should I write myself or I'll need to find a translator?

[quazzle]

Hello,

please help me to decide should I write myself or I'll need to ask someone to help me with trasnlation/proofreading.

Here's a fragment from the article I wrote:

"Extreme Survival Test for L30 Headlights.

Yes, it's highlighted in the specification that the L30 spotlight is designed to be reluctant to bangs around, drops, rain and mud, shocks, fierce vibration. In short, to all kinds of influences we usually call tough conditions. Of course it should be fairly robust and shock-tolerant to justify its high price.

We thought it would be nice to install it on a ballistic missile model but having nothing similar around we decided to upgrade a Stampede truck to be strong enough to pass through it all. We got rid of all plastic parts, replaced a flimsy stock hood with a metal cage and installed the headlights on such place where they were exposed to damage. Having the facelift finished, we gave it to a guy who knew no fear. To ride it the way he loved not thinking about how expensive it could be.

After a couple weeks of extreme riding we had to replace a few suspension kits, one wheel, a dozen of screws but the headlights were still the same. Surely now you will hardly ever wish to have such on your truck. You can see it on the photo, they have been badly beaten. One lens was lost. Many bumps and scuffs on the metal body evidence that the headlights' life wasn't easy. Despite very bad condition, they still work! The measured luminous flux is nearly the same as two weeks ago just before the test. Nice result for a truck, does anyone still have an acting missle model?"

[ellanovella]

Are you asking this because English isn't your first language? If so, this writing seemed like it wasn't bad. I don't think finding an actual translator would be necessary, but proofreading would definitely be nice, especially to improve the flow of sentences and phrases.

[quazzle]

Are you asking this because English isn't your first language? If so, this writing seemed like it wasn't bad. I don't think finding an actual translator would be necessary, but proofreading would definitely be nice, especially to improve the flow of sentences and phrases.

Thank you very much! Yes, you're right in your assumption, English isn't my native language.

The articles I write are not intented to have any high literary value, they're very technical and at least should clearly explain the hobby events I write about on my website.

On the other hand some casual proofreading/coaching would be ideal for me, can you advise a service or an individual who can help me with it?

[ellanovella]

I don't know of any services or people, but it's pretty easy to find information on the web about them. For example, I found http://www.scribendi.com (which is an online proofreading service) easily from a search engine. I also don't really know anything about the pricing of services such as these, so what would be the best would just be searching around until you find the best fit for your needs.


Your writing isn't too bad, though, so I don't know if really finding a service is necessary-if you have a friend who is a native english speaker that could look over it, it would probably suffice.

[quazzle]

Your writing isn't too bad, though, so I don't know if really finding a service is necessary-if you have a friend who is a native english speaker that could look over it, it would probably suffice.

Thanks, you're very kind. I'm not quite sure that I can ask anyone I know in US as we're not really friends. I'll take a look what google returns and may be it will work for me in the future. I'm not quite sure that it's ok to ask you but may be you can take a closer look at my writing (if I give a link to my site) and just to highlight the places which sounds weird or contains errors? Again, it's ok if you can't. Anyway you already spent alot of time helping me. Thank you very much!

[ellanovella]

I'd love to help you out. If you want to send any material my way or send me a link to your site I'd be glad to look at it.

[wilfriedvoss]

English is my second language as well, but I also live in the United States for over twenty years. I have just started my first novel, but regardless of how proficient you are writing in English (even if English is your native language), you should involve a professional editing service. I found one myself at firstediting[dot]com. They even give you a FREE editing sample of your work. I am targeting 60,000 words for my novel and they offered to edit it for US$660.00.

Wilfried Voss
frogenyozurt[dot]com

[nickiv]

I know the right place to get your stuff proofread. I've tried and tested this site. Visit inwrite.com for more. I had my thesis done by them, they are uber great. :) They offer proofreading and copyediting services too! :)

[nowisforever]

...does anyone still have an acting missle<sp> model?"

My advice: check out the WhiteSmoke software. I've used it for about a year now, and while I don't always agree with its suggestions, it has helped me improve my writing, and it catches the simple mistakes--the ones for which I should have known better.

[Sound of Silence]

On a personal note, I would just be very cautious about spending vast (if any) amounts of money editorial/proofreading. It's not something I'd do because there's nothing you can't pick up from library books or free software. Then there are various writing sites where authors (professional and not) are prepared to help you out for free. They've been there themselves and they know the cons that are out there.

Absolute Write Water Cooler is possibly the best site for advice on all of this. They run a Bewares and Background check (for free) on any company oncerned with writing. They also cover just about every genre going and offer brilliant critique (for free) on your work. They also have frequent agent and editor guest spots (Andrea Brown Lit' Agency being one of the main ones), and they stop by and talk to the authors, answer their questions etc. But, to be honest, they're just a good family of writers. There are other writing sites but few offer such a full package.