English language editing may seem like a minor part of publishing. In some ways, editing and proofreading services are rarely considered to be as important as other parts of the process. But, the truth is that having a well written manuscript means that many parts of getting a paper published are simplified. All authors, native speakers or not, have different degrees of understanding when it comes to grammar and writing.
Not all native speakers are clear writers, and many non-native speakers can be quite good.
However, at the end of the day, journals need to maintain standards when it comes to the level of English they publish. After all, poor standards can cause major issues for the reputation of the journal. High standards when it comes to English language copy editing can result in a positive reputation.
There are different ways in which English language editing can be done. In some cases, authors might hire a freelance editor prior to submitting their manuscript. Other times, authors may try using AI-powered translation software. Occasionally, editors are acquaintances of the authors who are doing them a favour.
Different approaches to English editing can have vastly different results. Here, we’ll go over some important details for you to know.
Different types of English editing services
Before tackling the ways you can approach different English language editing services, understanding them is important. Generally speaking, there are three common approaches to getting edits done to your academic manuscript. The first, and one of the most common, is to hire a professional editing service to do the work for you. There are many companies and services that you can approach. It is quite accurate to say that English editing is a global industry.
This global editing industry will usually draw its editors from one of two general options (or both)—freelance English editors or staff editors. Both perform the same task, but are managed in different ways by companies.
Freelance editors
While many people seek out the stability associated with long-term contracts, freelancers generally work for you on a case-by-case basis. Some companies will have contracts with freelance editors that go back years, if not decades. Many freelance editors aim to establish positive working relationships with companies to ensure a steady flow of work. How much a freelance editor makes is often negotiated, with highly skilled editors able to charge a notable amount of money for their services. What freelance editors lack in job stability, they make up for in personal freedom and flexibility.
Like any field, quality can vary. Some freelancers are highly skilled, while others may be at the beginning of their careers. Finding the right candidate for your needs depends on what you want to accomplish.
Another thing that you need to keep in mind is that freelance contracts are often easily terminated. English editors who have a great deal of experience will often end a contract for mediocre pay or poor working conditions without a second thought. Equally, a company that finds the performance of an English language editor lacking can terminate the contract as well. The global freelance language editing market can be quite nuanced.
Staff editors
While small- and medium-sized academic publishers rarely have teams of English editors on staff, global companies often do. These language editors often perform a number of other tasks within companies, ranging from editing press releases to verifying language choices in emails. The size of the company aside, having staff writers ensures that, during working hours, there is always an editor available.
Conversely, there are a few reasons that staff language editors might not be the best choice for you and your journal. For example, smaller workloads means that there might be times where there is nothing to edit. If you have a staff editor, you have to pay them regardless of the workload. Also, there is a significantly larger investment in the building of skill that needs to happen with a staff editor.
AI translators
The riskiest tools to use for English editing jobs, especially when work is exposed to a global audience, are AI-based translators. While there are some basic tasks where these tools can be used, they fall short of the skills of a human editor in many ways. In particular, AI translators are very poor at nuance and can make mistakes that can radically change the meaning of a sentence.
This sort of error can be devastating to the intended meaning of a manuscript and can potentially result in it being rejected as inaccurate. These tools can be used in conjunction with human editors, but are not typically recommended on their own.
How to manage a team of English editors
Having clear expectations of what you need, as well as a good understanding of what the editing market looks like are very important. Knowing what you can reasonably ask of your editors, and what they expect of you, is key to a healthy working relationship—freelancers or not. Once you establish the relationship, you can set up your system of communications.
Small teams can get by with email and an Excel spreadsheet, but a larger team will certainly need a journal management system like JAMS that can assign work to your freelance team. This sort of system can save your company thousands of dollars in wasted hours. It reduces time wasted due to assigning and tracking and makes these processes easy.
Having an in-house team of English editors
This is debatably the best, but also one of the most complicated, methods to handle your English editing. While using freelance editors can help you to cut costs, it can challenging to maintain high standards. Especially if your need to hire exceeds your ability to track standards. This is a common issue in many global companies that employ many freelance editors. There is also significant churn involved in using freelancers, so you will constantly need to train new freelancers as they join your team.
This results in a significant amount of time being spent on the act of training, instead of on editing. On the other hand, when you have a team of in-house editors, there is less overall time spent on training. Standards can also be monitored and maintained more effectively.
There are also other major benefits to using in-house editors for your English editing. Here are some examples,
- They can edit internal documents;
- You can have access to English editing at the drop of a hat during business hours;
- They can proofread any important external communications.
Can a freelancer accomplish the same activities? Yes, they can. However, because of the nature of freelance work, you might need to wait for projects that you could get done almost immediately.
One of the biggest weaknesses about having a team of English editors comes in the form of costs. You need to pay them for a full day of work as opposed to a per-project rate. If you’re going to use in-house editors, make sure that you have other projects that you can give them. You don’t want to pay editors to sit around, and there are always more projects that can be done.
Using an English editor before submission
This method is by far the easiest way to deal with English editing. It is also the most challenging way to deal with as it requires very careful tracking and spot checking. There is a very high risk of variation in quality.
Using an English editor before submission can help the review process to go more smoothly. If changes are needed though, the authors will need to once again hire an editor to revise the new parts, or there will be a difference in English quality throughout the publication process. If these differences remain and are not addressed before publication, there will be a significant and very noticeable difference in the quality of the manuscript.
Can the system work?
Most systems can be complicated, especially when you’re trying to run a journal and have many different things to keep track of. It is complicated, but there are ways in which this method can achieve positive results. First of all, it allows the review process to be easier to do as elements of the language barrier will not longer be issues. This method may require multiple rounds of edits to a single manuscript before the paper is ready to be published. If using this method, having access to a reliable editor that you can recommend for submitting authors.
Another choice you have is to develop a network of freelance English editors so that you can always have an editor available to you should you need one.
There are a handful of benefits and complications when it comes to using freelance English editors, which we will discuss below.
Using a journal management system to assign work to your English editors
English editors are a skilled group of individuals. They are methodical and the nature of the work is to pay attention to details. If you have a team of in-house editors, you can easily train them to use a journal management system like JAMS so that any time not spent editing can be applied to other projects. Sending manuscripts to peer review, handling layout, or even interacting with authors can be easily done using JAMS.