Freelance Editing
Nov 20th, 2009 by Reading and Writing
There is plenty of work with freelance editing for example checking resumes and articles, although the payment is not very advantageous compared to dropship opportunities. Style management, sentence restructuring, tables reformatting, proofreading, charts corrections and the like, make the fundamental activities performed by an editor. Freelance editing is about earning money by improving the condition of a text that needs spelling, grammar and punctuation checks. The editor’s job is absolutely necessary because no publisher will receive a manuscript unless it has been checked and double-checked. Freelance editing is performed by both amateur and professional editors who work on their own, chasing individual projects or starting long term collaborations.
The mechanics of writing, the accuracy of the text both in language and in facts as well as the improvement of style represent the best achievements of editing whether in the freelance variant or not. A published material requires a certain uniformity or homogeneity of style, and the quality standards are imposed by the publishers. Freelance editing becomes a necessity because many writers have a sloppy spelling or an inaccurate usage of terms, not to mention that most of the problems appear with consistent terminology. For instance, depending on the language, the names of foreign state leaders differ in spelling, and there should not be more spelling variants in the same publication.
Those who take up freelance editing know that style guides such as the Associated Press and the Modern Language Associations are a must when they have to apply for any editing job. Unless you have a solid knowledge of style guides, it will be difficult to find an editing job. Personal style could even be polished with the help of online tools, and checking the offer of such programs is something to consider.
Freelance editing makes a good way of earning money in a stress free environment. If you’ve got any editing experience you’ll know how to handle your activities, but if you are new to the profession, special care is necessary.Don’t take editing for re-writing, because you are wrong. Style polishing is possible but the author’s sentences and ideas have to remain as exact as possible. When there is a too free-hand in the editing process, there will be less from the author to recognize in the text, and this may could spoil the success of a contract. Writers and editors need each other in their profession, and competence is the ruling concept in this world.
