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The Editing Blog: for Editors, Proofreaders and Writers

FOR EDITORS, PROOFREADERS AND WRITERS

Working for academic editing agencies

16/6/2012

14 Comments

 
A note from Louise: This article was written back in 2012 by my colleague Anna Sharman. For those of you looking for other avenues to explore in a bid to build up your work flows and client portfolios, especially if you have a scientific background, this is a must-read. Anna now runs her own dedicated scientific editorial consultancy, Cofactor, but back in 2012 she worked for a number of editing agencies.

Over to Anna ...

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What do I do? 
I am a copyeditor and proofreader specializing in biomedical journal articles. As well as working for journals on articles that have been accepted, I also work with scientists to get their articles ready for submission to journals. Some of this work comes through editing agencies.

I got into this field through doing a PhD and postdoctoral research in developmental/evolutionary biology and then working as an in-house editor on three biology journals. I went freelance in 2005.
What are editing agencies?
Academic editing agencies act as a bridge between freelance editors and authors. Authors who want to have a paper edited can find it hard to know which of the many editors out there are any good.

For freelance editors, working directly for authors can be hard because each author will only have a small number of papers a year. So agencies have sprung up to help authors find editors and vice versa. 

Generally, these agencies offer editing of the language. Some also offer developmental editing: a report on the content of the manuscript, with suggestions on any obvious gaps in the logic or areas that are unclear. 

Academic editing agencies have probably been around for a long time, but I think they have increased in number in recent years. They have arisen in response to pressure from journals for well written manuscripts. Journals are generally happy to consider manuscripts that have minor errors or that don't read as if they were written by a fluent English speaker. However, if a manuscript is so badly written that peer reviewers cannot work out what experiments are being described, the journal cannot reasonably send it for peer review without further work. 

In addition, journals are always trying to cut costs, and freelance editors (unfortunately) are seen as expensive. Manuscripts that do get through peer review generally still need copyediting, to ensure that they make sense, use consistent terminology and symbols and are in good English. To cut down on copyediting costs, some publishers are asking authors to get their articles edited at their own expense. 

The expansion of editing agencies is also the result of an enormous expansion of science in China and other Asian countries. Although many non-fluent researchers ask fluent English-speaking colleagues to check their work, in most Asian institutes there are not enough fluent speakers to check all the papers being produced. In addition, Chinese academics are often rewarded financially for publications in English-language journals, which means that it can make sense to pay for editing to make this more likely.

Some publishers have now entered into partnerships with editing agencies. This means that if a manuscript is rejected because of language problems, or if revision is invited after peer review but language problems have been mentioned by the reviewers, the journal suggests that the authors get their manuscript checked by a fluent speaker, and sometimes recommends a particular editing agency.

Sometimes authors from that journal publisher receive a discount on the agency's fees. Other publishers list a selection of agencies, without recommending one in particular, in their instructions for authors (see, for example, this list from Public Library of Science and this list from Wiley). And some publishers have set up their own editing services (such as Elsevier and Nature Publishing Group). 
What's distinctive about working for editing agencies?
I enjoy working for editing agencies for several reasons. In general, this kind of work has a lot of the advantages of working directly for authors but without many of the disadvantages.

I prefer working on pre-submission research papers because I am seeing the research soon after it happens, rather than months or years later. I like helping people get their science published despite language barriers, contributing in a small way to levelling the playing field caused by the predominance of English in academic publishing.

I also enjoy the challenge of working on a piece of writing at an early stage, because it means I can concentrate more on the meaning and less on fine points of formatting.

When copyediting for journals, I spend a large proportion of my time applying house style, adjusting spacing, fonts, capitalization and other such minor style points. With pre-submission editing, I can ignore most of that and concentrate on working out what the author is trying to say and how to make the meaning clearer.

Developmental editing gets even closer to the science and further from the stylistic details. 

Like working for publishers, however, working for an agency has the advantage that if the author disagrees with you on any change, the agency can arbitrate. And, as I mentioned above, agencies can channel a steady stream of papers your way, from many authors, saving the time and effort needed for marketing your services to a lot of different universities and institutes.

When you work for researchers, whether directly or through an agency, bear in mind that they often work weekends and through holidays, and that weekends and holidays differ between countries.

​The agencies I work for all give deadlines in calendar days not working days, and if I want to have weekends off I have to specify this. Generally you can specify which days of the week you normally work and inform them when you will be on holiday, and they send work only when you are available. You have to remember to tell the agency about public holidays in your country – they won't necessarily know about them automatically. 

What are clients looking for? 
Academic agencies generally want editors who have experience in academia in the right field, which generally means a PhD and some published research. Some of them also want qualifications, training and/or experience in editing, though others do not – some even recruit active scientists who want to earn a little on the side. The agencies I work for, however, want experienced editors. 

There is nearly always an editing test, at least for big agencies, to check whether you can cope with the kind of editing required. This will test not only what changes you make but also how you word your queries to the author (of which there will be a lot).
  
How to access the field
If you search online you will find lots of academic editing agencies, and many of them are looking out for qualified editors with PhDs all the time. I have heard, however, that some of them pay pretty badly, and of course it is always important to check out a potential client with whom you hope to have an ongoing working relationship. So how do you find reliable ones to start working for?

The best way is to go via the publishers, particularly any publishers you are already working for. Check in their online instructions to authors for agencies that they recommend. Then send a speculative email to an agency, giving a brief summary of your qualifications and experience.

​The chances are that you will be given an editing test (which will probably be unpaid). Then, if you are accepted as one of their editors, there may be a period of training when your editing will be checked carefully and the rate of pay may be lower. If you fail the test, consider any feedback carefully but don't worry too much about not being good enough. It could be that your style of editing simply doesn't fit what the agency is looking for. Try another and don't give up unless you have taken several tests. Alternatively, this kind of editing might not be for you (see below). 

What’s the pay like? 
Agencies generally pay by number of words rather than by the hour. This means that it is difficult to work out how much you will get per hour, and that the hourly rate can sometimes work out low and sometimes high. I prefer working for a fixed fee as I tend to be quite a fast worker and enjoy finding ways to work more efficiently.

Because they are acting as intermediaries, agencies always take a cut of the fee that the author pays them. Working directly for the author would therefore pay more, in theory – but only if you can do enough marketing to get as much work as you would get through an agency. 

When trying out a new agency, check the pay rate per thousand words (this will either be supplied when you enquire or be published on the agency's website). Then try to work out the speed at which you can edit this kind of material. If you are more used to editing accepted papers, assume this kind of work will be considerably slower. I suggest giving an agency a try for a few months to see whether the rates work out OK for you. 

Some agencies pay very quickly after each job is completed; others pay two months or more later. Watch out for international bank charges, too – charges can be levied by intermediate banks that aren't in the control of either the sender's or the recipient's bank. Bear this in mind when working out whether the fees are worthwhile. 

Is this kind of editing for you?
Editing material by authors whose English is limited isn't for everyone. You may prefer to work on manuscripts at a later stage, when they have already been approved by a publisher.

​You may not know whether you enjoy this kind of work until you try it. But if you have a research background and some editing experience, I'd recommend it for the challenge. And if you want to work with pre-submission papers, going through an agency has definite advantages. 

Copyright 2012 Anna Sharman
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, connect via Facebook and LinkedIn, and check out her books and courses.
14 Comments
Merrie Bergmann link
19/6/2012 06:29:50 am

Thank you for this useful overview. I've been trying to have my services (academic copy editing) listed on several publishers' websites (including Wiley and Sage). However, it seems impossible to find the correct contact person at the publisher's end. Do you have any hints?

Reply
Louise Harnby | Proofreader link
19/6/2012 06:44:44 am

Hi Merrie - My instinct would be to approach the journals production department in the first instance. I'm waiting to hear back from SAGE on this point and will share any further relevant information as soon as I have it.
Best wishes,
Louise

Reply
Louise Harnby | Proofreader link
19/6/2012 07:00:30 am

Another idea I just thought of would be to contact some of the existing providers on these sites and ask them if they would be prepared to tell you who they contacted. A link to a fuller summary of publishers who publish online lists of language editing services is at http://louiseharnbyproofreading.weebly.com/4/post/2012/06/roundup-getting-noticed-web-based-english-language-editing-services-listings.html

A lot of the same agencies pop up again and again, but they may be willing to share some contact details. No harm in trying, I would have thought!

Reply
Merrie Bergmann
19/6/2012 07:15:42 am

Hi Louise,

Thank you so much for the useful pointers! I may indeed contact some of the other agencies -- those that do not specialize in my areas!

Susan Kaplan
27/6/2012 03:14:46 am

Just a thought.

I wonder if working for this kind of agency really does help to level the playing field for those authors whose native language is not English.

I am employed by a university institute and the university pays me to help researchers prepare papers and books for publication. Many of them, especially those from poorer countries, could not afford an editing service.

Reply
Louise Harnby | Proofreader link
27/6/2012 04:03:10 am

Thanks for your comment, Susan. If you click on the link at the bottom of Anna's post to a Roundup I produced of publishers that list editing agencies, you'll see something called AuthorAid. This aims to redress the balance somewhat.

However, your overall point is well made and applies well beyond the realm of academic editing. People living in lower income nations face such barriers in nearly all walks of life. I doubt there's any such thing a true level playing field.

Reply
Louise Harnby link
17/7/2012 01:19:49 pm

And as a follow-up to my reply about AuthorAID, Susan, you may be interested in the interview posted on this blog today with AuthorAID's training director:
AuthorAID – Bridging the Publishing Divide (interview with Ravi Murugesan) http://www.louiseharnbyproofreader.com/4/post/2012/07/authoraid-bridging-the-publishing-divide-interview-with-ravi-murugesan.html

Good to know there is support out there for those who need it most. I'm not saying that it makes the playing field level - that would be naive - but it is a step forward.

Angela
16/12/2012 08:14:56 pm

For quite a while, I managed to convince myself that "academic editor" and "language editor" were terms that I'd invented to explain what I do (the number of people in this field in my locale is small), so coming across this article is a real relief! Silly, I know, but there it is. Thank you!

Reply
Olga
21/3/2014 08:33:56 am

Dear Louise,

I am new to science proofreading and editing. Recently, I have been been given to do a test which is 11 pages long and appears to be a complete article, not an extract. Is it quite normal to expect a size of a trial proofreading as big as that? From my previous experience the test did not exceed 200-500 words.

Many thanks for your thoughts.

Reply
Louise Harnby
22/3/2014 04:38:09 am

Hi Olga - I've seen tests that range from one or two pages to 40 pages. It really depends on the publisher's policy as to what they will require. You might like to check whether the test article you have been sent has already been published (search in Google). That way you can be sure it is a test and not a way of extracting a free proofread! If the agency or publisher is reputable I see no reason to be concerned. Only you can make the decision of whether to proceed with a test that you feel is unacceptably long. Bear in mind that the reason they may have sent you a full article is so that they can evaluate your competence to deal with a range of different elements (title, author, author's affiliation, headings, references, footnotes, paragraph styles, etc.) and ensure these comply with house style.

Reply
Peter Haigh link
20/7/2016 09:13:28 pm

Hello,

I was asked to apply for work with one of the larger UK-based academic journal paper 'language polishing' (their words!) agencies and they wanted me to do 5 pages of an 11 page article as a test, to be reviewed by their QC editor.

I requested to give them a paper I had already edited for review instead. They accepted this and I now do the odd bit of work for them on reasonable pay and terms; they are quite nice really.

I've had discussions with some other agencies and not got such a nice vibe from them - I'd always say go with your gut feeling.

I can provide further details by email on request.

Pete

peter@technicaleditorial.com
www.technicaleditorial.com

Reply
Louise Smith
13/2/2017 02:10:23 pm

Hi there,

I was very interested to read this blog. Proof reading of science journals was suggested as a possible suitable job for me by a lecturer at university. I am currently an undergraduate in my final year studying Human Biology. I am disabled and because of this I am looking for a part time job where I could work mainly from home. Is it possible to work as a proof reader from home? Also how does someone get into proofreading without any previous editing experience? I would be very grateful for any advice.

Reply
Louise Harnby
13/2/2017 04:00:11 pm

Hi Louise. Check the Training archive of this blog, and the SfEP and Publishing Training Centre websites for guidance on proofreading courses.

For guidance on setting up a proofreading business, see my books (in the tab Books and Guides) and the Starting Out and Marketing archives on this blog.

Hope that helps.

Reply
Penelope Smith link
29/7/2019 09:59:43 pm

Writing academically seems like it would be really tricky. It is good to know that you should get your work edited by a professional before submitting it. That way, you know it is understandable and that there are no mistakes.

Reply



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