Editor Problems help

[Arabella]

Not to be flip but you have a couple of choices;
Tell her you'd like the manuscript back.pay her and find some one else.
Ride this out and never use her again.
I feel when you've made a commitment you honor it....and "traveling a few days" is not honoring it...it sounds lackadaisical

[Francis]

My experience with academic publishing and reviewing has got me rather used to the idea that a deadline of, e.g., September usually means October-maybe-November.

If you've worked with her successfully in the past, then it's worth giving her another week or two.

[Mellie]

I feel your pain! I am in a similar situation, my edits were supposed to be completed by end of August, editor keeps pushing date out due to real life issues, here we are nearly end of Sept and she still hasn't even started. I am gutted and suspect I need to start looking for a new editor, one who can stick to agreed deadlines. Keep us posted how you get on.

[Leigh]

Remind her that your contract was an agreement for a particular payment for edits promised within a given time frame, and then let her know it's time to renegotiate her pay. (She's in breach of contract.)

My husband is a professional editor. He's never returned anything late like that. It's unprofessional.

[Claire]

I'm an editor and I very rarely give such a short turnaround, as I usually have at least 5 or 6 manuscripts in my work schedule. Of course, you may have got lucky and contacted the editor when she had a quiet period, or perhaps she works a deposit scheme and booked you in in advance. My point really is that you may struggle to get a short turnaround from a new editor. So it's a question now of giving her a chance to get back to you and making sure she gives you an honest update on her return date. You can then ask if you are really likely to get someone else to complete the job quicker than that at this stage, and if it is worth the cost / consistency implications. You could suggest a return of some of the fee, yes, but if you think her fees are reasonable and you didn't pay a short turnaround supplement, I'd probably not do this. Good luck! Hopefully it'll be with you soon.

[Claire]

Just saw your update, Stephanie. That sounds like a good plan. Good luck with your book.

[Lynda]

I'm an editor and I'm appalled by that kind of behavior. If the person knew she had travel plans, she should have let you know WAY in advance and allowed you to decide whether or not you still wanted to use her. S.K., I'm hoping for good things for you when you contact your editor, but don't feel bad if you need to cut her loose. She is NOT holding up her end of the bargain in any way.

A.W., I would do your edits for you, except I'm in the middle of one right now and can't overextend myself. If you're still stuck in another week or so, please check out my blog page and contact me privately if you'd like to work with me. My blog is named Easy Reader. http://ilovetoreadyourbooks.blogspot.com

Life intrudes for all of us; some situations are more difficult to work around, and I can completely relate to that. But it seems that someone is very comfortable giving you the runaround.

By the way, I didn't respond to this thread just to get more jobs. I just can't stand people cheating others. So no matter who you end up using, I do wish you the best.