Frequently Asked Questions
Questions about Background and Services
Questions about the Editing Process
Questions about Fees and Expenses
Questions about Background and Services
How long have you been editing? How did you learn how to edit?
I’ve actually been in the editing business since the late 1970s. That was back when we stood at light tables, marked proof changes in blue pencil, and waxed the backs of typeset sheets to stick them to format boards! But, I didn’t really set out to be an editor. From my first job at the age of twelve (yes, in the sixth grade) all the way through college, my intention was to be a librarian, or to use the catchphrase of the day, an “information manager!”
I never really cared for English when I was in school—too many rules! Plus, I felt I was always trying to guess what the teachers wanted me to say and how they wanted me to say it. But fortunately, I had some good teachers and I learned regardless. What I did like were essay questions on history tests. Warped, I know, but I liked history and answering those questions enabled me to write the way I wanted to as long as I said what I needed to say.
In college, I worked in the library but managed to fall in with the crew that put together the campus weekly. I was their researcher. From there, I moved to news editor, then “chief” editor. Our faculty adviser was an old-school grammarian. She was consistently persistent with everyone and, fortunately, very nice with her corrections. She never let anything slide, so I quickly learned what I didn’t already know to keep her happy.
After college, I attained my dream to work in a major library. My focus was in reference and research, though, and I quickly found myself researching and writing, again—practicing all the organization and grammar I had learned so well at night in the college journalism room.
Eventually, I admitted that I liked being “that” way and started to move my career in that direction. I moved to North Carolina and became, first, an assistant editor and, later, publications editor with the state history museum. Surrounded by researchers and writers, and working for one of the best editors I can imagine, I had officially surrendered to the bug. After several lectures (including some stern words, a few warnings, and even one ultimatum), a dozen or so classes, and lots and lots and lots of practice, here I am—at your service.
Where do you work? Where are your clients located?
I am physically located in Orlando, Florida. About half of my clients are local to Central Florida. The other half are from all over the world, though primarily North America. Besides writers from the United States, I work regularly with an author from Canada and have recently helped a few from Mexico. Oh, my most distant client? Well, the fact that I did a couple of jobs for one writer from Australia almost never comes up in conversation!
What services do you offer besides “editing”? Do you recommend publishers? What do I do when we finish?
I am primarily a ghostwriter, an editor, and a proofreader. I do have contacts in other fields of the publishing industry, but I leave their expertise to them as long as they leave my expertise to me. Once we finish with a project, I can try to refer you to one of those individuals or to one of the many organizations I support, but for the most part, you’re on your own.
What is a ghostwriter?
A ghostwriter is someone who writes information for someone but in the end remains a “ghost,” or unknown, unidentified. The ghost rarely gets any recognition, unless it is a courteous mention in the “author’s” acknowledgments. As a ghostwriter, I take raw material from the author (usually in the form of a draft document though I have performed oral interviews and typed up handwritten notes) along with his or her ideas on organization and presentation and put together an end product. As a ghostwriter, I have created such publications as magazine articles, family histories, books, and museum labels.
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What Do I Edit?
What do you edit? Do you specialize in any certain kind of publication or with any particular type of reader?
I edit just about anything: business letters, grant applications, articles to be submitted to newsletters and magazines, manuscripts for novels and scripts, procedure manuals, instructional guides, speeches, nonfiction references—just about anything that is intended for publication.
But, I do believe I have a specialty or two. I truly enjoy making materials understandable to a general audience, and especially to young adult readers. Perhaps because that is where the bulk of my experience lies, but I believe I have a talent for making information readable for those audiences. I also like history, which I’ve mentioned elsewhere, so I think I have a knack for pulling together family and business histories, museum labels, and gallery guides. Put the two together, and I become quite capable of focusing, organizing, and editing textbooks, workbooks, and learning aids like puzzles, comprehension guides, and thought-provoking (teachers call them “analytical thinking”) prompts. More than you wanted to know . . .
But, really, I edit just about anything!
Do you edit school papers?
I do edit school papers, however I agree to do so cautiously and somewhat begrudgingly, after considering the circumstances. Students should learn from their regular teachers or tutors because those instructors have an organized methodology for teaching how to write that varies from class to class, a plan I do not want to interrupt. Because I am so cautious about helping to write their papers, these clients usually find I am hard on student work. I often point out more errors and provide fewer suggestions because I want to encourage them to think about writing and to learn how to write before it’s too late for them. As a rule, I don’t have to worry—I usually quote a price that is too high for students to afford!
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Questions about the Editing Process
I don’t type or know how to use computers. Can you help me?
I can help you. The first thing we would do is have your information transcribed from your notes or recordings so that it is in a typed, electronic format. Once we’ve done that, we can do all of your editing by paper and standard shipping methods. No problem!
How difficult would it be for me to start my own book? How long does it take to write a book? How much will it cost?
It’s not difficult at all, really, but it can be time consuming and costly. The most difficult steps for most people are coming up with a good idea and coming up with the perfect viewpoint. Unfortunately, those are probably the most difficult steps and they have to be done first—that discourages most aspiring authors.
Once you jump those two hurdles, just write, write, write. Then write some more. And some more. Don’t worry about distractions like spelling and grammar and organization—just write. When you finish with your first draft, put it away for a few weeks or a month. If you think of ideas you want to add or things you want to change, make a note of them; don’t get the draft out and make changes.
When you think you may have forgotten about the individual words, pick up a printed version, sit down at a table, and start reading as a stranger would. As you read, make changes and “corrections” in the margins (this is what people call the “self edit”). When you finish, go back and make those changes and incorporate the notes you’ve been keeping.
The next step is to have some people read it over and offer their suggestions on how they think you can improve it (unfortunately, these should not usually be close family or friends, but preferably people who will be honest with you and not just give you good news). In particular, ask them to concentrate on continuity, problems with the set-up or resolution of situations, and their overall feelings (did they feel disappointed in how you handled something—too quickly or with not enough detail or in the wrong place/at the wrong time, for example).
Once you get those comments back, sit down and look through them. Decide which ideas you might want to incorporate into improvements to your book—you won’t use them all, and the choice is totally yours! That’s the good part—you are the author, and this is your creation.
Now, when you get those changes all made and you are comfortable with everything, find a good editor to look over your revised manuscript, someone who will work together, with you.
That’s the process in a nutshell! you can write as quickly as you can or as slowly as you need to. I’ve worked with authors who turned out a speech or an article in minutes, writers who pecked out a novel in a few days, and a doctor who labored over a procedure manual for years! The good news? This part of the process costs almost nothing except reams of paper and boxes of pencils. Good luck.
Who will be editing my project? Who will I be working with?
I am only me! the-freelance-editor is a sole-proprietorship, so I run the whole show—advertising and bidding for projects, negotiating proposals, editing, invoicing, paying the bills, scrubbing the toilet, and doing the dishes. You will work with me no matter what part of the project we come to.
That said, though, I do have a network of specialists that I can refer to for advice and information when I need to at no cost to you. If we do find that I get in over my head, I will offer you the option to continue working with me as the liaison between you and a specialist or to work directly with that specialist at a negotiated discount.
Do you make changes to my manuscript? Do I make the changes? How will I know what changes are made?
I do not make any changes without letting you know. Since most of my clients and the majority of publishing houses and offices use Microsoft Word as their word processing software, that is the program I work with. Word comes with a tool called “Track Changes” that enables you to see each and every change I make to your document. When I return your work, you will receive at least two revised versions: one version with all changes “tracked,” or highlighted, so you can see what I have corrected, suggested, or queried and another version with all the changes “accepted” so you can more easily read through the text and see how you like the revisions. It is up to you to decide which of my changes you want to keep or if you wish to make additional changes. It is also up to you to decide if you want to make the changes and maintain the final master copy of your document or if you prefer that I do that.
What kind of information will I get with my edit? Do you rewrite for me? Will you provide suggestions?
Unlike the high school English teacher who always insisted there was one and only one correct way to phrase a sentence, organize a paragraph, and explain a concept (and then insisted that you had to figure out what that way was in order to pass—so it could be your idea), I do offer suggestions. More exactly, I point out where I see a problem or a potential problem and offer suggestions for improvement. It is then up to you to decide whether to work with one of my ideas or to go off on another route of your own.
Along with Microsoft Word’s “Track Changes” tool (which keeps track of such changes as misspellings, grammatical errors, and punctuation mistakes), I also use sequential footnotes throughout the text to mark areas where I think a different word might be more appropriate, places where I feel you could add more description (or take some out), as well as instances where you make conclusions that are not clear, where you offer circumstances that are not supported, where you make assumptions that are unfounded.
Once I note those weaknesses, you decide how you want to address them. After all, you may find my idea was flawed and that I totally misinterpreted your intentions because of a problem somewhere else that I didn’t even know to notice! So, “Do I rewrite for you?” No. Only you know what you really want to say; I am here to help make sure you say it in the best, most understandable way.
When you finish editing a manuscript, what publisher do you send it to? How much do you pay an author for his/her work? How quickly will I be published?
As opposed to a “typical” editor who works for a publishing house, a newspaper, or a magazine, I am a “freelance” editor, which means I work for you. My job is to provide you and your creation with a fresh, totally objective set of eyes. Together, we make sure your project looks as good as possible before you submit it to that other kind of editors—they will not forgive misspellings, grammatical mistakes, bad formatting, or any other imperfection you might overlook. After all, they always have another manuscript or story to move on to that might be in better condition.
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Questions about Fees and Expenses
How do you charge—by pages, by words, by time? Can you give me some idea about price? Can I pay in installments? Can we work in sections? What do you need to know to calculate an estimate for editing my book? Do you charge for estimates? How do I make payments?
Lots of questions, here! So, let's get started. As you may have gathered from exploring this site, I don't always think like other editors. Those differences carry over into this discussion. While some editors do charge by page count, word count, or hours worked, I prefer to give pre-negotiated price quotes for entire projects in advance. (You also have the option of buying my services in toto if that arrangement fits better into your plans.)
I have two primary reasons for prefering project-based quotes over page/word charges or hourly fees. First, my guaranteed maximum quote provides you with a guaranteed maximum price at the beginning of your project. Second, I have to have a sample in order to estimate the price and propose a schedule. The sample (ten to twelve consecutive pages from anywhere in the draft) is important to my style of editing because it gives me the chance to see a sample of your work and see how you write and it gives you the chance to see a sample of my work and see how I edit. (You get to keep the edited sample regardless of whether we decide to work together or not.) We have to know if we are a good fit for each other to improve our chances at success.
If we do decide to go ahead, I will work up a proposal for you that considers the amount of editing work necessary as well as any budget constraints or deadlines you may have. (I do not charge for the estimate or the proposal.) Once you accept the proposal, we can then work chapter by chapter, in sections, or straight through the entire project depending on your wishes, your schedule, and your finances.
Ordinarily, I do not ask for any payment or retainer up front, before work is performed. Once I have completed a predetermined amount of work, I will provide an invoice. Payment can currently be made by check, by credit card through PayPal.com, or through Bank of America transfer.
Who pays any expenses incurred while you edit my project?
Under ordinary circumstances, I do not charge for copies, postage, phone calls, or miscellaneous office supplies like notebooks, binder clips, and exchange disks (diskettes or CDs). However, if those charges become excessive (which we can normally determine at or close to the beginning of your project), I will ask you to share in their costs. A few types of projects—for example, research projects, bibliographies, and some consulting work—do require that I charge for copies, any purchases, and travel expenses. You will be made aware of all these charges before they are incurred.
What is the total cost for “publishing” a book?
While I work with only one component in the process of publishing a book (the editing), I do have some averages for you to consider if you are serious about going all the way.
The recent cost for 2000 copies of a self-published 32-page children’s book ran around $300 for editing; $1000 for illustrations (including the cover); $2250 for design and print setup; $4000 for printing; $1000 for shipping and temporary storage; $1500 for promotion (including some travel for school visits); $300 for miscellaneous expenses.
Another project, a personal memoir, accumulated the following expenses for a run of 25 books: $260 for editing; $535 for design work; and just over $1400 for printing and binding (a hard cover that included a dust jacket with a photo). That small project ran almost $88 per copy!
This is another good example of how much writing projects can vary—quantity, presentation, location, scheduling and timing, and marketing are only a few of the differences to consider when pricing publication. It is important, too, to remember that you may find better deals, but you often get exactly what you pay for! Check out some of my professional affiliations and resources for additional direction.
Do you use a contract?
For smaller, simple projects, I often do not use a contract—unless you, the client, feel more comfortable with one (to tell the truth, it takes a surprising amount of time to write and review a formal contract). However, for larger, more complex, and long-term projects I do suggest that we use a contract. My contracts have two parts: a basic agreement that includes details and arrangements that are specific to a project and a listing of General Terms that, as a rule, apply to all my contracts.
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