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Questions:
Do you have a question? Please take a few moments to browse this section for an answer.We hope that you will find the information useful.
Answers:
| Our primary objectives |
We aim to be a trusted business partner that adds value, enables our clients to connect to people in ways that convey information factually, meaningfully and effectively. We will achieve our objectives on an ongoing basis through networking, by maximising the use of technology, working with and through people who are passionate about media and the written word and building enduring relationships with our clients and people.
We will provide high quality services, advice and work that is creative, proactive, solution-focused, of the highest standard and responsive to the diverse needs of our clients.
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| Our values |
Our service delivery culture, our standards and style of doing business are based upon honouring commitments, ethics, integrity, collaborative teamwork and building relationships.
We consciously promote attitudes, ideas and action that will enhance competitive advantage and value creation for Edit24 and our clients through:
- Collaboration
- Thinking
- Innovation
- Exchange of ideas
- Our learning culture
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| Availability of Edit24 operations and turnaround time - What are your business hours? |
Edit24.com services are available 24/7/365.
Our associates specialise in different disciplines and are based all over the world, so they are also on hand 24/7. For administrative matters we can be contacted between 0900 and 1700 GMT. We are generally able to respond to emails within 24 hours.
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| Where is Edit24 located? |
Edit24’s head office is located in Hong Kong and all communications and operations are coordinated through this, our main base in Asia. Our main regions of focus for our services are to clients in Asia (Asia Pacific, Australasia) and Africa. As such we also have representative offices in Australia and South Africa and sub-offices throughout the world.
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| We are located in another country. Can we still use your services? |
Edit24 is a global company in every sense. You can use our services as long as you are able to arrange payment via bank transfer or PayPal.
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| I represent a government department / agency and we are interested in outsourcing work to Edit24 this will require having your company registered as a vendor and submitting proposals to tender. Is Edit24 able to meet this type of requirement? |
Yes. We are accustomed to and familiar with preparing proposals. Please send us details of the information requirements, steps to be followed and the process so that we can prepare an application for registration.
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| Are Edit24’s people qualified and suitably experienced to fulfil project requirements? |
All our service providers (editors, copywriters, writers, researchers, graphic designers, etc) are rigorously vetted as to their suitability not only in terms of skill but also ‘fit’ in line with Edit24 values, culture and service ethos.
Typically Edit24’s associate service providers will have a postgraduate qualification, more than 10 years’ professional experience and have published work in his/her chosen field or area of specialisation.
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| How can we assess the quality of Edit24’s services? |
Our clients pre-approve editors, copywriters and translators. This helps to ensure the quality and consistency of Edit24’s services. With Edit24’s widespread network, the extensive experience of the company’s directors and associates, our reputation for quality, on-time delivery, professionalism and client focus, we aim to exceed expectations. As a result, the majority of our projects come to us by referral.
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| Can you refer me to other individuals or corporate clients who have used your services? |
Our client base is diverse; from blue chip to medium size enterprises, print media, corporate, public sector organisations, academics, students and other professionals. You can also view a list of recent corporate clients under the tab ‘About Us & Our Clients’ Due to the strict confidentiality and privacy policies we adhere to, we are unable to release personal and contact details of authors or titles that we have edited.
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| How will my project be scheduled by Edit24? |
New projects are scheduled daily. Following receipt of the signed contract and payment for an agreed portion of the estimated fee, we will schedule and reserve time for the project. Upon receipt of the contract, we will give you an exact date by which the work will be completed. This helps to ensure that clients deliver the work required in the agreed time frame. Should the client miss the deadline, the project will have to be re-scheduled.
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| Preferred format for submission |
- Please send material double-spaced in 12-point type with two centimetre margins. This will allow the editor space to write and make it easier to decipher the editor’s marks.
- In the header of each page, put your name and title of the work on the left and a page number on the right.
- On the annexure to the contract, tick the options you wish to select, sign the agreement and terms of business and return this to Edit24. At the same time, payment of 50% of the estimated fee will be required. This can be paid by bank transfer or PayPal to our bank account.
- We are then in a position to reserve time for your project and provide you with a date on which the agreed work will commence.
- In the event of cancellation, a charge of 20% of the estimated fee will be levied due to reserving an editor’s time and scheduling time that could otherwise have been used productively.
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| How long will it take for you to complete and return my document? |
This depends on the service you require and the standard of the material submitted to us. Roughly, for large documents, an editor should be able to review and do a light edit 50,000 words over seven days. As a guide, estimated turnaround times for editing are outlined below:
Turnaround time |
Document length |
Service category |
Within 8 hours |
3,000 words or less |
Same day / overnight |
Within 24 hours |
7,000 words or less |
24 Hours |
Within 48 hours |
20,000 words or less |
48 Hours |
Within 72 hours |
30,000-40,000 words or less |
72 Hours |
7 days |
50,000-75,000 words or less |
7 days |
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| How can I obtain a cost estimate for Edit24’s services? |
Email your request for an estimate to support@edit24.com and provide us with a brief outline of your requirements.
For editing services, indicate the total number of pages, a word count of your project and indicate the level of editing that you would like us to perform.
Attach a sample of the document or material that you need edited (1 page = 250 words) or paste the text into your message. We also need an indication of your timeline for completion. You need to factor in time for your own review and revisions where material is complex and/or requires more extensive editing. We will then be in a position to supply you with an estimate for editing and estimated turnaround time for completion and to return the finished product to you.
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| Email attachments |
Individual documents may be sent and received as an e-mail attachment or alternatively files can be zipped. This is often sufficient but may be subject to restrictions on size imposed by the sender's or the receiver's ISP. If this method fails, then the document or file has to be sent again.
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| File compression with WinZip |
Smaller files travel more quickly so it may be helpful to compress your files with a utility such as WinZip. WinZip works by creating an archive with as many files inside as you want and these are compressed to a smaller size. The degree of reduction depends on the program that originally created the file and what the file contains. Word .doc files can often be compressed to a considerable extent.
If you do not have the WinZip program, you can download a trial version from http://www.winzip.com/ and install it according to the instructions.
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| FTP (file transfer protocol) |
Files can also be sent via FTP (file transfer protocol) which is based on a set of programs: a server on the Internet that receives, holds and sends the file or files as requested, and a client program on the individual's computer that sends the file or files out to the server or goes to the server to get them. FTP has the advantage that it can handle larger files than those attached to an e-mail and, if interrupted, can restart from where it left off without having to start the whole process over again from the beginning.
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| File encryption |
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| Your website seems mostly upload/email-based and my Internet connection is slow; can I fax/post you material? |
You can fax short documents to us, use your local postal system or a courier service to send us a disk, CD or hard copy of long documents. Please refer to our contact page for details regarding where to send material.
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| Project tracking |
A report outlining the stage your publication or presentation has reached will be sent to you daily, weekly, or as stages have been completed according to the terms of the original agreement.
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| Editing basics - what does editing involve? |
Editing involves several groups of skills – some are based on industry standards and others come from extensive experience. At a basic level, editing involves examining and correcting documents and other material for grammar, punctuation, spelling, word usage and sentence structure. Stylebooks or sheets used by publishers in the various forms of media, define the format to be followed for the intended publication or medium.
Reviewing written work for technical issues is also known as copy editing. The editor will read and make corrections using common editing marks or insert the changes electronically for the author to accept or reject.
More in-depth editing is known as developmental, conceptual, or comprehensive editing. This involves a complete review of factors such as organisation, logic, completeness, clarity, etc. Where necessary, the editor will reorganise sentences and paragraphs and may rewrite small sections of the original work. While we won’t perform rewrites of material for a writer; the editor will make suggestions that you can build on to improve your work.
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| What’s the difference between editing and proofreading? |
Proofreading generally involves reading a manuscript for technical issues that need to be identified and corrected such as spelling, grammar, punctuation, word usage, and consistency according to style. Proofreading as a form of revision is checking to identify whether the text follows writing and language conventions. In comparison, editing is a more comprehensive review of a work where the editor looks at factors such as strategy, style organisation, logic, completeness and clarity as well as identifying the technical corrections needed. The distinction between editing and proofreading has essentially become redundant as what used to be two different roles have generally been combined. Editing as a discipline has therefore evolved in part due to technological advances such as word processing and methods of publishing.
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| If my work needs extensive rewriting can Edit24 do this for me? |
Edit24 will edit work but does not undertake full rewrites of documents or manuscripts. Rewriting is the responsibility of the author. We will often rewrite a phrase or sentence, but if more extensive rewriting is necessary, we will inform you of what is needed and let you do the work. We will be glad to edit the rewritten portions of the material.
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| Style sheet |
A style sheet is a list of styling points used for reference during writing of a manuscript and copy editing. Once a decision has been made about formatting or spelling, the style guidelines are a reference point to ensure that various elements of style are applied consistently throughout the document.
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| Styling |
In editing, styling refers to decisions about how sentences should be punctuated, presentation of words including technical terms, (e.g. hyphenated or open, lowercase or capitalised, italics or roman type), the format of units of measurement to ensure that written expression goes beyond basic syntax and the dictionary meaning of words. Our editor will assist you to recognise the signals you send by following or violating accepted conventions. The editor will help prepare the manuscript in order to ensure that it is in line with the expectations of the editors of a particular journal or publisher.
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| Style guide |
An authoritative source for points of styling and formatting to be applied to a work intended for a particular publication or readership.
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| Styles for bibliographies, reference lists, indexing etc |
Most publishers or journals provide guidelines to be followed in preparation of submissions. This link will assist you to identify the required style for references, bibliographies and other information sources.
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| Why do I need an editor? |
People and organisations need editors because often they get so close to their work they tend lose objectivity. Following rewrites and a succession of draft documents, it is often difficult to see whether points will come across clearly to a reader, and whether structure, style and spelling, grammar and other critical elements of effective writing are correct.
An editor is essentially the ‘first reader’ of the material and works with a document or manuscript as if they were the intended reader. If something isn’t clear or complete, they point it out. If questions arise that don’t appear to be answered in the text, they mention that. In essence, an editor acts in part as an investigator and as a coach. Editors suggest ways to sharpen the writing while looking for technical elements that need to be changed.
Edit24 people partner with the writer to ensure that the written work of whatever nature is able to be presented in the best possible way and add value in the process.
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| What kind of documents and material do you edit? |
Edit 24 has available expertise to cover all fields/genres; we will always have someone who can capably work with any assignment that you send to us.
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| I am working on a large manuscript and can't pay to have the whole work edited as a single assignment. Is it possible to have my work edited in sections and could the same editor be assigned? |
We are flexible and it would be possible to have work on your manuscript carried out in sections according to a predetermined schedule. The timelines would be incorporated into the agreement between Edit24 and yourself so that we can ensure continuity in terms of the editor undertaking work and availability.
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| Do your editors know and understand the difference between UK English / International English / US English? |
We know all about metrification, spelling variation and the difference in word usage. Specify the type of English our editor should use when you place your order.
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| I have some specific and special requirements (e.g. style, dialect etc). I would like to know whether you use a spell or grammar check that would override things that are unique to my document or material. |
We are familiar with many different styles, dialects and special requirements for formatting. If there is something you don't want us to change, mention this at the point of defining project scope and specifications. If we have questions in respect of things that we’re not sure of, we'll send an email and ask for clarification.
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| Is it possible for me to talk to and liaise with my editor? There are a few issues that I need to explain and clarify. |
If you have questions during the process of carrying out your project for editing you may address queries or comments to the assigned editor and Edit24. The editor will provide you with clarification/answers and at the same time this will enable Edit24 to monitor the process.
During the editing process we prefer that the editor has space to concentrate on the work, have an objective perspective regarding the work and the ability to work according to schedule. Large projects mean pressure and time constraints. We prefer our editors to have freedom from additional pressures. In the event of queries, and we recognise that there are always questions that need to be addressed, the editor will contact you. Communication will, however, be mostly by email in the interests of both you as our client and the editor.
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| May I quote what my editor said about my manuscript in order to promote my work? |
No. All feedback that you receive from the editor is provided strictly for the purpose of improving your manuscript or work and must not be used for any other purpose.
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| Can you provide a sample of work based on my material? |
If you would like to see a sample of our work and you have a book-length manuscript/thesis, we offer a free, five-page sample edit for large orders.
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| I submitted a file composed in a programme other than MS Word. The document has been returned to me but I am unable to see changes that have been made? Can you tell me why? |
The ‘Track Changes’ feature of MS Word allows our editors to highlight changes to the document in colour so that they can be easily viewed and changes accepted or rejected. This facility is not available in all word processing programs. In this event, your editor will summarise the changes in his or her notes that are sent to you with the document. You will then be able to compare your original document with our edited version.
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| I submitted a document in MS Word; the document has been returned but I am unable to view the changes. What should I do? |
In Office XP/MS Word / Word 2007, you might have disabled the feature that shows suggested changes or markup. When working in MS Word, look for the drop-down menu under ‘Tools’ (‘Review’ Word 2007) select ‘Track Changes’, make sure that you have checked ‘Highlight Changes on Screen’ and then look for the option, ‘Final Showing Markup’. If you have trouble seeing the edited changes, please contact us at support@edit24.com
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| What is intellectual property? © |
Intellectual property (IP) essentially means that ownership can be assigned to things created by people, giving recognition to ownership, rights and value of designs, copyright, patents and trademarks.
This means that the use of IP by others or organisations can be controlled as measures for protection of IP and enable the creator or owner to have exclusive rights over the property and provide for legal remedy to stop people from using or copying IP without permission.
Copyright protects material such as written material, literature, art, music, sound recordings, films and broadcasts. Patents allow protection for the technical and functional aspects of products and processes. Registration of trademarks permits protection of signs that distinguish the goods and services associated with a business or trader from those of another. Protection for designs includes the visual appearance or eye appeal of products. In addition to these four principle categories, IP can also cover many other things, e.g. trade secrets, plant varieties, geographical indications, performers’ rights and so forth.
In many cases more than one category of IP may apply to the same creation.
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| How do I obtain intellectual property protection? |
Protecting IP allows the creator(s) to control and manage who is entitled to use IP and how it may be used. The type of protection needed depends on what is to be protected and how it will be used.
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| How long does protection last for? |
Once protection has been formally granted by registration of a design or other material, the actual duration of protection will be dependent upon the legal provisions of the country in which protection has been sought and granted.
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| Can I buy or sell intellectual property? |
Like physical property, intellectual property can be bought and sold. However, once IP has been sold, the originator cannot use it again unless permission or a licence is sought and granted from the new owner(s).
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| Can I use intellectual property owned by others? |
If you use IP belonging to a business or others, permission or licence generally needs to be obtained from the owner so that rights are not infringed. In the event of infringement upon IP rights, legal action can be instituted.
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| Is intellectual property protected internationally? |
Intellectual property (IP) rights are territorial; this means that protection is granted in the countries where they are registered. While unprotected items may be freely used, it is not always possible to identify protected IP from IP that is not subject to protection.
Although not always the case, in order to protect IP internationally, it is usually necessary to make application in each country in which protection is needed.
Generally, work should be marked with the international © symbol, followed by the name of the copyright owner and the year of publication.
In addition to protection of copyright, country specific and worldwide protection can also be obtained for designs, patents and trademarks.
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| I'm concerned about protection of copyright of material that I submit to Edit24; please can you clarify my rights? |
Edit24 and its associates will make no claim on your copyright. We do not require credit or acknowledgement for our work on material that you have produced. On occasion, individual authors or organisations would like to acknowledge the work undertaken by Edit24 and we are generally pleased to accept acknowledgement dependent on the work.
Should a client commission Edit24 to write/create a document or work we would seek credit for our work and this would be negotiated prior to commencement of the assignment or project when the scope of work and specifications are defined.
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| I would like Edit24 to work on material or documents that are private/personal or commercially sensitive. What steps does Edit24 take to ensure confidentiality? |
Only approved and accredited Edit24 associates have access to privileged information on a ‘need to know’ basis. All associates are required to sign an undertaking of confidentiality. In undertaking a particular project/assignment for Edit24, associates must sign an agreement between the associate and Edit24 that addresses and incorporates confidentiality.
All client files are automatically deleted from our records four weeks following project completion unless a client requests that we keep a copy for future reference. We do not sell, trade or rent your personal information. If you require signature of a specific non-disclosure agreement, please contact us at support@edit24.com in order to submit to us for review
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| Will my manager or supervisor have access to the documents that I submit? |
Your manager/organisation or research supervisor will only have access to the documents you submit if you provide a copy via email when you submit a document. In all other instances only Edit24, you and the designated editor will have access to the document.
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| The title of my book is similar to another book. Would I be in breach of copyright? |
The title of a book is not subject to copyright. Copyright generally refers to ‘literary work’, the content of a manuscript or written material; a title does not meet the criteria associated with copyright.
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| Can I be sued for defamation? |
Should you be unsure of the effects of something you have written, it would be advisable to seek legal advice.
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| Do you keep a copy of my edited work? |
If it is a hard copy it will be returned to you. If we carry out online editing on your behalf, we will keep a copy until we are sure that you have received the work and been able to access and successfully download the file.
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| How long will my edited documents stay on Edit24’s system? |
Ensuring the confidentiality and security of Client documents is our top priority. Edited documents will be removed from our system four weeks after our editors return the work to you and termination of the contractual agreement between Edit24 and you as our Client.
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| What should I do if I need to query an edited document after 48 hours has elapsed? |
In this event we will request that you re-submit the relevant document(s) to Edit24. Edit24 will relay this to the same editor who completed the work for reference purposes to ensure that the editor has knowledge of the document being queried. The editor or Edit24 will communicate with you as soon as possible, bearing in mind other work schedules.
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| What do I do if I need to communicate or query something with the editor? |
You may send your editing queries to the designated editor by email. Your editor will reply as soon as possible.
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| Writing |
Original writing
Original writing involves the creation of new material based on reference materials provided by the Client, or by performing research needed to replace the reference material. The Client assumes full responsibility for ensuring the correctness of the written material.
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| Technical Writing |
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| Copy Writing |
The meaning of the term copywriting is to write commercial copy or text. Copywriting involves the design and creation of material for all forms of business communications and the intended media.
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| What is a press release and why are they used? |
A press release is one of the methods used for business-to-business and business-to-consumer marketing. They are used by organisations in all segments of business, including non-profit (NGO’s) and government organisations to announce the launch of services or new products.
Trade, consumer, news and other publications all have dedicated editorial staff and generally there are sections of the publication that require content. The easiest section of a publication to gain publicity about products or services is within the ‘news’ or ‘new products’ section. At the beginning of almost any magazine there will be a section devoted to new product announcements. Product announcements are largely sourced from press releases sent in to the magazine or newspaper by a PR consultant / firm. Editors expect to receive and rely on press releases as filler for pages.
The format and structure combines a headline with a specific message, and an opening paragraph describing what the news actually is. This allows a busy editor to quickly scan the press release to see if it is relevant to their needs. PR professionals send press releases in different forms often a single page announcement; sometimes the press release is enclosed in a media kit with images and product brochures that detail specifications.
Publications often schedule articles each year for special features / advertising features covering various topics in accordance with the editorial calendar. Feature writers depend on companies and PR firms to supply samples if possible and product data. Articles may include product reviews, comparisons etc.
A press release is a primary method of communicating news to media editors in order to have news reach the intended target audience. It must be emphasised that a press release is news, not advertising.
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| What do you mean by media? |
In referring to ‘the media’ we mean various mediums of communication that provide news and other information to an audience. The wide range of media outlets include television programs, morning shows, talk shows; local TV news, national satellite networks, radio talk shows, daily and weekly newspapers, newspapers targeted at specific geographic areas, consumer magazines, trade/industry magazines, electronic newsletters, news orientated websites and e-zine websites.
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| Corporate Research |
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| What is a publisher? |
A publisher is an organisation or person who assumes the risk associated with printing a book along with marketing, promotion and distribution. The publisher will pay royalties to the author of the work to an agreed schedule as copies are sold.
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| Which is the best route to find a publisher or to self-publish? |
There are a number of different considerations. Finding a publisher willing to take on and publish your manuscript can be a lengthy and frustrating process; it takes great perseverance and grit to be able to deal with rejection of your material and still remain positive and committed.
The timeline from acceptance to publication is a long process due to editorial, design and marketing needs and scheduling publication.
Self-publishing can often be more profitable as there are no royalties to pay, while a publisher would pay royalties of 10%. If a book is published by a trade publisher that sells 5,000 copies of a book at $20 (a normal minimum print run), royalties of $2 per copy would be payable to the author amounting to $22,000. In addition, the author retains full copyright of the book.
In comparison, if the same author paid to publish the work, assuming a cost of $10 per copy, and took responsibility for publicity, marketing, distribution and similarly sold 5,000 copies; the profit accruing would be in the region of $50,000.
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| Can you tell me the benefits of self-publishing through Edit24? |
With our extensive background in editing, publishing and public relations we can assist the author with all these aspects, promote the author and publication and provide guidance regarding distribution channels. Edit24 also has alliances with publishers’ representatives and major publishers and distributors locally and internationally.
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| My manuscript is 40,000 words. How many pages will this be in book form? |
The length of the book in finished form will depend on factors such as page design, the actual size of the book, type size, font and ‘leading’ between lines. Using your example, a 40,000 word book may translate into approximately 125 pages using B format and 11-point type.
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| Can Edit24 help me with creation of my book? |
With our writing and editorial team we are able to assist you during the writing process, editing, layout and design. Edit24 will also arrange registration of the ISBN barcode and co-ordinate printing. We have access to excellent digital printing processes that enable us to create high quality books.
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| What is the best software to use? |
Word processing software such as MS Word is generally acceptable. However, if it is intended that the book contains a number of illustrations throughout, it may be more efficient to import the text into a page layout program such as Quark Xpress or PageMaker. Our editorial team will be able to do this on your behalf as part of the editing process.
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| Will Edit24 assist me to market my book? |
Edit24 has alliances with international book distributors who, depending on the genre and quality of the material, will be able to assist you to have your book retailed through various bookstores for a reasonable fee.
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| I need translation done in a language that you don't seem to translate – can you assist? |
Our translation services are not limited to the languages listed on our website; we will endeavour to provide you with a translator who is suitably skilled and capable of undertaking your translation project.
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| What should I do if I want to query the translated document? |
You may send any queries to the designated translator by email and your translator will reply as soon as possible.
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| If a translation is required in more than one language, how will translations be returned? |
Each translation will be returned to you separately within specified turnaround time as set out in the Edit24 / Client agreement.
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| Am I able to cancel a job that has already been assigned to a translator? |
No
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| For how long is a quotation valid? |
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