Who can you trust with your words?
This post was nearly entitled “A Professional Edit Is Not an Adversarial Standoff.” Why? A likely well-meaning person posted in an editor’s Facebook group to ask whether it isn’t best to have your editor edit in Google Docs. That way, the author can watch over the editor’s shoulder in real time and fire them if the edit isn’t up to par.
There is a lot to break down in that question, but I find it a useful frame from which to ask a more reasonable question: How do you know if an editor is right for you?
Here’s how I recommend approaching about this:
Are you right for an editor?
Let’s just get this out of the way. If an author feels so defensive of their work and so confident that they know more than all editors, then they’re not going to be a good editorial fit with anyone. You need to be open to the idea of creative collaboration and actively desire to improve your manuscript.
Is the editor a right fit for your project?
Do your research. Ideally, the editor is locatable: they might be active on social media, have a website, participate in editorial conferences, etc. They don’t have to be very active or well-manicured—I know many experienced editors who have websites that seem to have been created in 2005 (We work in the realm of words, not graphic design!). For example, the former president of the Indexing Society of Canada, Alexandra Peace, has a simply online bio, but you can see how her website begins to hint at how experienced and involved she is in the world of book indexing.
You deserve to know relevant information about an editor before you agree to work with them, including:
Relevant experience. Ideally, the editor has worked on projects similar to yours.
Relevant education and coursework. There’s no need to look for an English or writing degree in most cases. English as an academic discipline has little practical crossover with editorial work. Instead, see whether the editor has completed coursework. In the United States, NYU, UC San Diego, and the University of Chicago offer well-known copyediting certificate programs. Editors may also gain needed skills through the Editorial Freelancers Association, ClubEd, ACES, CIEP, and other reputable organizations.
Rates that make sense. Recently I saw an editor advertise themselves as charging .0005 cents per word for both proofreading and copyediting. They had a portfolio of over 200 books, all edited within the last two years. On the one hand, this looks like a great deal! Someone with a lot of experience is charging an accessible rate. But in reality, they must be doing very little to manuscripts beyond running spellcheck and possibly Grammarly through them. Manuscripts typically take 30 to 60 hours to copyedit, so if we stick to the low end and imagine that an 80,000-word book takes an editor 35 hours, then at .0005 cents per word, or $40 total, that adds up to…$1.14 per hour. Simply put: No one in the world is editing for less than $2 per hour, which means that “editors” like this are just doing rush jobs. If a rate seems too good to be true, that’s because it is.
Is the editor a right fit for you?
Even if an editor has all the relevant experience and qualifications to work on your project, it’s important to remember that they also need to be the right fit for you: That your personalities mesh in a way conducive to a creative and professional collaboration and that the editor conducts themselves in a way that makes you feel comfortable and respected. (In return, you, the writer, also need to be respectful and professional.)
How can you know if an editor is a good fit for you? For copyediting, a sample edit will go a long way. I typically add many comments in my sample edits to explain the reasons for the changes I’ve made. This is a chance for an author to gain insight into how I think and how I communicate. Through a sample edit, you get a sense of the editor’s demeanor and instincts, and usually your gut will tell you whether they’re right for you, assuming you’re genuinely open to having your manuscript edited. My sample edits are currently free, but many editors understandably charge a fee for this, as it will take about an hour of their time.
It can be more difficult to give a sample developmental edit, although some editors do offer it. Alternatively, many editors offer a pre-edit chat, which will allow you to get a sense of the editor’s approach to projects like yours and see whether their personality meshes with yours.
There is no “one” way to be an editor. Some editors may be more upbeat and inspiring, while others may be more direct and efficient. Writers’ preferences similarly vary, which is why it’s worth searching for an editor who feels like they understand you and your work.
Best of luck!