EDITING FAQs: Any Advice for Authors?

If you’re an aspiring novelist...

Let’s assume, if you’re reading this, that you’ve already heard about my editing skills. Perhaps another writer recommended me; perhaps you found me through a Google search; or perhaps you checked my profile in the database of the Editors’ Association of Canada.

So you’ve got a manuscript (MS) that you’re all enthusiastic about, but you know it still needs some work. If you’re curious about the editing process, and you e-mail me with any of the usual Frequently Asked Questions, I always reply with a note explaining the routine, step by step. So here’s a selection of those common queries, answered for your convenience.
 

Before contacting an editor....

In a way, having your MS edited is like having your kitchen renovated (though less dusty): before you call a contractor, it helps to have a clear idea of the scope of the work you want done, the time frame that works best for you, and how much you’re willing to pay. As with all enterprises, that kind of advance planning can help you to keep your sanity through what can be a trying process – though ultimately, of course, a very rewarding one.

So when it first occurs to you to hire an editor, it's best if you take some time to deeply ponder the important question: “Is this actually worth the time, money and mental effort I’ll have to expend?”

“So what can you do for me?”

As outlined in my Authors section, I can:
 

 
I can also help you to approach publishers. This can be a trying task, since writers often don't know for sure whether their project will actually appeal to the reading public. It’s always worthwhile to have support, both with the practical details and the emotional issues: I’ll keep you from getting discouraged.

“How much text should I send you?”

Not the whole book – please! Three or four sample pages are usually enough to give me a fair idea of the style and quality of your writing. This allows me to decide whether your project is one I'm able to take on.

“How do you decide what projects to work on?”

Sadly, I’ll often pass on an MS because I judge that it isn’t yet ready for the editing stage. I usually receive several queries a year from “first-time fictioneers” who are so excited about their baby that they don’t notice its shortcomings.

A writer’s willingness to invest in editing services usually depends on how likely the book is to be published. The up-front cost of overhauling your MS is only justified if you think there's a reasonable chance of making your money back. So unless you’re a very wealthy amateur, there’s generally a certain cut-off point beyond which the cost of editing isn’t economically feasible for you.

My professional ethics don't allow me to string along writers with false hopes of future success. As a reputable editor, I’m always straightforward with clients: if I think your being published is only a distant dream at present, I won’t take your money.

As well, it may happen that your story is terrific, and I'd really love to work on it – but my workload just doesn't allow me to take on another edit right now. I don’t believe in short-changing current clients to squeeze in a new one, no matter how tempting the project.

“Can I hire you to just evaluate my work?”

By all means – as long as you can handle constructive criticism. It’s not the most comfortable experience, to pay someone to tell you what you’re doing wrong!

“Can you do a partial edit?”

Yes, absolutely. Often an author just wants me to buff up a sample chapter to send to a publisher. This is a common opening move: you want to make sure that part of your oeuvre gleams before you try to arouse interest in the whole thing.

If you do that, my observations and comments will tell you:
 

One thing this approach can’t do, obviously, is assess the overall organization and cohesiveness of your work. That will have to wait for a future full-length edit – possibly when publishers begin to fight for the rights to your work!

And if you decide against proceeding with the full editing process (or at any rate, decide against proceeding with ME) – then the edited chapter gives you a tangible take-away: some helpful advice that can help you to grow as a writer.

“What form will your edit take?”

There are two basic modes: electronic and paper. The choice is entirely yours – a good editor can handle either, and the deciding factor is what you feel most comfortable with.

Editors still do work with red pens on paper, and send our marked-up copies back to the writer to be input by hand. As a rule, though, electronic editing is the more popular option: it’s faster, and hence cheaper. Most word-processing programs allow your editor to “track changes” for you to review and approve.

Onscreen editing is also more accurate: a tricky rewording problem needn’t be constrained by how many versions can be scribbled onto a page before the result becomes illegible. Your editor can try various solutions, and choose the best. And when the text comes back to you, it’s clean and ready to be sent off to its recipient.

However, some clients still prefer to receive their edits the old-fashioned way, on paper – usually because they’re concerned about keeping strict control over changes. The big disadvantage to this approach is that you have to input the corrections yourself, which makes it possible for errors to creep in.

“What will it cost to have my full MS edited?”

Most professional editors charge by the hour: my own “starving artist” rate for private clients is currently $40/hour. (Compare that to upwards of $70/hour for government departments and corporate customers, as per Levels and Rates.)

So the cost of editing your work depends on how long it takes me to whip it into shape; and that depends, in turn, mostly on how good your writing is.

If your prose is very well-written and needs only a few corrections, I can scamper through it at a rate of some six pages per hour. (The industry standard for a “page” is 250 words.) Text that’s very convoluted, in need of a great deal of rearranging and correction, may not move faster than two pages an hour.

Let’s do the math: say your book is 500 pages long. Depending on its quality, editing it may take me anywhere from 85 hours to 250 hours. Multiply that by $40, and you’re looking at between $3,400 and a “worst-case scenario” of $10,000.

That said, however, I’ve never yet had a fiction edit top $4,500, max – even including the inevitable back-and-forthing, and the second go-through. That’s mostly due to my policy, as outlined above, of not taking on assignments that are likely to prove cripplingly expensive to the writer.

At this time I don’t charge GST, so my fee is just what you see, with no extras. (And U.S. writers take note: your American dollars go just a little further in Canadian funds!)

“How do I pay you?”

Editors with larger businesses may accept credit cards or PayPal, but I’m a low-tech person: I deal only in cheques and Interac Online. And for new clients, I generally ask for at least the first few payments in advance. You send $200 (or whatever); I work on your MS for five hours; I send you back the results to review; and we take it from there, in instalments. The idea is never to build up a backlog of either money or text owing.

This may seem harsh and untrusting; but we editors are all too aware that many writers’ willingness to pay for our services is in direct proportion to their enthusiasm for their creation. And if that enthusiasm gets dampened by contact with even constructive criticism, sadly there’s a great tendency for some disillusioned writers to want to back out in a hurry.

Once a writer is a repeat customer, of course, and has established a good credit record, I’m happy to run a tab. For regular clients, I invoice either at dollar intervals (every time your bill reaches $500, for example) or at calendar intervals (on the first of every month).

“How do we keep things above-board?”

Like other independent professionals, we editors have a standard contract form to ensure that both parties know what to expect from one another. When you hire an editor, the contract is the “rule book” that stipulates exactly what gets done, and when, and for how much. It lays out all the requirements for deliverables, conditions, deadlines and fees. (View my own Contract.)

“How’s your timing?”

Generally speaking, once a writer contacts an editor, she wants her work edited right now, or if possible yesterday. That’s understandable: when you’ve worked on your masterpiece for months or years, and it’s finally near completion, of course you want to move ahead ASAP.

However, good editors – especially those whose work is much in demand – often have a busy schedule of large and small jobs waiting, and can’t always get to your project immediately. If I estimate that your book will take me a hundred hours to edit, then I know I’ll have to schedule two to three weeks for it. So I may have to slot it in for a month from now, or ten weeks, or whenever.

Of course, you could always get lucky: you could discover that I’ve just finished a big project, and am looking for an edit just like yours to work on next. But as with hiring any other professional, you may have to base your decision on the basis of availability, as well as factors such as competence, personality, cost, etc.

“What if I want to pull out?”

As mentioned above, negotiations between writer and editor don’t always pan out. Sometimes personal factors get in the way; sometimes it’s logistical ones such as timing or fees that can make you decide not to go on. My contract always includes a clause on terminating the project – the most important point being, of course, that all work performed must be paid for.

“How do I proceed with you?”

If you’ve read all this information, pondered all the caveats, and want to go ahead and have your work edited – congratulations! Working with a professional editor can be very rewarding, both professionally and personally. Get in touch with me, and we’ll work some literary magic together.