Do You Have What it Takes for Freelance Editing Jobs? Some people look at freelance editing with disdain. To many freelance writers the point of writing is to create, to build up, not to tear it down and make it something else. However, freelance editing jobs come with a wide variety of challenges. In some ways, it’s more challenging than being an editor who has a steady clientele and has a chance to familiarize himself with them and their work.
Do I Have What It Takes To Edit? Freelance editing jobs require extreme attention to detail, an understanding of the style of writing, and certain tact. Many amateur editors will take an author’s piece and mold it in their style, rather than objectively correcting awkward grammar and clarifying sentence structure. However, a proper editor will be able to take a piece of work and polish it into a more professional work, without washing out the original meaning with his biases. Can you do that? Many freelance writers can get away with clumsy or passing attention to detail. That is not an option in freelance editing jobs. Learning how to edit properly takes as much work as writing a piece does. Some freelancers believe anyone can do freelance editing jobs and that’s true, but anyone can also write, it depends on the quality of the writer. Freelance editors are surprisingly in demand, as many people aim to write their own books. From kids, celebrities, civilians, anywhere in the world this is a good time to publish a book and expose it to a vast, appreciative audience. For those people, a freelance editor is a cheap alternative to hiring a full-time company writer. Editing will be difficult if you don’t have some previous editing experience, such as academic experience of essay writing. Knowing MLA and APA format is essential for freelance editing jobs. This is where many graduating students look for work, already having a good grasp of editing. It is a competitive market and fair pricing is a must.
How Should I Start? Editing is similar to standard freelance writing in how you present yourself. You write a portfolio, ideally alongside a resume and cover letter. Instead of showing a work sample of your writing, you should find a draft you have done for someone. Or you can ask someone you know to write up a draft so you can edit it. It should be at a readable length so the client won’t have to read it for a long time, and should show the before and after, to present a well edited version for an example to score you freelance editing jobs. There are freelance sites online that have areas where employers look for good editors. To begin your editing career, it is important to avoid low paying sites. A person who is willing to buy an editor at a site for a mere fifteen dollars is likely to have written poor work. In the world of professional editing, it’s important to find some of the better material to hone your editing skills.
A more passive way to find editing jobs is to use your website to advertise yourself. Put out your samples, a resume, and set your rates. However, this is a more viable option for editors who have established themselves and have an existing client base.
How Do I Edit? So you’ve gotten some freelance editing jobs and have the work in front of you. Unlike editing your own articles, this is not the first draft. This is the author’s final drafts, and (s)he doesn’t want a new draft of it. Otherwise they would have hired a freelancer to write it, rather than writing it themselves. Sometimes freelance writers will assume they are a better writer and change it to “enhance” the appeal of the wording or topic, and then give their employer back an article devoid of their original voice. Not tampering with the meanings in the work is both essential and respectful of the author, who has put forward their hardest work. Therefore, it’s more important than ever for excellent client-employer communication for freelance editing jobs. The editor is putting forth their work this time, and it’s essential to clarify what he expects to get out of your editing. To alter it completely to make it fit its target audience? To lightly go over to untangle awkward wording? There’s a difference between a better article and a better-written article. You can finish reading this article on our website about freelance editing jobs.