How to Hire an Editor, Part III: How to Approach Editors
Now that you understand the basics on finding editors and the various types of editing services, let’s talk about how you communicate with editors.
Every editor will want a little something different in their query, but most will want a synopsis and the first few pages to give you that sample edit. Make sure you read their site and follow their requests for contacting them. Some will have a “contact me” box, but most will want to be emailed.
Good editors will reply in a few days to a week. If it takes longer than that, move on—they’re too busy for you. You need an editor who can reply to you when you need them, not someone who might eventually get around to responding to you.
After they send you their sample, they’ll also send you a quote. For some, this price will come with sticker shock because you weren’t sure what to expect. I personally like to be up-front with my prices because I hated the not knowing that came with editing queries. So with me, you see my prices on my site—and they’re very competitive.
Once you get the sample back, take a look at the editor’s comments. Sometimes, you can use these bits of advice even without hiring them, but if they have solid advice across the board, you should really consider hiring them. An editor never gives you everything in the sample, and part of that is because they just can’t yet. They read a few pages, and need to read the rest of the book to give you the full picture. But if they give you solid advice that you’re nodding along to, you may have found a winner.
What happens when you hate everything they tell you? You disagree with the changes they made, dislike their suggestions, and all around think they’re wrong?
My advice? Delete the email and cross them off your list. Don’t reply. You don’t have to. In this industry, no response is synonymous with rejection.
If you feel they are scamming people out of their money, you can go over to Predators & Editors and comment on their thread. But I honestly just recommend not doing anything. People know a bad editor when they see one, and they won’t hire the person. They’ll be weeded out eventually, and you won’t taint your karma record with the negativity associated with an unnecessary nasty email.
Here’s a good example of what not to do:
I had one potential client ask for my opinion on his book. He didn’t specify what type of editing service he wanted—he just asked me for my opinion.
He sent me the first ten pages and I spent close to 5 hours on just the sample because I honestly didn’t think it was very good. I wanted to make sure I phrased my words politely, suggest changes rather than demand them, and come up with good suggestions that would help him improve. I recommended a critique because, in my opinion, his work needed to be shaken out and air-dried so that we could tweak it together and give him something he would truly like.
He wasn’t…well…happy with what I sent back. I’m not sure if he wanted me to just tell him I thought it was dandy or what, but he was very much displeased with my response.
His reply was a tirade about how disappointed he was in me—though I still haven’t met the guy in my life, in any sense—and how I was a terrible editor…yada yada. He is the only unhappy person I have ever dealt with, and I’m booked for the next three months solid. So I (and my clients) obviously disagree with him.
My advice: don’t degrade an editor if they say you need work beyond what you were expecting. You asked them for their opinion, and they gave it. To reply in a rude way just makes everyone’s day worse.
If you don’t like what a potential editor sends you, decline their suggestions—you don’t even have to respond—and move on to the next editor. What he did was wall-of-shame worthy, but I replied with a polite rebuke of his comments and moved on with my life. I only mention it here as an example of what not to do.
Whatever you do, your goal is to find someone who will help make you better. Look for someone who will preserve your voice and offer reasoning behind their suggested changes—anyone who changes your word structure without an explanation isn’t going to help you learn; they’re going to control your book. It’s still your book, so remember that.
What experiences have you had with the editing process that you think will help others here? Feel free to share your experiences as an author or editor. Readers, do you think knowing more about the editing process will help you better enjoy a book, or does it matter to you at all?
This is the end of a three-part how-to series, so the rest of the posts will be going up in the next few days. Here’s the schedule:
The Basics
Types of Editing Services
How to Approach Editors
