Finding a Professional Editor: Welcome

Finding an editor is easy. Finding a good editor with the experience needed for PhD level manuscripts can be a bit harder. Unfortunately, some students have gone out of pocket for private editors that were underqualified and ended up wasting money. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that you properly vet the person or company you hire. That being said, there are several websites where an editor can be hired, such as Upwork, FirstEditing, or Scribendi. Before hiring, make sure your chosen editor:

• Can provide samples of their past work

• Has experience with Chicago Style

• Understands that Meridian has unique requirements outside of standard Chicago Style

• Can edit your work based on the appropriate checklists

• Is willing to be communicative throughout the editing process

• Has experience editing at the PhD level

• Is clear on if there are any rounds of revisions included in their pricing model

It is recommended to not use a professional from the same field you are studying. While they may be successful, their experiences might bleed into your work in ways that go beyond what an editor should do. Good alternatives are editors with advanced degrees or experience in English, Communications, Journalism, Writing, or Library Science.

Once you have chosen, vetted, and agreed upon payment and timeline with your editor, you must seek approval for the person or service from the Doctoral Projects Committee before they start paid work. This ensures there are no ethical concerns.

Editing rates vary, but editors with more experience typically charge more. For example, and editor with a PhD might charge as much as $100-$150 per hour. Going by the formula of pages per hour outlined in Meridian's Editing Services, if you hire someone in this range and your manuscript is 200 pages:

200 pages/5 pages per hour = 40 hours

40 hoursX$100-150 per hour = $4,000-$6,000

This can be an unreachable amount for many, so …

What can I do if I can’t afford that much?

If you want the best editor you can find, but don’t have the funds for it, wait until after the Content or Format and Style review. That way, you can identify areas that Meridian’s editor has already gone through and take out those portions before submitting to your editor. Be sure to make them aware of this, as big breaks in flow might throw them off.

You may also consider removing things from the Front Matter, Appendixes, Notes, and References. Particularly after the Format and Style review, if Meridian’s editor has made no comments about issues in these sections, it’s a safe bet that they are correct and do not need editing.

Let’s look at costs at the 200-page manuscript if you implement these changes (these are approximate numbers and should not be used to inform length for your work)

200 pages – 40 pages already edited by Meridian’s editor (Content and Format and Style) – 5 pages from Front Matter – 30 pages Back Matter = 125 pages

125/5 pages per hour = 25 hours

25 hoursX$100-150 = $2,500-$3,750

This can still be too much for students, so …

What can I do if I can’t afford that either?

You can find many freelance editors that charge much less, but still provide quality work. They may not have the number of years of experience or a PhD, but are still competent to edit work written at that level. Let’s look at some scenarios to determine costs.

Scenario 1: You find an editor on a freelance site that has a master’s in education. S/he has five years of experience editing PhD manuscripts and charges $50 per hour. You have communicated with them and verified all bullet points under ‘How do I find an editor?’ above.

For the full 200 page paper, the total cost will be $2,000

When omitting sections already edited and Front/Back Matter sections, the cost will total $1,250

Scenario 2: You find another editor on a freelance site. S/he has a BA in writing and two years of experience editing master’s level papers, but has only edited PhD level papers a handful of times. S/he charges $20 per hour. Again, you’ve communicated with them and verified at least most of the bullet points outlined above.

Full 200 pages = $800

Paper with omitted sections: $500

Either of these scenarios will likely end with a well edited paper, but it is important to understand that the quality of work will likely go down as the cost decreases. Make sure to adjust your expectations when using an editor with less experience.