By
Tiffany T. Cole, Copy Editor
My first
experience working with a copy editor was terrible. I gave her my short story,
and a few days later, she gave a completely rewritten story back to me. I
expected the editor to leave comments explaining the changes she’d made, but
there were no comments or markups. It didn’t even feel like the story was mine
anymore, and I was so upset I refused to work with an editor for years.
Now that I’m
an editor, I’m grateful for that experience because it taught me the importance
of understanding and respecting an author’s expectations. It also helped me to
realize why I had such a terrible experience with that editor. I didn’t ask
myself what I expected from an editor nor did I discuss my expectations with
the editor.
After
figuring out your budget, one of the most important questions you need to ask
yourself is “What do I expect from an editor?” Furthermore, you need to answer
that question thoroughly before you start your search for an editor. If you
hire an editor assuming your expectations are the standard, like I did years
ago, and the editor edits your work in such a way that doesn’t meet your
expectations, even if the editor did a great job you’ll still be disappointed.
By not writing out your expectations and discussing them with an editor, you do
both yourself and the editor a disservice.
Below are
common expectations as well as my advice for each expectation:
Expectation: I need an editor to help
me develop characterization and plot.
If you need
developmental help, you’re looking for a heavy copy editor, a substantive
editor, or a developmental editor. Otherwise, part of my duties as a copy
editor is to keep track of characterization and plot to make sure everything is
consistent, and if I notice that something is inconsistent or seems off, I red
flag it and offer suggestions to fix it. Not all copy editors offer
suggestions, so if you want your copy editor to do so, it’s best to ask.
Expectation: I want the editor to
explain all changes outside of basic grammatical and style guide changes OR I
don’t want explanations for changes.
I’ve worked
with authors who were very hands off and didn’t want me to explain any of my
changes. With track changes on, they could see what changes I’d made, and if
they didn’t agree with a change I’d made, they could easily reject the change.
Furthermore, they found the comments where I explained my changes overwhelming
and preferred I only commented if it was absolutely necessary. Others want me
to write a comment explaining my changes whenever I make substantial changes to
a sentence, paragraph, or scene because they want to understand why I made the
change in order to learn from it.
Regardless
of which you’re more comfortable with or your reasoning, you should tell the
editor ahead of time so they deliver an edit that works best for you.
Expectation: I only need a light
grammatical edit.
First, you
have to be honest with yourself about if you truly only need a light edit. Many
editors will ask for a sample of your work before they start editing it, and
whether they provide a complimentary edit or not, from that sample they can
tell what type of edit you need.
Usually,
when authors come to me saying they only need a light grammatical edit, it’s
because their book has already been edited and they just want a second set of
eyes to go over their book one final time before they get the book formatted.
If all you need is a light edit, a proofreader is who you’re looking for, but
most copy editors are capable of completing a light edit.
Expectation: I want to meet in-person
or schedule a phone call/video call to discuss my book.
Some authors
are comfortable with all conversations, from start to end, taking place through
e-mail. Other authors don’t feel comfortable unless they can talk to the editor
consistently, usually before the start of the edit, after each round of
revisions, and when the edit is completed. If you will need any type of call or
in-person meeting to feel comfortable, that is an important conversation you
need to have with any editor you’re considering working with.
As long as
the meetings are to discuss the book and/or my edits of the book, authors can
schedule a complimentary 60-minute meeting with me. For meetings about
marketing or building an author platform, authors get one complimentary
60-minute meeting. After that, it’s $60/hour for meetings that are not about
editing.
This is not,
by any means, an exhaustive list of all the expectations you might have. Your
list might contain completely different expectations, and that’s fine. When
you’re searching for an editor, present your list to them and ask if they can
meet those expectations. If they can’t, that doesn’t make them a bad
editor—just not the right editor for you and your book. Keep searching for the
editor that can meet your expectations.
Let’s say
you give an editor your list and they tell you they can 100% meet your
expectations. Before you send them money, the best way to see if their editing
style matches your expectations is to ask them to provide an edit of a sample
of your book. Oftentimes, 1000 words from the middle of the book is a good
choice. If they agree to edit that sample, you can make sure the edit reflects
your expectations. If you’re considering more than one editor, it’s also a good
plan to give them all the same sample and see how they compare.
I hope this
article helps you find an editor who will meet or surpass your expectations! If
you want to learn more about how to find an editor for your book, you can come to
my panel, “How to Find the Right Editor,” at the 2018 Steel Pen Conference on
October 27, 2018, at Fair Oaks Farm Conference Center. You can learn more about
me and my services at www.TiffanyTCole.com.
Go to www.steelpenconference.org to learn more about and register for the conference.
__________
Tiffany T.
Cole graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Purdue
University Northwest and was inducted into the Alpha Iota Nu chapter of Sigma
Tau Delta, an international English honors society. She has over five years of
copy editing experience. She’s worked with small publishers, Purdue
University’s award-winning newspaper, professors, and authors.
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