FAQ: General Questions About Scribendi
Scribendi was founded in 1997 and has been a world leader in online editing and proofreading for more than 25 years.
Scribendi has been a world leader in the field of online editing for over 25 years. With hundreds of editors worldwide, our global reach is extensive and we have experts in every major field. With a quarter of a century of experience, we have proven quality standards and proven processes for evaluating and hiring only the best editors. Our testing process is extensive and thorough to ensure that new editors with Scribendi have been thoroughly vetted and have the necessary skills and experience to excel.
A typical Scribendi editor has two or more degrees, 15 years of professional experience, and is published in his or her chosen field. Our business editors are experienced with every type of business document, be it a marketing report or an analysis of investment opportunities. See what our customers have to say about our qualifications—view a long list of recent comments and customer feedback on our Client Testimonials page. Since our founding in 1997, our clients have come back to us again and again. If you would like help choosing the editor that is right for your document, please feel free to contact us; our Customer Support Professionals will be happy to provide guidance.
Absolutely. We are happy to edit and proofread documents that were written or drafted with the help of generative AI, including fully AI-generated content. AI is now a common part of many people’s writing process and polishing that work is exactly what we do.
A few things to keep in mind: you remain responsible for the accuracy and originality of your content, so it is worth checking any facts, figures, or sources that AI produced. AI can sometimes get things wrong or invent details. It is also advisable to avoid pasting confidential or personal information into AI tools you do not control unless you are certain that the privacy and security standards are adequate for that purpose.
One note specific to creative writing, where there are additional considerations for using AI particularly if you intend to publish, sell, or license your work: the law on who owns AI-generated content varies from country to country and is still evolving in places. In the United States, copyright protection requires human authorship, so purely AI-generated work generally isn't protected, while work reflecting meaningful human creative input can be. Many publishers, literary agents, magazines, contests, and self-publishing platforms also now have their own rules on AI-generated writing, often requiring disclosure or limiting how much is allowed, so check those requirements before you submit. Because a distinctive voice is so much of what makes creative writing resonate, AI-drafted passages can sometimes read as generic; our editors can help you sharpen the work and make it your own.
Send your draft over and our human editors will help make it clear, correct, and polished. (If your document is academic, please also see our policy on generative AI, since journals and institutions have specific requirements.)
You always work with real, professional human editors. Every order is edited by a person, not by software. We do use technology—including our proprietary Scribendi AI tool and, under commercial agreements, third-party AI tools—to help our editors work efficiently and catch potential issues, but these tools assist our editors; they never replace them and never operate without human oversight. An editor reviews your document, applies their own judgment, and is responsible for the final result.
Yes—and always with a human editor in control. Scribendi uses the following two kinds of AI, both of which are used as tools that support our editors rather than replacing them:
- Scribendi AI—our own proprietary tool. This is a predictive (not generative) tool that uses machine learning to help editors quickly identify potential grammar, punctuation, spelling, and consistency issues. It cannot make changes to a document on its own and never operates without a human editor.
- Third-party AI tools, including generative AI, which we use under commercial (business) agreements to support tasks such as quality checking and internal workflows. Under those agreements, the content you submit is not used to train or improve the AI provider’s models.
Regardless of which tools are involved, our guarantee is the same: every document submitted for editing or proofreading is fully reviewed and edited by a professional human editor. AI tools may help our editors work more quickly, accurately, and consistently, but it is always the editor who reviews your text, exercises editorial judgment, and decides on the revisions and comments in your document.
We're here, we're there, we're everywhere! Seriously, we have English editors all over the globe. Our headquarters, which is where all communications are channeled, is in Canada. If you've read all of our FAQs and still have a question for us, see our contact page for details on how to get in touch.
Absolutely not. Scribendi and its editors make no claim on your copyright, and we don't require credit, acknowledgment, or anything else beyond the fees for the services we render. Your work is safe on our secure, encrypted system, and no one outside of Scribendi will ever be able to access your work.
Absolutely! You can take advantage of the free 500-word sample edit that we offer to every new customer. If you haven't placed an order with us before and would like a free sample, just pick the type of editing or proofreading you want from our order page and then click Get a Free Sample and follow the simple steps. There are no strings attached. It’s as easy as that. We know your manuscript is important to you and that it's good to be able to "try before you buy" if you're thinking about sending us your work.
You can also take a look at some of the academic journals in which our clients' articles have been featured and some of the published books Scribendi has edited.
Yes! Scribendi is a global company in every sense of the word. All you need is a valid credit card, PayPal, or Alipay account and you can use our services. If you are unable to pay with one of these direct and easy methods, we also accept wire transfers, but please note that these may cause delays in your order being processed. For more details on wire transfers, please contact Customer Support.
Yes, we know all about metres and meters, humour and humor, and spanners and wrenches. Just specify what type of English we should be using when you place your order.
This depends on the service you order. We have turnaround times that range from 2 hours to 3 weeks, though the availability of times will vary based on the service and the word count of your document. Longer documents take a longer time to edit, so short turnaround times may not be available for long documents. Go to our home page and pick the most appropriate service for your document, and then use the instant quote widget to price out the turnaround times for your document.
Our preferred method of payment is via credit card: we accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Diners, UnionPay, and JCB cards. Scribendi has a secure credit card processing system provided by Stripe. In addition, we do not store credit card information, so the security of your card information is always guaranteed.
We also accept Maestro cards through PayPal, as well as PayPal payments. For customers in China, we accept Alipay. Registered retail customers and corporate/government/organizational clients can arrange payments via ACH or wire transfer.
You don't need to register to use Scribendi’s editing and proofreading services, but if you do register, you can save time and money! If you register, you will benefit from a number of features:
- Whenever you place an order, you will save time because your name and address will be remembered.
- You can log in to view all of your current and previous orders.
- You will qualify for special offers, discounts, and customer rewards.
- You can apply to have your orders billed to a business account.
Your personal information will be kept confidential (see our privacy policy for details), and your credit card details will not be stored in your customer profile.
Our quote widget automatically calculates and applies a discount for the following: A) when you choose a service with a longer turnaround time, B) when you want us to work on a large document, and C) when you order during off-peak periods.
Some examples:
- You will save money if you order a 48-hour turnaround time rather than a 24-hour turnaround time or if you choose a 1-week turnaround time rather than a 72-hour turnaround time.
- You will save money if you have a very large document, such as a book manuscript.
- You will save money if you choose to have documents edited during the week rather than on the weekend.
If you are from a business, corporation, institution, or other organization and looking for a customized service, please see our Corporate Services page for details.
You can post your document to us, but Scribendi accepts documents only in electronic format. You can mail us a USB with your files for editing. Just see our contact page for details on how to get in touch via post.
Scribendi comes from a Latin phrase, cacoethes scribendi, which means "the urge to write."
If you have to cancel an order, please contact us and we will do everything we can to help you. Once you realize that you have to cancel your order, please try to contact us as soon as possible to reduce unnecessary work from being completed on the document. All cancelled orders are subject to a cancellation fee of up to 50% of the order cost, depending on how much work has already been completed on your document at the time of cancellation.
Your document will be revised based on your selected service and version of English, and you can have elements formatted according to your preferred style guide. Spelling and grammar errors will be corrected throughout, while font and spacing consistency will be ensured. Revisions will be made to improve the flow, clarity, and word choice while maintaining your voice and style as much as possible. The editor will leave comments to indicate areas where further improvements are possible, and they will offer suggestions to help you improve your document and your writing. In the editor notes, your editor will provide a summary of the work that has been completed and may highlight key areas that require further work. Just pick the service that is right for you and select your turnaround time to get a free, instant quote today.
Scribendi has been a world leader in online editing for over 25 years, and we are independently certified by ISO, the gold seal of international standards. We’ve won numerous awards over the last quarter of a century, and we are a member of the Better Business Bureau, which certifies fair business practices.
What’s more, at Scribendi you can try before you buy. We offer a free 500-word sample to new customers.
You can also submit your document in small sections to see how we do, as we have no minimum order size.
For more information about our company and our credentials, you can also see our About Us FAQs and company profile. And feel free to review a long list of recent client testimonials!
Have a look at our About Us FAQ and our company profile.
- Select Service: Choose the service that fits your needs.
- Deadline, Word Count, and Quote: Set your deadline and indicate the word count of your document(s) to immediately receive the price for your order. (You can type in the word count of your documents manually or simply upload your files and let our automated system determine the word count.)
- Upload and Pay Securely: Upload your files (if you did not do so in the previous step) to our secure site and make your payment.
- Professional Editing: Our expert editors will thoroughly review and revise your work to provide you with an improved document.
- Pick Up Edited Document: Access and download your revised document when it's ready.
Click here for an illustration of the steps.
The difference is human judgment. A human editor understands the context and meaning of your writing—what you are trying to say even when the wording is getting in the way—and edits accordingly. Fully automated “machine editing,” where text is simply run through software with no human involved, cannot do this reliably: it may correct surface errors but miss meaning, tone, nuance, and intent, and it can introduce new errors of its own.
What you receive from Scribendi is human editing. Our editors may use AI tools to work more quickly and to flag potential issues, but the editor always reviews your text in full, decides what to change, and stands behind the result. In short, the tools help locate possibilities; the editor makes the decisions.
We have an easy pricing system with no surprises, and it is based on two simple things: word count and turnaround time. To determine your word count in MS Word, go to the Review tab or Tools menu and select Word Count. If you want your footnotes/endnotes to be edited, make sure to check the option to include footnotes and endnotes in the word count. You can also use the Scribendi Word Count Tool to get a word count, and this is particularly helpful if you do not have a Word document (a .doc or .docx file). You can simply copy and paste your text into the Word Count Tool, and it will provide the word count for your document.
Unlike other companies, we don’t offer vague quotes based on hefty hourly rates or confusing calculations. To find the price for your document, simply select the most appropriate service on our home page, type in your word count (or upload your file and let our automated system find the word count), and then use the instant quote widget to generate a free quote.
We can apply any style guide to your work. The most popular style guides are the American Psychological Association (APA), Modern Language Association (MLA), Turabian, Chicago Manual of Style, Harvard Referencing, and Council of Science Editors (CSE). We can also apply a journal’s style guide (just send us a link to the guide or tell us the name of the journal) or a corporate/internal style guide. If you have your own unique style guide that you need applied to your document, you can upload the style guide to the order as a reference for your editor.
You can find the code of the editor who worked on your document by checking your Order Pick Up notice or, if you are registered with Scribendi, by looking at the Order History in your account. If you still can’t find the editor’s code, please feel free to contact us.
No, we don’t check for plagiarism, nor do we write, rewrite, or paraphrase work. Stringent guidelines are required here to protect our clients against charges of academic fraud. However, Scribendi’s experts can provide the professional editing needed to ensure high-quality original work.
You can reach us through our contact page, by phone at +1 (519) 351-1626, or get in touch via chat.
Scribendi stands by its work and guarantees that the work will meet the company’s high standards. Our quality processes are certified by ISO to guarantee that client concerns are investigated immediately. If you are not happy with our work, please tell us; you can use the contact form or fill out the feedback form on your order pickup page. We will investigate your concerns immediately; if there is an issue with the work that has been completed, we will take all appropriate measures to address the concern.
Scribendi takes customer satisfaction very seriously. You can provide feedback directly to us (there will be a link on your order details page), or you can get in touch with us using the Scribendi Contact Us page or by calling us at +1 (519) 351-1626, and we will look into your issue immediately.
There is no minimum order size, but we do have a minimum charge of 10 XDR (which is around USD14, depending on currency conversion rates) to cover administrative costs. If you have several small documents, you might consider putting them all in one order to get the best value for your dollar.
We specialize in editing a wide variety of document types, providing academic services, student services, ESL services, author services, business services, and personal services. We have experts on staff in every field and genre, and since we've been in business so long, we've seen just about every type of document possible. So, no matter your subject or field, rest assured that we have someone who can edit it. If you’re not sure what service is the most appropriate for your needs, please feel free to contact us or talk to us via chat.
If you still have a question after reading our FAQs, please see our contact page for details on how to get in touch or use our quick and easy chat function.
Our website is open for orders 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our editing professionals are on duty 24/7. Our Customer Support team is available between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. EST (GMT -5); we answer all emails within 12 hours.
