How Long Does it take for an Online Proofreading Company to Proofread and Edit my Manuscript?

We have asked an experienced proofreader how long it would take for her to complete an academic manuscript. This was her answer. 

I would say that this highly depends on two main factors. A professional, expert proofreader would first check the word count of the document, and then inspect it to estimate the volume of language errors. But definitely do not work with any editor who claims they can finish the work in 24 hours, or even two days! I can not think of anything but a software program that is available 24 hours a day, every single day! Even in-house academic and scientific editors have a timeline to adhere to. Search for editing software and download one if desired. Bear in mind, however, that none of this is infallible. While software can assist with simple proofreading with technical stuff like spelling, grammar and punctuation errors, it will miss higher level semantic errors. You will need a rational human being with some editing experience for manually editing the manuscript and prepping it for live publication, where it is presented to other academics.

Consider that editors are humans. As a result, they have human wants, such as the desire to eat, rest, and possibly complete a current job before embarking on a new endeavor. They become fatigued, just like everyone else who works any job, and their capacity to spot every mistake becomes duller the longer they labor, regardless of their desire to complete the work. Except for a first-time editor, everybody can know when that time has come, and will pause work at that point (in the same way a responsible driver would pull off the road when he begins to feel a loss of concentration).

It occurs to me that your true concern is not so much with the availability of a continuous service as it is with the ‘how soon will it take’ variety. Proofreading will take less time than editing (plus, the author will need time to fix the content issues the editor has pointed out, and then have the manuscript re-edited after the content changes, so make sure to factor in your time as well for subsequent drafts). Which form of editing are you looking for? Just proofreading? Or editing? Or both? Google them to determine which specific service you require.

Another aspect to consider is this: One of the issues I continually face is not knowing the quality of the article I am receiving until I open it (for a new author).

Consider the most exquisite wood carving you have ever seen. That is your completed manuscript at its finest. If you offer me a carving that is nearly finished and only requires a few details to be chiseled correctly, a few chips to be removed, and a few coats of polish, we could finish in a few days. During that time period, I typically look over the manuscript repeatedly. If you offer me a tree trunk that you have just cut off a tree, however, this could take a much longer time to carve out until it looks the the nearly-complete wood carving.

I have received research manuscripts that began beautifully (clearly ready for submission to publishers or journals), but required significantly more work (read ‘time’) in the results section, for example. The point I am making is that it is impossible to predict precisely how long an edit would take. A comprehensive edit of the type I have just outlined could take me a few days for the quality manuscript, and perhaps just under two weeks for the poorly written manuscript. I have encountered both (and it is not difficult to predict the time required for each. Though I would still need to sleep first.). So to conclude, I would say that the time it takes to edit an academic manuscript highly depends not only on the length (word count), but also on the estimated volume of language errors (and expected effort on my part) it contains. I have charged higher proofreading rates and charges for manuscripts with a low word count and a large volume of errors (after inspecting the work), than for manuscripts with a high word count but a relatively lower volume of errors.

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We provide proofreading and editing services for doctoral PhD theses and dissertations, Master’s theses and dissertations, research proposals, scientific journal papers, as well as other academic manuscripts. We also provide an official proofreading certificate that is recognized by the majority of journals and publishers. Our professional and expert proofreaders offer low proofreading rates and charges that are affordable for postgraduate university students, researchers and academics. We are amongst the best proofreading companies available. If you are looking for fast and reliable proofreading, our skilled editors can surely assist with that. Just search for ‘academic proofreaders near me’ in Malaysia, and you can find a number of other professional proofreaders available, including us. We also offer other academic services such as style format adjustment, in-text citations and references checking, language translation, paraphrasing and Turnitin report generation. Upload your manuscript now and get a free quotation.