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Hiring a freelance book editor can be confusing if you’ve never done it before—and if you just don’t know what you need, taking the first step can be downright intimidating.
Editors are, as a rule, not as scary as you might think. Independent editors tend to be patient with first-time authors. They just want to help you produce a great book.
There’s no reason to be intimidated! Just be friendly and ask questions, and any editor will be happy to walk you through the process.
But if you want a head start on what to expect, take a look at these 5 tips that are sure to make a busy book editor remember your name—for all the right reasons!
1. Check the editor’s website.
I would never be upset with an author for asking a question I’ve already answered somewhere on my website. There’s a lot to process, and I’m always happy to talk through an editing plan with an author.
That said, you can save your editor (not to mention yourself) a lot of time by taking just a few minutes to look at an editor’s website before sending that initial email.
Editor websites generally contain services, genre preferences, and sometimes even listed prices—three major factors in coming to a mutual decision to proceed. Many editors also include an editing FAQ page, which might address services, payment, or personal information.
Whatever an editor chooses to include or leave out, you should find enough to help you decide whether it looks like the right fit. And if the editor lists rates, you can come up with a ballpark figure that should also help your decision.
There’s usually some amount of wiggle room, but do the calculations anyway, if only to come up with a starting point for negotiations. It will at least get you in the ballpark.
Bottom line: if an editor lists a per-word rate of ten cents a word for developmental editing, it shouldn’t take three emails and an official proposal for you to realize you’ll be spending more than the $500 you’d budgeted for your epic novel.
2. Contact your editor early.
One of the most heartbreaking parts of my job is getting a request for editing from a wonderful author with a fantastically exciting manuscript—and having to turn it down because the author needs the thing back in three weeks and I’m booked solid through summer.
Let me be clear: there are always cancellations and project delays, and in general, it’s not that big a deal when things get moved around. When things change, I’ll generally contact my wait list to see if anyone is interested in being bumped up, or I’ll work on my own projects until my regularly scheduled client work kicks in.
However, you can save yourself (not to mention your editor) the disappointment by contacting your editor as far in advance as you can, even if you’re not 100% sure when you’ll be ready. Personally, I know I always like to have as much of a head-up as possible about what might be coming my way.
3. Tell the editor about your manuscript and publishing plans.
Some editors accept any type of manuscript as a matter of course; some give scheduling preference to certain genres; some accept only manuscripts that meet specific criteria. Whatever your editor’s policy, providing a few key details upfront will help him learn more about your book.
Length
Give the page count, if you must, but the key number here is the word count (including the front and back matter, tables, footnotes—all of it). The page number alone is too subjective to be meaningful: the same manuscript in 11pt Times New Roman will have a drastically different page count in 12pt Courier New.
Genre/Age Group
This is a key piece of information. If your editor knows who your book will appeal to, he can help you lead it along that direction.
You certainly don’t have to try to cram your story into a narrowly defined box. If your story is part science fiction, part romance, and part action/adventure, with bits and pieces of other undefined genres sprinkled in, no problem. Just fill your editor in so he knows what you’re going for without having to, for example, figure out how to tactfully question you about certain explicitly erotic bits in your sci-fi action story.
Format
While formatting happens well outside the editorial process, there are good reasons to clue your editor in to your eventual plans.
Traditionally, a document would be set in standard manuscript format and edited, then the interior created from that now standardized manuscript. Today, since more and more authors are formatting their own books, I’m always on the lookout for irregular formatting that my client may expect me to leave alone.
Some editors won’t work on a manuscript unless it’s in standard manuscript format. Personally, when I copyedit, I always change body fonts to Times New Roman and left justify the manuscript (so the right margin is ragged): I’m more confident with that font and spacing because my eye has been trained to them.
It’s best to save the layout formatting until you’re through with your editor, but if you’ve already done a significant amount, ask your editor if she’d mind leaving most of it alone. She may, but if she doesn’t, she’ll know your preferences before unknowingly overriding them.
4. Ask questions.
If you have any questions or concerns that haven’t been addressed by the editor’s website, don’t be afraid to speak up!
In my experience and from what I’ve heard from other editors, there’s nothing inherently combative about the editing process; if problems arise, it’s almost always because of a misunderstanding or miscommunication.
If you’re not sure whether something is included in the fee you’ve been quoted, ask. If you don’t know if the editor’s invoice will need to be paid immediately or within a certain period of time, check your contract, then ask. No question is a stupid question—especially if asking it now will save an exhausting and emotional episode later.
5. Let your editor know if you end up hiring someone else.
When I put together a project proposal and suggested dates for an author, I do my best to reserve that spot; if another author contacts me in the meantime, I try to give the first author ample time to confirm the project.
I would never sneak someone else into my schedule if it meant cutting off an author I’ve been in good-faith negotiations with. But that second author may not always be interested in waiting a few extra days while I figure out my schedule, and there are times when I never hear from that initial author again.
I always give authors the benefit of the doubt: emergencies happen, emails go missing. But when you correspond with an editor (or anyone else) about their services, especially over multiple emails, it’s just good manners to let them know if you plan to move your plans in a new direction.
