Are you still a novice warrior? Are you a non-native English freelance writer?

If yes, you probably struggle to kill these cursed monsters. If yes, you probably struggle to string words together, the right way.

A Beginner Freelance Writer Trying to Self-Edit His Work

You don’t have to struggle on alone.

There are many adventurous heroes great editors out there who are dedicated to helping you beat those monsters helping writers correct their work.

They were born in the forest, and killing monsters is as easy as one-two-three. They have more experience writing in English than you, and therefore they can EASILY beat all kinds of monsters, regardless of what planet they come from. and therefore they can easily edit all kinds of work, regardless of the niche you write in.

Just shout “Hero!” into the forest, show them where the monster is, hide behind a tree, and watch how trained warriors fight. Just drop them a line, sit down, sip an espresso, and watch.

After that, you can painlessly offer the monster’s head to the king submit the post to your client.

Otherwise, you’ll end up fighting the monster from the top of a tree you’ll end up spending hours (if not days) editing your work.

The quality of work required at most English publications, magazines, blogs and other content outlets is understandably very high.

Editors are crucial when it comes to improving your writing skills. You can study English courses all you like, but you won’t have the peace of mind your work is free of mistakes. A great editor can give you just that!

Now you’re convinced you must hire an editor to grow your freelance writing business, let’s break down the process of hiring one into two major steps.

#1 Step: Hiring the Right Editor 

The cheapest options on the market are found on Fiverr and UpWork. There you’ll find some great editors who’ll be happy to edit your work at very affordable rates.

A referral is the best way to find an editor. Asking fellow freelance writers for feedback based on their experience working with individual editors is my favourite way to decide on hiring an editor.

Last week, I had a chat with Suhaib Mohammed about his outstanding post on Entrepreneur Magazine. The article resulted in him receiving over a thousand shares on social media, as well as lots of e-mails from interested prospects.

We discussed how hiring an editor was crucial to get him featured in such a prestigious magazine. He recommended Sara Pack from UpWork (make sure you tell her that Suhaib referred you.)

Also, it’s worth mentioning that you as a freelance writer should ask the editor to “copy edit” your work. Proofreading isn’t enough, and content editing is too much. The only thing you need is to show your client you’re capable of writing in a smooth, native-sounding way.

We, the WriteWorldwide team, would love to recommend a couple of editors we met in Bamidele’s freelance writing challenge group a few months ago. Anita Smith, Spike Wyatt and Kate Casper are three skillful editors who have very reasonable prices and offer great editing services. Check out their websites and see which one you think would be a good fit for you.

NOTE: Avoid hiring non-native English editors.

#2 Step: Negotiating the Rate

All freelance editors need recurring clients. If you regularly assign work to your editor, they will probably charge less than their standard rate, as you’re offering them a secure source of income.

Negotiating based on word count, rather than time or pages, is the best way to go when it comes to freelance writing. 

According to The Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA), copy editors make an average of $0.014 per word; therefore, it’s recommended to pay the average or an above average rate.

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” Dale Carnegie.