So you finally bit the bullet and hired a professional. Good, now you need to ensure you do waste any money.
Tell the editor what you want
An editor must know what you want. If you simply want a readability evaluation, explain that to the editor. If you want style, sentence structure critiqued, say so. If you simply want grammar and spelling corrected, tell the editor.
Clear up possible misunderstandings
Unless you clarify at the outset, editing can become a ping pong game of back and forth communication. You get critique comments, you rewrite, you resubmit, you get new comments, you rewrite, you resubmit,you get new comments again, you rewrite, you resubmit…you can see the treadmill.
Discuss your needs, what you are looking for from the editor. Save time and money by doing so at the very outset.
Do some preliminary work yourself
Before you submit raw, unedited material to an editor, do some preliminary work on it yourself. Check the spelling and grammar before you send off your manuscript.
Wordprocessing programs have spell checkers; better ones have grammar checkers. Search the Internet for editing tools, simple spell and grammar checkers such as Grammarly. Grammarly is a technology company that develops a digital writing tool using artificial intelligence and natural language processing. Through machine learning and deep learning algorithms, Grammarly’s product offers grammar checking, spell checking, and plagiarism detection services along with suggestions about writing clarity, concision, vocabulary, delivery style, and tone.
Spend the money by hiring a professional. Save money by doing preliminary work on your own. Your hard work deserves the best polishing and refinement it can be given.
