Finding a Suitable Person to Help Edit Your Work

Earlier this month, a Mexican researcher asked me, “How can I find an appropriate editor to help revise my papers before I submit them to journals?”

Many other researchers might be wondering the same thing. Here are a few ideas on this subject. 

As I see it, there are 2 steps: (1) finding people who are willing to do such editing and (2) seeing whether a specific editor is appropriate for you.

To find people who can help edit work before submission, here are a few things one can do:

• Under "Member Search" on the AuthorAID homepage, search for mentors who can help edit. 
• See the list of editing services that offer AuthorAID members discount rates.
• Do a “freelance search” at the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences (BELS) website. The listed editors have passed the BELS examination.
• Ask colleagues to recommend editors they have used or heard about.

Once you find someone who might be appropriate, consider doing the following:

• Learn about the person’s education and experience, for example through the person’s resume or curriculum vitae.
• If the person is a professional editor, ask to contact people for whom the editor has done work.
• Have the person edit a short piece, such as an abstract or brief article. If you’re pleased, you can ask the person to do more work. If not, you’ve lost little.

Do you have suggestions for finding appropriate people to edit one’s work? If so, please post a comment.

Wishing you a good week—

Barbara