammar as well as style, together with a sharp eye for details, would be a key to the job. As a freelance copyeditor, you would be asked to check manuscripts for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. To ensure consistency with the style used in the specific industry, you need to also master standard style applicable for the industry your client is operating in. Stylebooks could be your ultimate guide.

Line editing

There are manuscripts that simply require thorough and more work than all others. These materials need line editing instead of the simple copyediting. The work of the line editor is almost identical to the task of a copyeditor, only that line editing requires invasiveness. That means the line editor applies heavier copyediting. If you take this position, you would edit every sentence in the manuscript to correct excessive and inappropriate use of the passive voice. It would also be your task to look more closely at the overall structure, readability, and flow of the entire manuscript. You should make recommendations on how readability could be improved through minor and major structural changes.

Proofreading

Of all the editorial services, proofreading has always been perceived as the lightest and easiest. In the publishing industry, the task of the proofreader is to review the typeset copy to identify any deviation from the original manuscript. Proofreading also entails the last stage of checking for even the most minor spelling and punctuation errors, widows, orphans, and incorrect word breaks. In general, the proofreader is the last individual to check the copy prior to mass printing or online posting.  

Nowadays, specialty services that support certain industries and fields abound. It had been adopted now by the publishing industry. They are called editorial services and they are run by free lance writers and editors themselves.

For a fee (mostly modest, and some outrageous ones), these companies and groups (and single proprietorships) will edit, proofread, and polish your manuscripts into a more professional-looking, error-free work, and consequently more appealing to publishers.

New writers and other newcomers are somewhat wary as yet to this new setup in the publishing industry. The following are some selected questions and answers for reference.

The questions are mostly consolidated queries from those writers who are curious with the service and are still undecided to try. The answers are also consolidations of opinions from editors.

Do I need a book editor?

If you intend to submit your work to publishers, you should eliminate all possible reasons for rejection, short of their total dislike of your work. Manuscripts are rejected for the simplest of reasons - a misplaced comma, confusing grammar, etc. You only have one chance to impress a publisher. A professional edit can help. In self-publishing, your book needs a professional polish from experienced editors.

What should I expect from a book editor?

The edit does not guarantee your chances of publication. The quality of your rewrite incorporating the editorial advice will help determine your level of success. You may have to perform a thorough rewrite, too, if instructed to do so.

How does one select a book editor?

Get someone or a company of editors with concrete track records in publishing, or had worked within the industry. Check their credentials. Do not confuse editing with proofreading. Any decent English professor can proofread your manuscript just as good as any. They just are not qualified to address a manuscript through the eyes of the publishing industry.

How long does the entire book editing process take?  

It depends on the length of the material. Articles, reports and the like take shorter turnaround time. Book manuscripts (with regular book lengths) would take around two to three weeks. In each case, editors will tell you the approximate time period of the editing just by knowing the length of your piece.

Are formats that important?

They are very important. Editors at publishing houses would not take a second glance at your manuscript if it does not look the way they expect it. Basic formatting reflects the exacting taste of the industry. Properly formatted manuscripts have enough space for editorial notations and are easier on their (harried) eyes.

Are there dishonest editors - subcontracting jobs, exorbitant fees, sloppy work?

For your peace of mind and protection as well, verify a prospective editor's credentials. Also check out Preditors and Editors, a site is devoted to warning everyone on dishonest people in the industry.

There still seems to be a problem with my manuscript that had already been edited. Do I invest in another edit?

If you feel that your manuscript still needs another run-through, go for it. We encountered manuscripts that had been previously edited that looked like they have never been touched at all, what with all the errors and flaws.

There are still so many issues regarding editing and your manuscript and those pertaining to the editorial services groups shouting their wares on the Net. If you are a writer, it is best to get acquainted with this trend in the publishing scene.

Even with the advent of the Internet and other electronic communications devices, it is heart-warming to note that people still love to read books. In turn, the bunch of people who wants to write increased. So did too, the many editorial services companies around.

Book and magazine publishers still keep their editors. Unfortunately, these people are now doing mostly their executive duties rather than their original literary calling.

Enter the editorial services companies. The following question-and-answer forum presents a bird's eye view on how editorial services fill the gaps that traditional editors had left.  

Why are editors needed?

Writers tend to be too close to their work to be really objective to its shortcomings. The editor is the best judge of the manuscript's needs. For writers and other clients, being specific helps much when seeking free-lance editor services.

What do editors exactly do?

Editors do their trade in various media. Many work with novels, short stories, poetry, biographies, and history texts, scripts for the stage and films and more. The majority of editors edit non-fiction materials in the medical, bio-technical, technological, academic and marketing fields.

Who hires editors?

Many big companies and corporations hire editors. Government agencies, universities, banks, research laboratories, and many other entities actually need editors. They depend on editors for their public relations materials, annual reports, and research articles and other papers.

Computer companies and manufacturers need editors to take care of their technical manuals, as do hospitals and educational institutions that publish newsletters and others for the public.

Finally, newspapers and magazines, publishers and small presses hire editors, copyeditors, proofreaders and indexers to ensure their literary products are of impeccable quality.

How do freelance editors work?

Freelance editors can work for both small and large publishers, corporations, small business and individuals. They are flexible, adaptable, and available.

They work with self-publishing authors, researchers with papers to submit to journals, and students who need help with their dissertations and theses.

How are editing services charged?

For a reasonable fee, freelance editors will first evaluate a client's manuscript. They will then agree on the level of editing required. Once settled, the editor can usually estimate the time necessary to finish the entire editing job after editing a small portion of the manuscript.

Some editors charge by the hour, some by the page and some negotiate a flat rate for the entire job. Some editors ask to be reimbursed for expenses such as mileage, postage and phone bills payments. There are also other additional fees like rush jobs.

What kind of relationship should a client and an editor have?

Before an editor begins work on the manuscript, the client and the editor should be clear in their working relationship. Upon request, the editor will work closely with the client at every stage of the editing process. Communications and discussions are as frequent as the need arises.

On the other hand, an editor may simply pick up the manuscript and reappear on the appointed date with the finished product.

Today, an editorial service is the way to go and have your manuscript cleaned up and become publishable. It is best to be acquainted with the work of these talented literary doctors.