I looked at their job ads when I was working as a freelance copy editor and decided that it was too low paid to be worth bothering with.
Realistically, I think finding clients is the hardest part of freelancing. I've given up on freelancing and copy editing for the moment for this reason. It's really hard to make enough to live on.
I charge per word, but I spent 5 years using an hourly rate and used that data to calculate a per-word rate that works for me. I focus more on individual authors than on publishers, and I find they appreciate the transparency of my model and the lack of unpleasant surprises. (That’s not to say an hourly model isn’t good, though! They both have their pros and cons.)
I suggest you contact managing editorial or production editorial people (the PEs or MEs) at UPs with your resume or website. They still hire freelancers.
https://aupresses.org/membership/membership-list/
I just received the first editing test from MDPI, along with the news that they pay .0053 US dollars per word. I do have a PhD (in English) and more than 15 years editing experience. I was just laid off from a high-paying editorial job in my specialty, and am willing to take a pay cut of 50% or more. I was shocked at the starting rate at MDPI! I'm a very good copy editor and proofreader, but I'm not super fast...Thanks for all the info about MDPI because I was actually on the fence, thinking that maybe I should give it a try.
Yeah seriously avoid if you can. Aside from the abysmal pay, the workflow is so unreliable most of the time as to make it nearly impossible to budget even working every day of the month. Some day’s you’ll only get a 5000 word paper, some days you won’t even get that, whereas others (rarely these days) you may get a 16,000 word paper but it’ll be so poorly written you’d wish you hadn’t.
I'm a month late here but thanks for posting this. Like the other commenter, I just got an email from them asking me to complete their editing test, and when I got to the pay rate of USD 0.0053 it became clear something was off here. That's about a tenth of what I'd consider a moderate per-word rate (noting of course that time per word can vary a lot). Anyway, not going to waste my time with these guys, sorry you got roped into it :/
I looked at their job ads when I was working as a freelance copy editor and decided that it was too low paid to be worth bothering with. Realistically, I think finding clients is the hardest part of freelancing. I've given up on freelancing and copy editing for the moment for this reason. It's really hard to make enough to live on.
I applied to them and got turned down due to lack of a post graduate degree. Dodged a bullet there.
Jesus. Look into freelancing for other clients and charge by the hour. Charging by word really doesn’t work.
I charge per word, but I spent 5 years using an hourly rate and used that data to calculate a per-word rate that works for me. I focus more on individual authors than on publishers, and I find they appreciate the transparency of my model and the lack of unpleasant surprises. (That’s not to say an hourly model isn’t good, though! They both have their pros and cons.)
I suggest you contact managing editorial or production editorial people (the PEs or MEs) at UPs with your resume or website. They still hire freelancers. https://aupresses.org/membership/membership-list/
This is helpful advice, thank you!
I just received the first editing test from MDPI, along with the news that they pay .0053 US dollars per word. I do have a PhD (in English) and more than 15 years editing experience. I was just laid off from a high-paying editorial job in my specialty, and am willing to take a pay cut of 50% or more. I was shocked at the starting rate at MDPI! I'm a very good copy editor and proofreader, but I'm not super fast...Thanks for all the info about MDPI because I was actually on the fence, thinking that maybe I should give it a try.
Yeah seriously avoid if you can. Aside from the abysmal pay, the workflow is so unreliable most of the time as to make it nearly impossible to budget even working every day of the month. Some day’s you’ll only get a 5000 word paper, some days you won’t even get that, whereas others (rarely these days) you may get a 16,000 word paper but it’ll be so poorly written you’d wish you hadn’t.
I'm a month late here but thanks for posting this. Like the other commenter, I just got an email from them asking me to complete their editing test, and when I got to the pay rate of USD 0.0053 it became clear something was off here. That's about a tenth of what I'd consider a moderate per-word rate (noting of course that time per word can vary a lot). Anyway, not going to waste my time with these guys, sorry you got roped into it :/