Hire an editor online—it's easy!

by Arlene Prunkl, freelance editor

You may have some initial reservations about working via email and the Internet with a freelance editor whom you don't know and are unlikely ever to meet. After all, as little as ten years ago this kind of professional exchange was virtually unheard of, except perhaps if you happened to be connected to a big research university or laboratory.

Well, it's long past the era when scientists and academics dominated the Internet for publishing purposes. The Web is every writer's domain now, and the online editorial and publishing process is often faster, more hassle-free and economical than the traditional route. After all, you're in complete control at every stage of the process, and the scope of the Web allows you to freely compare prices, quality, suitability, turnaround time and other variables, and make an informed decision accordingly.

Internet ethics

From an ethical standpoint, an editor's integrity and commitment to a quality product are the same whether working with you locally or via the Internet. An editor's reputation is based on client feedback, regardless of location.

Editing long-distance: three choices

From a practical aspect, depending on your budget and comfort level with technology, there are three methods of working through the editorial process:

1. Edit using the "track changes" feature in Word

Your editor works directly on your Word document, using Word's track changes feature. When the editing is complete, you'll receive the edited Word document via email. The track changes feature allows you to view all the changes, as well as any comments your editor has made. You can then go through the document and accept or reject the changes.

2. Edit using a PDF document

Your editor prints out your manuscript, edits it by marking the changes on the hard copy, then emails the marked-up manuscript back to you in PDF format. You can print the PDF file with all corrections and changes, and input them yourself into your word-processing document. This option will cost you less, because 1) manual editing takes less time than on-screen editing, and 2) you will be inputting the changes yourself.

3. Edit the old-fashioned way

If you're not comfortable with technology at all, you can simply mail the hard copy of your manuscript to your editor, who will edit it manually in the traditional way, and mail it back to you to input the changes.

A professional result

In each case, you'll return the edited document to your editor with your comments, acceptance or rejection of the changes, and your editor will do a final comparison with the original manuscript to make sure every alteration has been captured. When you're both satisfied that you've caught every detail, you may be assured that you'll have a professional finished product to marvel at and be proud to see in print!