A request similar to the following can be made for many purposes related to academic writing and publishing.

Dear [Name of recipient]

Hello... I am a graduate student (PhD candidate/Postdoctoral Researcher/Researcher) needing help with editing (translating/illustrating/proofreading/etc.) a journal article (book chapter/thesis/research proposal) in the subject area of _______ (identify main subject here).

I have no (little) financial support for this work, and cannot afford (do not wish) to pay for professional editing.

I would be grateful for volunteer help (or a discounted price), from any person who has understanding and interest in the subject, or who can benefit by gaining experience as a scientific editor. 

Help of the editor will be acknowledged by name in the publication, as far as this is permitted by the publisher.

I expect to have a draft ready for editing by (add date), and wish (need) to submit the manuscript to the publisher by (add date).

I am happy for editing to be electronic or on paper, according to your convenience or preference.

Sincerely,

Name (or Research Cooperative username).

A request similar to the following can be made for many purposes related to academic writing and publishing.

Dear [Name of recipient]

Hello... I am a graduate student (PhD candidate/Postdoctoral Researcher/Researcher) needing help with editing (translating/providing illustrations for/etc) a journal article (book chapter/thesis/research proposal) in the subject area of _______ (identify main subject here).

I have some (enough) financial support for this work, and would like to (am willing to) to pay for professional editing.

I would be grateful for help from any person who has understanding and interest in the subject, and has professional experience as an editor, or as a researcher in a related field. 

Help will be acknowledged by name in the publication if requested, and if permitted by the publisher.

I expect to have a draft ready for editing by (add date), and wish (need) to submit the manuscript to the publisher by (add date).

I am happy for editing to be electronic or on paper, according to your convenience or preference.

Please send me a private note if you wish discuss the price and method of payment privately.

Sincerely,

Name (or Research Cooperative username).

Scenario: An academic publisher wishes to publish a book in a second language, and is looking for suitable specialist translators (or researchers with translation skills).

Example 1 - Passive

Publisher asks for "Advanced regular member" status and is able to add groups on the publisher's own profile page. When creating a public profile, as a Co-op member, the publisher can use the name of the company as a title, add summary and detailed descriptions of the company, and links to a company website. The forums for Offers & Requests can then be used to post requests for help with any area of publishing work, including translation.

As an "Advanced regular member", the publisher can create a Group as a translating project page and invite members of the Research Cooperative (researchers, translators, and others) to join the group to discuss the project, thus getting potentialy useful feedback from readers, and raising awareness of the publishing company and its work..

Expected result: Translators may find your group page and your message concerning translation, and contact you.

A fast result cannot be expected with this passive approach, but setting up a page for your company may help in the process of building a support network for your company.

Example 2 - Active

Publisher creates a group project page as described above, and then announces this group in the forum for " Communication projects " (see Offers & Requests in main menu), and in all the other groups that are relevant for the publisher (see Groups in main menu and related subtabs).

This active (or "pro-active") aproach can be expanded by posting a request in our forum for " Translation requests ", and directly contacting translators who have relevant skills described on their profile pages.

Search the member profile pages for researchers or translators who might have a personal interest in the translation project, and ask them directly if they can help.

When contacting other members directly, include a link (URL) to your public request. In this way, you can keep the contact message short and simple, while giving access to full details of the request.

Expected result: The publisher soon attracts attention and interest from members with relevant experience and interests.

Other actions that can be taken

To improve the chance of finding suitable translators, the publisher can do any or all of the following:

(i) Search the forum for Translation offers to see if any suitable translators can be found there.

(ii) Make sure that the publisher's privacy settings (in My page) are set to allow everyone to see all messages, and replies to those messages, and notification of replies to the publisher's usual email address (these are the default options).

(iii) Prepare the Group project page and an initial request (e.g. in the forum for translation requests) a long time before any help is actually needed for a specific project.

If this is done, time can work for you, rather than against you.

(iv) Look outside the Research Cooperative for help, but use the link addresses (URLs) of your company profile page and your translation request as part of the information that you provide when contacting researchers, translators, and translation companies elsewhere.