Sometimes people amaze me at how vague they can be when posting a job. For example, someone today showed up in my feed and basically the post read like this:
I need help translating technical documents. I will give you further details when hired.
For those of you who don't know Guru has a free 10 bids per month service, but most established professional freelancers pay for our bids. That means we only bid on jobs that are good fits for our skill set because we don't want to waste a bid on something that doesn't match.
When someone posts a vague description, most of the good freelancers will not apply. Placing "keywords" that further the description is not a good idea, but in this case the only keyword was "translation."
Translators, as you might guess, specialize in certain languages. What you also might not guess is that many translators only translate one direction. In other words, I translate Latin> English but not the other way. Usually translators do not know every language in the world. This is why if you want your book translated you need to be specific:
"I want a translator for my book. The book is currently written in English. I need it translated into Portuguese, Hindi, and German."
You will probably not find one person who can do this because you specified multiple languages. Once a book has been translated you should find someone who is a native speaker of the language to edit it. Editing a translation is an entirely different job than editing a book normally.
When someone gives you a translation to edit, you need to be able to first tell the person if the translator did a good job or put it through Google translate. Note: If a translator states they can translate any language in the world- they are using Google translate. Most translators use software to improve the speed of the translation, but these translations are still dynamic and readable.
Second, a translation edit needs to maintain all the qualities of the original text as best it can. This means you cannot do any developmental editing. The keys to a translation edit is (1) does it read smoothly or does it read like a translation and (2) are all the words used correctly? In some cases, something might not have come through correctly. Unless the editor is also familiar with the language, these should go back to the translator to fix.
You can find many freelancers to translate your work, but you need to have it checked by others. Good translations usually cost $0.10 per word or more.
Monday, August 27, 2018
Monday, August 20, 2018
Do Writers Make Good Editors?
I was reading another profile on Guru, and this person said they were an excellent editor because they had written so many articles that were published. This doesn't make sense. If writers were such good editors, there would not be editors for every traditional publishing company and magazine and pretty much anything in print.
As a writer, if you submit a work that is riddled with the errors that many people make, your manuscript will be rejected. An occasional misspelled word here and there will be overlooked as well as will more intense grammar points- did you use a comma splice, oh well.
Capitals at the beginning of a sentence and punctuation at the end of sentences will not be tolerated. As an adult you should know better. If you consistently misuse to and too, that will probably get you rejected as well. But editors overlook a lot because they know the nuances of grammar escape the general public. If you are a really good story writer, they can fix those problems. Writers are not expected to know style manuals, but it is hoped the writer will be consistent in using things like serial commas (or not using them).
If you are self-publishing and the only credentials an editor has is that he or she has been published (especially with only articles or a long list of self-published tomes), you are probably throwing your money down the drain. Why? Because these people will only be able to get your book in enough shape for a real editor to look at it. They will probably charge real editor prices to do it, too.
Yes, you can have good writers who are also good editors, but this takes two different skill sets. A good editor will be familiar with a style guide, will have a style guide they prefer and will own a copy of any style guides they use. For fiction, this is usually Strunk & White. Every fiction author should also own and use this book.
A good writer and editor will never say, "I write these great articles so I am obviously a good editor." No one can self-edit well. In fact, I frequently say that no one should use fewer than two editors and a proofreader.
If you send stuff to an editor and it comes back with only a few errors marked- you probably have a MS Word editor. Spell check is a great feature but it misses almost everything, unless you frequently forget to capitalize and punctuate your sentences. Then it will fix all of that and leave the other 70 errors per page alone. Yes, when I edit, it is not uncommon on a first pass to find 70 things wrong per page. By the third pass, the proofreader should be picking up almost nothing, but there will still be things wrong. The main job of a proofreader is to ensure everything is formatted correctly, which is why spelling and grammar should be pretty clean at that point.
Teachers usually make great editors (but not necessarily good writers). They have been editing tons of papers for years. The higher the grade they taught, the more likely you are going to find a good editor.
So, I always talk about editors I would recommend (aside from myself): Pam Pieroni and Joy McCullough (not on Guru anymore). Without having used them but based on their solid Guru profiles, I would give Visual Writing Communication and Paul Words a shot. What makes these two stand out? Their profiles are well developed, and Paul Words even goes to the effort of using a semi-colon appropriately on his.
I will not link to bad freelancers nor will I post their names. If you are hiring an editor, you should be able to spot poorly filled out profiles, misspelled profile words (if you don't know how to spell a word when you are reading someone's profile, you should look it up to make sure they are not only spelling it correctly but also using it correctly), glaring errors such as using ALL CAPS!!! Do not hire someone who uses all caps. That tells me they are uncertain which words they should capitalize or they don't realize no one wants to be screamed at on a webpage.
As a writer, if you submit a work that is riddled with the errors that many people make, your manuscript will be rejected. An occasional misspelled word here and there will be overlooked as well as will more intense grammar points- did you use a comma splice, oh well.
Capitals at the beginning of a sentence and punctuation at the end of sentences will not be tolerated. As an adult you should know better. If you consistently misuse to and too, that will probably get you rejected as well. But editors overlook a lot because they know the nuances of grammar escape the general public. If you are a really good story writer, they can fix those problems. Writers are not expected to know style manuals, but it is hoped the writer will be consistent in using things like serial commas (or not using them).
If you are self-publishing and the only credentials an editor has is that he or she has been published (especially with only articles or a long list of self-published tomes), you are probably throwing your money down the drain. Why? Because these people will only be able to get your book in enough shape for a real editor to look at it. They will probably charge real editor prices to do it, too.
Yes, you can have good writers who are also good editors, but this takes two different skill sets. A good editor will be familiar with a style guide, will have a style guide they prefer and will own a copy of any style guides they use. For fiction, this is usually Strunk & White. Every fiction author should also own and use this book.
A good writer and editor will never say, "I write these great articles so I am obviously a good editor." No one can self-edit well. In fact, I frequently say that no one should use fewer than two editors and a proofreader.
If you send stuff to an editor and it comes back with only a few errors marked- you probably have a MS Word editor. Spell check is a great feature but it misses almost everything, unless you frequently forget to capitalize and punctuate your sentences. Then it will fix all of that and leave the other 70 errors per page alone. Yes, when I edit, it is not uncommon on a first pass to find 70 things wrong per page. By the third pass, the proofreader should be picking up almost nothing, but there will still be things wrong. The main job of a proofreader is to ensure everything is formatted correctly, which is why spelling and grammar should be pretty clean at that point.
Teachers usually make great editors (but not necessarily good writers). They have been editing tons of papers for years. The higher the grade they taught, the more likely you are going to find a good editor.
So, I always talk about editors I would recommend (aside from myself): Pam Pieroni and Joy McCullough (not on Guru anymore). Without having used them but based on their solid Guru profiles, I would give Visual Writing Communication and Paul Words a shot. What makes these two stand out? Their profiles are well developed, and Paul Words even goes to the effort of using a semi-colon appropriately on his.
I will not link to bad freelancers nor will I post their names. If you are hiring an editor, you should be able to spot poorly filled out profiles, misspelled profile words (if you don't know how to spell a word when you are reading someone's profile, you should look it up to make sure they are not only spelling it correctly but also using it correctly), glaring errors such as using ALL CAPS!!! Do not hire someone who uses all caps. That tells me they are uncertain which words they should capitalize or they don't realize no one wants to be screamed at on a webpage.
Monday, August 13, 2018
Why Did I Lose That Job?
I truly don't care when I lose a job to someone I feel is more experienced than me. In some cases, I have actually referred potential employers to other freelancers, whom I feel are more than competent- especially if I don't have the skills or time to complete their project.
However, it still baffles me how I can lose editing jobs to people who have misspelled words and grammar errors on their profiles.
As a freelancer, your profile should be immaculate. I still go back and check my profile for typos and not much has changed on it in years. Although I am sloppy about grammar on my blog (I don't make money from doing this), I am immaculate in my business presentation. So why would someone choose someone else who isn't?
Now I understand in some cases. One "editor" who didn't speak English as a native wanted native English speakers to edit the work he had. In other words, this was a middle man who needed to make money, so no doubt he went with the cheapest bids. One of the freelancers this person hired had stilted English (so I wonder if he/she truly is born and raised in the U.S.A.) and the other scored a whopping 60% on some of the posted writing tests they had taken. (Guru offers writing tests that are timed. You take the test and then you can post the scores on your profile if you want along with the date the test was taken.)
I would not hire an editor who could not score 100% on the relatively easy spelling test, but other people seeking editors don't seem to care. Granted, misspelled words are quickly caught by Word, but in some cases Word is wrong especially with newer words or if you are using a specific style manual. In other cases, you are writing for a British audience and need to know the differences in spelling used there. Your freelancer should be able to go beyond a Word auto-edit.
Yes, someone may say they needed someone cheap. Then why are they paying someone to edit their work at all? MS Word is free and although it isn't effective unless you know grammar and spelling rules, I question the "typo" editors even knowing that. Some may think the more eyes that look at something the better it will be, but this is false. If you send your work to Louie who can't even spell water, you can bet he knows nothing about plot development, character development, denouement, or anything else that could help. He certainly isn't going to know if you have used big words correctly or used passive sentences too frequently. And worse- he may actually introduce more typos. I have seen freelancer "samples" that did this. Does he have to know the APA style manual for a work of fiction? No, but he better be able to maintain consistency in his editing. This means if he decides to use serial commas in the first chapter, he better make sure they are always there in the rest of the book.
I don't charge exorbitant prices, and in some cases these people with typos claim to be more expensive (that doesn't mean they actually cost that much because I have frequently caught freelancers charging less than their posted prices). I don't post my prices because they vary based on the difficulty of the work and how long I have worked with the employer (I tend to charge less for long-term work unless I accidentally underbid on the first project). My rates also tend to go up a little with inflation.
There are three parts to any job: price, time, and quality. If you want it cheaply and quick, you aren't going to get well-edited. In that case, why pay for any editing at all?
Monday, August 6, 2018
Mismatched Marketing or Why isn't my stuff selling?
Any self-published author is going to need to address marketing at some point or another. But frequently you pay (a large sum) with stars in your eyes, hoping your book or materials will be thrown into the masses and gobbled up. If that happened, your marketing money would be well-spent and its returns should be much greater than what you paid.
But, in the days of the Internet, even large businesses throw away a lot of money on advertising. How do we better target people who would be interested in our stuff?
First and foremost, you need to have an excellent product to make a lot of money. Yes, you can have a mediocre (or awful product) and an expensive advertising and sell a lot. But this usually causes problems that can destroy your entire brand (think Edsel- the car people still make jokes about).
Why does modern advertising flop? Consider Google Ad-Words. I used to have Ads on my blog, but I have been removed from the program and instead of appealing the decision, I simply removed ad content. I want to make money by writing, not by selling someone else's product. I question how any blogger could make money off of Ad-Words to begin with. Google Ads work by paying bloggers for clicks. The problem in this day and age is that (1) adults are not the only ones using the Internet and kids might click ads for no reason or accidentally; (2) despite all the spyware, ads are still not easily targeted to people.
Now, my kids use the internet. I can't tell you how many times an advertisement for heart medicine, cars, and even horrible shows come up on my daughter's YouTube when she is watching a video clearly targeting pre-schoolers. She even screamed in terror when one appeared. The ultimate was a guy running for congress or some government position- this ad ran about five minutes. She was angry. I was angry. I am certain not going to vote for him... but wait, I can't. I don't even live in the same state.
As a freelancer, I have to do research for my employers. This means that all the spyware tracks me and gives me targeted ads on my research. I have no intention of buying any of the garbage Ad-words and similar spyware throws at me, but there it is- and someone is paying for it based on the cookies in my browser.
How do you market your well-written book? Well, one thing I tried was book conventions. I still believe in this as a great way to market, but frankly, I spent over $1000 getting all our books to be "featured" in one with free ads for them on the organizer's website and blah blah blah. What did I get? Maybe a few sales (read less than $100), but also I got spammed. My inbox filled up with more offers from every Joe, Luke, and Mary begging me to pay them to market my book. This was definitely a bad return for the money.
Why would I try this again? Well, first, I would only do it by renting a booth and being there in person. I could then walk around and talk to people. People could interact with me. Still, I don't know if that would work well. The people who attend these events are other people like me (and some big name publishers) who all want their books to be seen. Or they want you to pay them to market your book. However, there are several conventions in my area and I am thinking about getting a booth there. Conventions targeting you topic might be the best bet for self-publishing, but I will let you know when I retire from freelancing and can focus on my books.
Goodreads is a good platform for building a base if you join some relevant groups. But again, you have to have a quality product and you don't want to send it to everyone. If you wrote a kids book, why would someone interested in thrillers want it? I feel the pain of others who want to break into the writing arena in modern times. It used to be publishing companies took a big chunk of your paycheck to develop a marketing plan for you. Now whether you self-publish or traditionally publish you are expected to have your own online presence and marketing plan in place before you actually produce a book.
But, in the days of the Internet, even large businesses throw away a lot of money on advertising. How do we better target people who would be interested in our stuff?
First and foremost, you need to have an excellent product to make a lot of money. Yes, you can have a mediocre (or awful product) and an expensive advertising and sell a lot. But this usually causes problems that can destroy your entire brand (think Edsel- the car people still make jokes about).
Why does modern advertising flop? Consider Google Ad-Words. I used to have Ads on my blog, but I have been removed from the program and instead of appealing the decision, I simply removed ad content. I want to make money by writing, not by selling someone else's product. I question how any blogger could make money off of Ad-Words to begin with. Google Ads work by paying bloggers for clicks. The problem in this day and age is that (1) adults are not the only ones using the Internet and kids might click ads for no reason or accidentally; (2) despite all the spyware, ads are still not easily targeted to people.
Now, my kids use the internet. I can't tell you how many times an advertisement for heart medicine, cars, and even horrible shows come up on my daughter's YouTube when she is watching a video clearly targeting pre-schoolers. She even screamed in terror when one appeared. The ultimate was a guy running for congress or some government position- this ad ran about five minutes. She was angry. I was angry. I am certain not going to vote for him... but wait, I can't. I don't even live in the same state.
As a freelancer, I have to do research for my employers. This means that all the spyware tracks me and gives me targeted ads on my research. I have no intention of buying any of the garbage Ad-words and similar spyware throws at me, but there it is- and someone is paying for it based on the cookies in my browser.
How do you market your well-written book? Well, one thing I tried was book conventions. I still believe in this as a great way to market, but frankly, I spent over $1000 getting all our books to be "featured" in one with free ads for them on the organizer's website and blah blah blah. What did I get? Maybe a few sales (read less than $100), but also I got spammed. My inbox filled up with more offers from every Joe, Luke, and Mary begging me to pay them to market my book. This was definitely a bad return for the money.
Why would I try this again? Well, first, I would only do it by renting a booth and being there in person. I could then walk around and talk to people. People could interact with me. Still, I don't know if that would work well. The people who attend these events are other people like me (and some big name publishers) who all want their books to be seen. Or they want you to pay them to market your book. However, there are several conventions in my area and I am thinking about getting a booth there. Conventions targeting you topic might be the best bet for self-publishing, but I will let you know when I retire from freelancing and can focus on my books.
Goodreads is a good platform for building a base if you join some relevant groups. But again, you have to have a quality product and you don't want to send it to everyone. If you wrote a kids book, why would someone interested in thrillers want it? I feel the pain of others who want to break into the writing arena in modern times. It used to be publishing companies took a big chunk of your paycheck to develop a marketing plan for you. Now whether you self-publish or traditionally publish you are expected to have your own online presence and marketing plan in place before you actually produce a book.
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