Helping your editor to help you

Do you sometimes hire a freelance editor or proofreader? If you do, there are many ways of helping them to get the work done smoothly, efficiently and in line with your needs. We’re here to help you, of course, but your co-operation can make a big difference.

(From here on, I’m using ‘editor’ to mean ‘editor or proofreader’, to try to keep this fairly concise.)

Here are some useful things you could do at various stages of the workflow …

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When asking for a quote

(… or offering the work for a stated fee)

Make it clear what type of work you’re looking for. If you’re a publisher, you’ll probably know that this is usually straightforward, as ‘copy-editing’ and ‘proofreading’ are well-defined terms. If you’re a different type of customer, though, the level of editing needed will need to be carefully agreed between you and your editor: do you just need an error check, or do you want improvements in the writing style, readability and so on?

Give a summary of the work, including the expected word count (exact or approximate, but please don’t just guess). Describe its purpose, its context and the intended audience.

Say what format it will be in: Word, PDF, a content management system or something else? (Some of us can still work with paper, in case it helps.) Also, if you have a preference for how the editor should make or indicate changes, say so.

Mention any special features that you’ll need the editor to check, such as tables, diagrams and references. Say what kind of checking is needed for these features.

Let the editor know of any style guidelines that need to be followed: for example, regarding the use of hyphens, capitals or italics.

Provide a sample of the content, if you can. This needs to be representative of what your editor will get. It shouldn’t be much more, or much less, carefully checked and revised than the rest of the material will be when you send it to the editor.

State the timeframe: in particular, (a) when you expect to hand the material over to your editor and (b) when you’ll need to get the completed work back. It will help if you mention the time of day (roughly, at least) as well as the date. If you’re flexible about the scheduling, or there’s some uncertainty about it, please say so up front.

Tell the editor how you found out about them, if they don’t already know. OK, so this is one thing that won’t help you directly, but I’m sure your editor will appreciate it.

Before the work starts

If the handover to the editor is delayed, keep them updated, and check that they can still fit the work into their schedule. Be prepared to put the deadline back, and for the possibility that the editor will say they won’t be available to finish the work within the revised timeframe.

Make sure the material has been checked to a reasonable extent, for things like spelling, grammar, coherence and readability. No need to make it perfect, of course, but some basic checking will help to make the editor’s work go more smoothly. The better shape it’s in, the more easily the editor can understand what the writing is intended to mean, helping them to hone it into a high-quality finished product.

Make sure any necessary fact-checking has been done. If anything needs to be changed after the editor has started work, this will complicate things (more on this below). If you to change anything after getting the material back from the editor, you might introduce errors or inconsistencies. It’s much better to have all the facts sorted out up front.

During the job

If possible, be available to answer queries and help make decisions (see the next point below). If you’re going to be uncontactable for a substantial part of the project, let your editor know, and tell them about any colleagues who might be able to help.

Answer queries from your editor as soon, as clearly and as thoroughly as you reasonably can. Some of your answers – about style preferences, for example – might have a big influence over the rest of the work your editor will do.

If you need any changes to be made at this stage, be as co-operative as you can. Keep changes to a minimum, if they’re needed at all. Don’t send an amended version of the full document to the editor (unless this is agreed), as they shouldn’t be expected to start all over again. Instead, tell the editor what needs to be changed. Be prepared for them to say they’ll need the deadline to be extended, and the fee increased, to accommodate the extra work.

After the job

Confirm that you’ve received the completed work. We like to have peace of mind about this – emails can occasionally disappear into a black hole.

Tell your editor who will be handling the invoice, if it isn’t obvious, in case they end up needing to chase up the payment.

Give the editor feedback on the work. This can help to maximise the value you’ll get from their services in any future work.

All the time

Keep email threads discrete (as opposed to discreet, though that usually helps as well). If you’re starting to communicate about a new project, write a new email rather than replying to one about something else. We tend to be a bit ultra-organised about things like this, and appreciative of people who help us to carry on that way.

Treat your editor as an equal, not as a subordinate or some kind of higher power. Yes, you’re the customer, the one holding the purse strings, and we should respect that. But you’ll build a more fruitful professional relationship if you see this as an evenly balanced partnership. You’ve got your expertise, we’ve got ours – let’s work together to come up with the best results we can produce.

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Have I left anything out? I’d be interested to hear of other tips, from both customers and editors.