I have been working as a copy editor for Enago ever since a representative from
the company found my Editors Association of Canada profile page while searching for an editor of
economics. He asked if I would be interested in working for his company and whether I would be
willing to write a test, which entailed revising two scholarly documents on economics. As I am a
freelance editor, naturally I was interested in pursuing the idea of working for Enago. Also, I
liked the idea of writing a test; it told me that this company was serious about finding good
editors. I also searched Enago online and found that there had never been any complaints about
this company. It all sounded very legit.
The test was excruciating as the English in the texts was really mangled. It took me a great deal
of time to navigate through them and to figure out what the authors wanted to say. Somehow, I
managed to meet Enago’s standards, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Here are my general impressions:
As with editing generally, at times assignments can come in droves and at other times they can
trickle in. That is the nature of the business. Usually, the deadlines can be met with little
problem. Sometimes they are very tight. But if I can’t fit them into my schedule, I immediately
let Enago know so they can find another editor in the subject matter. This is not usually a
problem.
Most of the clients in my field are located in China, Japan, and Korea. I sometimes work on
documents for clients in Germany, Switzerland, or Austria. I really like seeing the research
coming out of these regions. The writing of these scholars is always very well organized. And
as organization is one of the most important aspects of good writing, I feel that this part of
the job is relatively easy. Rarely do I have to move text from one section to another. For the
most part, the quality of the writing is very good. In fact, there are times when I wonder why
a particular client even needs an editor, but am nevertheless happy to receive assignments that
I don’t consider to be a real slog. On the other hand, there are those assignments where one
wonders why the author didn’t get a translator because the English is so bad. But, in general,
the well-written assignments more than make up for the ones that take a great deal of time to
tidy up and prepare for publication.
Enago gives monthly feedback on your work, on an assignment-by-assignment basis. The in-house
editor points out aspects of the editing that were exceptionally good and other areas that
could have used a bit more attention, using an example to illustrate what he means. As such,
the feedback is an opportunity to learn and improve, which a good editor should always strive
to do. The Enago Monthly Newsletter also has some editing pointers and is fun to read. Editors
are also encouraged to contribute.
On payment: Enago is completely honest, trustworthy, and prompt. Oftentimes, I forget to record
some of the assignments I have completed in a particular month (with apologies to the
accounting team members). They immediately contact me with the relevant assignment codes and
amounts and the adjustment to the total invoice, which I then readjust on my own invoice and
resubmit. Payment is on a monthly basis.
On the pay scale: I have to be honest about this one. At first, I was making very little money.
This is because this type of work was new to me. The manuscripts are scholarly, so the
discussion is very detailed, dense and sometimes complicated. The work is much more difficult
than revising government or development bank documents. It took me several months to get used
to this level of work. Now, as I have learned a great deal during the process of revising so
many scholarly papers, I can oftentimes expeditiously complete the required revisions.
Nevertheless, there are still times when the work goes slowly as my knowledge of a topic might
require that I research an unfamiliar term. I always want to do quality work. And as this is
the first priority, sometimes I don’t make much money on an hourly basis and sometimes I do
very well. I feel that it all balances out. Also, I feel strongly that when working for Enago,
I have the privilege of working on scholarly research at the highest level. In fact, Enago even
has some Nobel laureates as clients. In general, after 2 years at Enago and after having
improved my skills and learned more about working on papers for scholars whose first language
is not English, I am pleased with the money I am making with this company.
On the Enago staff: I can’t say enough about how courteous the staff is, whether via email or
on the telephone. They promptly answer any queries I might have about an assignment. If they
need something done promptly and telephone about it, they are always really courteous. I have
worked for organizations where people are nasty and rude, but this does not apply to Enago. I
love working for this company and hope to do so for a very long time.
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