Tips for Getting the Most Out of Working with an Editor

Lesley Cameron

The key word in the title is “with.” Whether you’ve been assigned an editor by a publishing house or your employer, or you’ve hired an editor independently, you share the same goal: producing a piece of writing that communicates your message well and speaks to your intended audience. In other words, you’re working in partnership.

So, how do you get the most from this partnership? Here are a few tips to help.

Be realistic. If you’re expecting someone to tell you there is absolutely nothing they can suggest that would improve your work, you’re going to be disappointed. If you’re hiring an editor yourself, find out about the various levels of editing and work out what you need. You can find a helpful guide to editing levels at editors.ca/hire-editor-0. For example, proofreading, which many people ask for, is the final stage of editing before a document goes to print. It’s not what you need for an early draft.

Think carefully about what you want from an edit. If you can, make a list of things you’d like the editor to cover. Do you want the editor to do any fact-checking or to check any foreign language expressions? Do you need guidance on using quoted material? Are you open to having sentences restructured? If you have any pet language peeves, let the editor know before they start work. I’ve been asked at various times to avoid using em dashes, semicolons, and the word “thus.”

Decide how much explanation you want from the editor. If you want them to explain every single change so that you can learn from the edit, that will significantly increase the time required. And that will increase the cost of the edit. If you’re working with a publisher, the editor’s budget won’t allow them to go into that level of explanation for you.

Be honest about your budget. If you’re on a tight budget, be open about it from the beginning. Tell the editor how much you have to spend and work backwards to see what you can get for that. Ask if there are any changes you could make to the text yourself to save some time and money. For example, maybe you could change all American spellings to Canadian spellings, or you could take responsibility for your bibliography.

If you’re not comfortable using Track Changes, tell the editor right at the beginning of your partnership. It will save everyone time and anxiety if you do this. Your editor can talk you through using Track Changes or suggest where you can find out more about it.

Stick to your deadlines and your word count. If your editor is expecting 30,000 words by noon on Thursday, that’s what you should send and that’s when you should send them. If your schedule changes, alert your editor as soon as possible so they can adjust their schedule. Most editors are working on multiple projects at any given time, so it’s helpful to be kept up to date. (And your editor should let you know if they’re running behind, of course.)

Use minimal formatting. Keep the formatting of your document as simple as possible. The editing process will disrupt complicated formatting—and the editor will have to strip out all the formatting before they submit the Word document for design. Make clear your different levels of headings and longer quotes, and add notes about inserting photos or other visuals. That’s all you need for now.

If you’re quoting at length, or using photographs, for example, make sure you have your permissions in place. Permissions can take weeks to secure. For short quotes, simply include full details of their source.

When your editor sends you the revised file, read any cover notes first. The editor’s notes explain in general terms what they’ve done, why they’ve done it, and how they’d like you to proceed with your review of their edit. If you find typos or grammar mistakes at this point, don’t panic. They’ll be reading your text closely again. Answer all their questions, even the ones that look a little odd. There’s always a reason for asking. You don’t have to accept every change the editor suggests. They should be trying their best to keep your voice and your intentions intact, but if they’re systematically misinterpreting you, you might have to reassess what you’re saying and how you’re saying it.

Use a contract or letter of agreement. This protects both you and your editor. Editors Canada has a free template you can use at editors.ca/hire/ agreement-template-editing-services.

Keep a sense of humour. Your editor should too. We’re all human.

Lesley Cameron is an editorial consultant based in Maple Ridge, BC. She works primarily on reports, manuals, style guides, plain language texts, translation revisions, and non-fiction books. Originally from Scotland, she came to Canada in 2000. She works in British, Canadian, and American English. When she’s not working, she enjoys reading, walking, yoga, curling, and partner dancing. Twitter @EditMapleRidge