Freelance Editing Jobs, Freelance Proofreading Jobs, Freelance copyediting Jobs, copyeditor Jobs

Upload your CV and cover letter on the Apply page. Once we receive your documents, we will review them and get back to you within 7 working days if your profile matches our requirements. Do note that we process a large number of applications and may not be able to revert if your profile does not match our requirements.

The editing test comprises excerpts from research papers across several academic disciplines. You will be asked to edit one or more of these passages based on your subject-area expertise.

Yes, you need Microsoft Word. Our test requires you to know and use Word’s track changes feature.

Because we receive many applications on a daily basis, we require a working week to be able to grade your test and reach a decision. The test is graded by our senior reviewers and quality trainers.

There is no magic formula, but we’ve found a consistent pattern in our best freelance editors. They have exceptional editorial capability–superlative language skills, in-depth knowledge of academic and typographical conventions (or an ability to learn them), subject- matter expertise, a keen eye for detail, and a zest to keep learning and improving their skill sets.

If someone does not clear the test, we communicate this to him/her and do not take the application forward.

We strongly prefer professional editors with a background in academic editing. There have been a few cases in which someone with little or no editing experience but superlative language skills approached us and then went on to become one of our best freelance editors. We mostly see this happen only in the case of researchers with very strong writing and linguistic abilities. The key in any case is editorial capability. (See our response to question 4 above.) So if you think you have what it takes to be an editor, go ahead and apply.

See our response to question 6 above. You could also check the information on our publication support services and consider working on those services.

We share information about our rates at the time of the application. We offer different rates for different services: copyediting, substantive editing, content review, and journal selection. Rates are determined  based on experience and test performance, within the pre-determined ranges.

Copyeditors at Cactus are responsible for both form (language, typographical errors, etc.) and content. By "content," we don’t mean that they add, delete, write, or rewrite content extensively. We are referring to the responsibility of a copyeditor to retain the author’s meaning and intent when revising sentences, and to point out discrepancies or factual inaccuracies in text.

At Cactus, substantive editors have the right combination of unmatched linguistic skills and subject-matter expertise. In addition to being gifted copyeditors, they have the ability to suggest or make structural changes that enhance presentation and readability. They spot and/or correct information and logic gaps in text; comment on content and organization; and correct tone, form, and style.

We do not fact check for authors using our copyediting service. However, under our substantive editing service, we fact check to ensure the accuracy of author names, titles, and publisher info.

In our copyediting service, we only check the citations and the reference list for consistency in format.

In both services, we ensure common terms are used correctly–in terms of hyphenation, capitalization, spelling, and usage.

The table below provides an overview of the basic differences between copyediting and substantive editing.

Type of edit	Substantive editing	Copyediting
Typographical errors
Punctuation
Grammar
Consistency in terminology and style
Consistency in page layout and font
Sentence construction
Terminology/reference check		Only terminology check
Word choice
Suggestions for text with unclear meaning
Language tips
Logic, relevance, clarity
Structure and flow
Word reduction
Journal formatting

Yes and no.
Yes, we have a house style that we share with our freelance editors.
No, we don’t use this guide for every assignment. This is because style/formatting requirements differ from assignment to assignment, as our clients submit their papers to a variety of international journals. Naturally, each client could have different requirements for style/format.
We give clear instructions on the style to be followed for each assignment.

We receive research papers, conference proceedings, presentations, journal articles, theses, dissertations, book chapters, study reports, grant proposals, etc.

Yes and no.

Knowledge of conventions

Obviously, your knowledge of the conventions in academic writing in your area of expertise will be of great help while editing. For example, if you specialize in the life sciences, knowledge of species nomenclature is essential; if you are a chemistry expert, you are expected to know how chemical compositions and formulae are represented; and a linguistics expert is expected to be well versed with the terminology used in the field.

Style manuals

As far as style manuals are concerned, while you need not know ALL the manuals, it will be more helpful if you are conversant with the style guide that is closest to your area of expertise. For example, if you edit papers from the field of psychology, then knowledge of the APA style manual is ideal.

Basic reference and style formats

Basic knowledge of various academic formats, such as different referencing styles (Harvard, MLA, APA, Chicago) will greatly increase your value as an editor.

While we share relevant information about our in-house style with freelancers, we do not provide freelancers with the popular style guides/manuals. Most professional editors own a copy of the style sheet that they follow, It is best to acquire the style guide that you will need to use most frequently. The Internet is also a great resource for finding various style guides. Remember to verify the authenticity of the online source before using it.

We receive hundreds of assignments on a daily basis. The volume and frequency of work you receive depends on the quality of your edits, your professionalism and adherence to deadlines, your availability, your editing speed, and other such considerations. With newer freelance editors, we start slowly so as to give them time to adjust to our client and quality requirements.

This varies widely. A document could range from 1000 to 20,000 words (or longer).

The volume of work you receive and the amount of time you spend working with us will depend on your availability and the level of quality you deliver.

This is a contractual arrangement. You will not be on our payroll. We will sign a contract letter and confidentiality agreement with you.

An NDA (non-disclosure agreement) is essentially a legal contract between two parties, written to safeguard proprietary or confidential information.
The agreement outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the two parties will share with each another. Most importantly, it restricts them from disclosing this information to a third party.

Our contract covers the following:

• terms of employment (e.g., contractual)
• terms of service (e.g., rates, nature of work)
• our quality policy

We promise our clients excellence in service delivery. We guarantee them that the quality of English in any document edited by Cactus meets the standards required by the international publishing industry. We ensure that our completed assignments meet the highest quality standards and are always delivered on time. This client promise guides our quality policy, and we require that our freelance editors and experts deliver nothing short of excellence.

Yes, we conduct feedback and discussion sessions for our new freelance editors and our most regular editors. Details will be discussed when you are on board.