By Aisha Idris
For chefs, a new dish should never be served to a large audience without being taste tested. Similarly, when you write a new piece you will always require someone to read your work and correct it for a smoother reading experience. Editing is essential if you are about to send your work to be considered for publication. While most of the writing process is free, editing can cost you a lot of money. If you are a writer with a tight budget, don’t lose hope because there are still some economical ways to get your work edited.
1. Self-editing
One of the most economical ways to get your work edited is through self-editing which will not cost you a single penny. In order to be able to self-edit you should have a good grip on grammar so you can easily catch the grammatical errors in your written piece.
The first and foremost step to self-edit is to put your written material aside for a few weeks. Successful self-editing can never take place soon after you have written the article or your book. The best way to spend these few weeks is to read books and articles that are similar to your genre. Once those weeks have passed, take out your piece and read it like you are reading it for the first time. Also, it is recommended that you read your work after printing out a copy because it is easier for you to catch errors on paper than it is on the screen
2. Hire an English student
Students who are passionate about their career are always in search of experience while they are still studying. Along with that, students are readily available to work on a low budget, making it a win-win situation for you and the student as well. You can advertise for an editor through several Freelance job groups on Facebook without costing yourself any money. Though some Facebook groups do charge a small sum for job postings so make sure you go through their rules before posting.
3. Text-to-Speech app
If you are a blogger who is regularly writing articles to post on your blog then you can use the text-to-speech app. There are a lot of text-to-speech apps available including the Google Text-to-Speech app. You will get to listen to your article in this app and that will help you a lot in terms of finding repetitive words, sentences that don’t sound right and any kind of grammatical error that will deteriorate the quality of your article. The text-to-speech apps can be downloaded for free.
4. Hire editors at Fiverr
Fiverr is an online platform where employers from around the world get to find their employees. You can hire an editor for as low as $5 for an article and even get to rate their work once they have submitted it. This gives you two advantages. Firstly, you get to check out the ratings and reviews of previous employers for whom the editor had worked. Next, the privilege of getting to rate the employee for their work means the employee will provide excellent quality work.
In Conclusion
As a writer, you will always need an assistance to know which areas in your written piece requires improvement. Thus, it is essential to have these economical ways of getting your work edited. You never know when it may come handy. Now that you know that editing can be economical there is no excuse to why you should not edit your work.
BIO: I am a psychology student, blogger and freelance writer. I love to write and inspire people with my words. Writing is my passion, books are my friends and coffee is my love. Also, my first book is coming out in February 2017.
