A word on Wordy

This article was first published in the March/April, 2011, issue of SfEP‘s magazine Editing Matters.

This article was edited by Richard at Wordy at 1:05 pm CET. The edit took 35 minutes and cost €8.42. Richard found over 40 errors in the text – all of them preventing me from getting my message across. This speed, price and quality makes for an excellent online service, and after one year in business I have a few thoughts on editing, on Wordy, and on what it takes to turn the two into something viable.
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Wordy Richtlinien für Lektoren – Deutsch

Für Wordy als Lektor zu arbeiten bedeutet, standardisierte Regeln und Richtlinien anzuwenden, also genau zu wissen, was man tun muss. Umgekehrt weiß ein Kunde genau, was er von Ihrer Arbeit erwarten kann.

Von Ihnen als Lektor für deutschsprachige Texte wird erwartet, dass Ihre Muttersprache Deutsch ist und Sie über ein sehr gutes Wissen bezüglich der Wortwahl, Grammatik, Zeichensetzung im Deutschen sowie der einschlägigen Regelwerke (vor allem DUDEN und DIN 5008) verfügen – und dass Sie dieses Wissen auch professionell anwenden.
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Wordy Guide for Editors – US English

Wordy’s house style for U.S. clients is Chicago as outlined in the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. If the client does not specify a style, you should use Chicago. However, where another style is specified by the client, the requirements of that style guide override Chicago. For U.K. clients, the house style is that given in New Harts Rules.
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Distributing Wordy.com

For Wordy, to build a large, returning customer base is key to keeping all 130+ UK and US English copy-editors on the platform busy. And though it might sound self-evident, the irregular needs of most customers to use professional copy-editing simply demands a well-sized customer base. So, launching an online copy-editing service that works (and works really well) is one thing. Another is distributing Wordy through as many outlets as possible, making professional copy-editing one-click-easy to obtain. Here are some thoughts on distributing Wordy.
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Wordy Guide for Editors – UK English

Being an editor with Wordy means working from a standardised set of guidelines so that you know exactly what to do, and the client knows exactly what to expect from your work. Editors are expected to be a native speaker of English with a good, professional working knowledge of English language, grammar, usage, punctuation and standard editorial conventions as laid out in New Harts Rules for the UK and the Chicago Manual of Style for the US.
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Quality control of professional copy-editing

Lately I’ve been looking into how to control the quality of output from Wordy. I’m especially interested in companies and services that offer workflow regulated to the extent that they’ve obtained an ISO certification. Why? Because fixed standards and quality control mean much less hassle for editors and the support function, as well as happier, more confident clients. So how do we secure the highest quality in service without having to go to the extent of ISO certification just yet?
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Copy-editing subscriptions and tweaks galore

Something is happening at Wordy.com. We’ve committed a set of comprehensive copy-editing subscription plans and made numerous tweaks and adjustments to the platform. The tweaks should provide an even smoother user experience, but the subscription plans are really something else. Publishers, meet your future editing service.
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Subscribing to a copy-editing service?

Since Wordy’s launch we’ve been working on putting together a number of subscription packages that will be both practical and attractive. The difficulty is that Wordy’s present customers have some very diverse wants and needs with regard to the services we offer, so the traditional discount for volume has to be combined with whatever technical solutions customers require. In addition we would like to see Wordy implemented in a large number of CMS systems as soon as possible, so putting together custom packages with a high degree of flexibility in terms of services, users, payment schemes and methods of renewal is also crucial.
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Integration of copy-editing in any publishing workflow

One of the key features of Wordy is the possibility to integrate professional human copy-editing in any publishing workflow. Wordy’s open application programming interface (API) makes it possible for all third-party developers to make real human Wordy copy-editing available on their specific platform.

Due to the immense number of publishing platforms, the API must adhere to at least two different scenarios: the direct payment option, where users make transactions directly with Wordy, and the indirect payment option, where uses are already running a subscription-based account with their platform provider. Integrating Wordy into these two scenarios results in a few very interesting design possibilities.
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How to build the perfect online copy-editing service

Wordy is all about building the fastest, most reliable service for professional human copy-editing on the basis of a few powerful principles: great editors, 24/7 service, the fastest turnaround times, easy ordering, and attainable pricing.

So, how should we go about this? First of all, by using all the advantages the Net has to offer. Global coverage means that Wordy can attract great editors everywhere. It also means that Wordy can offer ’round-the-clock service and best-of-the-Web turnaround times simply because there are always editors online to pick up a job. Also, because of our very modest commission rate, Wordy can offer customers truly great pricing.
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