EFA Suggested Guidelines for Editorial Testing – UNPAID

• Tests may be paid or unpaid.
• A useful unpaid test of an editor’s or proofreader’s skill should not require any more than the equivalent of five standard (250-word, double-spaced) pages (1,250-2,000 words).
• The test should be a representative sample of the client’s usual material.
• An unpaid test should require about an hour of the candidate’s time. A reasonable period should be allowed for turnaround.
• An unpaid editing or proofreading test should not be any part of an unpublished or “live” work.
• As an alternative to unpaid testing, the client and Editor may decide on a paid test – see Guidelines for Editorial Testing – Paid
• The client should inform the Editor of the preferred style guide and send any relevant house style guidelines.
• The client should inform the Editor of the preferred method for testing, such as hard copy; onscreen, in Microsoft Word and using Track Changes; or onscreen, marking up a PDF.
• Clients should provide contact information in case the candidate has questions while doing the test.

Accepted by EFA Board of Governors, May 4, 2011