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Are there any sites like craigslist?

How do you find a good writing editor on sites like Elance, oDesk, Craigslist. Everyone and their mom says they can edit on these sites, but besides blatant typos how do you find a good editor online? Do they have to have a PHD in English or something or do you do some sort of test on them?

  • I've had several editors for work documents as a contractor from these sites and even with ratings, certification, references, and materials it seems really hard to find someone who is good and can ghost write if they need to finish a topic or make logical changes and edits.

  • Answer:

    Generally, the marketplace is pretty efficient at setting rates for freelancers. Meaning: you get what you pay for. The really good editors tend to be much more expensive than the average ones. So on oDesk, you could do an empty search and then select the following: * Category: Writing & Translation * Subcategory: Copywriting * Feedback rating: At least 4.0 * Hourly rate: $25+ * Hours billed: at least 100 hours * English Level: 5 out of 5. You could also add requirements around test scores for the 3 English tests recommended on that page. Running this query, I end up with about 1,000 freelancers who seem highly qualified to me. You should post a job (privately or publicly as you prefer) and invite a few of these freelancers. Remember that the best freelancers tend to be fully utilized, so you may need to invite 5-10 until you get good responses. I hope this helps, let me know if you need more tips.

Stephane Kasriel at Quora Visit the source

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As an alternative to the sites you mention, you might check whether your university (perhaps the Writing Center or the graduate school) maintains a list of editors for hire. Some universities even vet the list. The University of North Carolina, for example, maintains an extensive list, although you don't have to be affiliated with UNC to view the list or hire someone on it. I'm an academic editor myself (with a PhD in English, incidentally), and I take several measures to ensure that the client is satisfied with my work. First, I always edit a little bit of the document at no cost (1-2 pages for a dissertation or 1-2 paragraphs for an article) so that the client can verify that my services are what he or she is looking for. Also, I return documents ahead of the client's deadline so that the client has time to review my work and address any questions or concerns with me before having to submit payment and submit the document to committee/reader. Finally, I rely on word-of-mouth for much of my business, so people often contact me after having spoken with a satisfied client. All this to say, when choosing an editor, consider the following: Does the editor show evidence of expertise/ credibility/ professionalism? Is the editor a good communicator (quick to respond to emails, up-front in answering questions, etc)? Does the editor stand behind his or her work? I hope this answer is helpful to you, and I wish you the best in finding a reliable and competent editor!

Margy Thomas Horton

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