Unsavory Editing Practices — When to Be Wary
It’s an unfortunate truth that the world of publishing is full of unsavory practices—from scams to stolen intellectual property (ideas) to a barrage of badgering. As both a writer and editor myself, I’ve seen (and avoided) quite a few of these things firsthand, and I’ve heard numerous stories from friends and colleagues.
Mostly, it grieves me that this is part of the industry, but it’s also true artists of all kinds have dealt with similar “get-rich-quick” scammers for a very long time. Although those of us who have been in and around the industry for a while are aware of these instances, new authors and editors are often unaware and fall prey to these schemes, losing time, money, and trust in all publishing professionals and, sometimes, their own abilities or integrity.
For this post, I’m going to highlight editing practices specifically—having recently experienced one of the tactics. As an editor who’s worked with several authors on their debut novels, or very early in their careers, I strive to give the best advice I can from my years of industry knowledge and help them produce a shining product readers will love. When I encounter editors (or horror stories from authors) who utilize some of what I believe are not good business practices, I’m often enraged on other authors’ behalf and grieved at the stain on a profession I so dearly love.
This is a well-talked over topic. A simple Google search will bring up a lot of good information, but I wanted to give a perspective from the standpoint of someone who’s both a professional editing others’ books and an author who’s hired editors.
The following is a very short list, but most of the issues and horror stories I’ve heard have fallen into one of these main topics, and even these fall into two main divisions: 🚩 red flags before committing to editing and 🤢 unsavory practices that harm the author.
🚩Will Not Offer a Sample Edit and/or Samples of their Work
🚩What’s included in the Edit is unclear and/or unable to cite the style guide they use
🚩 Don’t have/offer a contract and/or require full, up-front payment for services
🤢 DMs with “sincere” beginnings that turn into badgering for your business
🤢 Lack of communication and/or silence when you’ve already paid
🤢 Editors rewrite your book as their own/provide no constructive criticism or editorial feedback
Red Flags
Let’s start with the more concrete practices, the red flags to watch for. As I saw someone say recently in my research of this topic, “anyone can call themselves an editor,” and that’s true. Just as anyone can say they’re an “author” whether they’re writing or not, anyone can claim they’re an “editor.” Many of these “editors” are unfamiliar with genre conventions or style/grammar rules specific to the publishing industry you’re writing for.
For example, although many publishers utilize the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) as the main style guidelines for their editorial staff, some publishers of non-fiction may use MLA (Modern Language Association) or APA (American Psychological Association) as their overarching style guide. Many magazines and newspapers use one of the latter two, rather than CMOS. Beyond that, publishers and companies often have internal style guides that utilize house-specific rules different from the overarching style guide. “Editors” who are unaware of this fact often take on any editing project that comes their way. (Please note that some long-time editors may have expanded their reach and knowledge. However, these editors are likely harder to find/get an editing spot with due to their longstanding client base.)
With that said, one way to tell a legitimate, trained editor from an imposter is by their website. Trained, professional editors will have a website or central location where their services and contact information can be found, and it will be clean, concise, and clear. If the website or profile you’re looking at confuses you or seems to talk in circles, that’s likely an editor to avoid. Professionals clearly state credentials, offered services, and rates. (Highly sought-after editors may not list rates on their websites, but will clearly state them if inquired after.)
🚩 Red Flag #1: Will Not Offer a Sample Edit and/or Samples of their Work
Professional editors will take the time to offer a sample edit before requiring an author to commit to a full edit. If they do not offer a sample edit, they should readily share samples of their work. Personally, I prefer editors who offer a sample edit so I can get a sense of not only their editing style on my own writing style and voice, but also their communication style. A sample edit or samples of their work allow you as the author to gauge whether or not you’ll work well together, as editing can be a subjective practice, especially within the developmental/content editing and line editing practices. If an editor will not offer either and simply wants you to hire them blind, that’s a huge red flag.
🚩 Red Flag #2: What’s included in the Edit is unclear and/or they won’t cite the style guide they use
We touched a bit on style guides above, but any professional editor should be able to tell you what style guide they utilize for their editing if it’s not listed on their website. Also, if they can’t give clear guidelines for what their offered services include, then you as the author don’t know what to expect or what to hold them accountable for. I have clearly listed on my website a brief overview of what each service I offer entails, and then provide a far more detailed breakdown of what each edit or package includes when an author inquires about my services. If an editor will not be clear about what their editing service entails, or what guidelines they’re utilizing for consistency, they’re not trained enough to offer professional feedback.
🚩 Red Flag #3: They don’t offer a contract or require full, up-front payment for services
Professional editors should always offer a contract that clearly states the scope of the work the editor is taking on, along with a clause that ensures the intellectual property shared by the author (the story/work) remains solely the author’s. An editor is there to help improve an author’s manuscript, not change the idea (a bit more on this specific topic later). Contracts protect not only the author, but also the editor. Since editing is subjective, a legally binding contract protects an editor from defamation or being sued for professional opinions relating to the author’s request of services.
Similar to a lack of contract, authors should never have to pay the entire sum for editorial work up front, before the editor has completed any of the work. Professional editors will often require a partial payment up front, or even a deposit to reserve a spot in the editor’s schedule, but will not require authors to complete payment until the edit has been completed. Please note: Some editors require full payment before releasing the entire edited manuscript to the author, but will send the edited manuscript immediately upon the final payment for services. (This is to protect from authors ghosting the editor/refusing to pay after receiving the edited manuscript.)
In short, if an editor doesn’t offer you a contract that protects you as an author, or requires full up-front payment for work that’s yet to be completed, that’s a major red flag.
There are certainly more red flags when looking to hire an editor, but these are the major ones, and the ones that have caused the biggest headaches and horror stories for authors.
Unsavory Practices
Next, I want to note some things I consider unsavory practices for an editor. Although people will have different opinions on these, any of these immediately make me wary of working with the editor in question. (Many of these also go for other types of individuals/businesses where an author pays for services or products, but I’m leaving the focus on editing.)
🤢 Unsavory Practice #1: DMs with “sincere” inquiries or statements that turn into badgering for your business
I get direct messages on social media from a lot of different types of people—editors, cover designers, artists, book reviewers, etc. Some of these are obvious in what they want—my money for their services. But the ones that put me off of ever hiring or supporting a person/business are the ones that begin in a way that seems sincere so you let down your guard, then badger you to hire them.
Recently, I had someone within one of my writing communities slide into my DM’s with a sincere-sounding “how’s writing been going?”. As this is someone within a community I chose to join, I figured they wanted to check in and encourage me on my journey, or connect on a deeper level. But immediately after I replied that I’m drafting a new book, I was hit with “I’m looking forward to a chance of working with you.” I’d never discussed working with this particular editor, nor inquired about services at any point in the past.
I immediately felt used. When I replied that I wasn’t sure what my publishing plans were, the reply was “it’s good to have a proofread of your manuscript before submitting to a publisher.” From there, it kept devolving into a clear push for me to commit to services I clearly stated I wouldn’t need for some time. This individual only stopped pushing services when I said I didn’t have the funds to hire for the service. This made me incredibly angry, because I know I’m not the only author this tactic is being used on, and incredibly sad because I was looking forward to creating a relationship with this person. Now? It’s unlikely I’ll ever trust a conversation with this individual again.
In my opinion, professional editors don’t need to badger you for business, or fake sincerity in knowing more about you or your project to get clients. When I speak to authors, either in person or on social media, I sincerely want to know what they’re working on and how it’s going for them. Life is tough, and sometimes writing takes a backseat. Sometimes we need someone to assure us that’s okay, or to show interest in our story. I don’t offer my editing services to these authors unless they ask about them or mention they’re looking for an editor and ask for recommendations. Even when they ask for recommendations, I note I edit but also give other editors’ names, because I know I’m not going to have a style everyone likes. Overall, my takeaway on this is not to trust someone who starts with questions or conversation that seems sincere, and then pushes their services, even when you state you’re not ready for said services. A mention of it if you ask is fine, but the conversation shouldn’t only be about available services if you say you’re not interested. If pushing services/getting your business is all the conversation is for, then that’s someone to be wary of.
🤢 Unsavory Practice #2: Lack of communication and/or silence when you’ve already paid
Editors won’t always communicate during an edit, unless there’s an agreed-upon exchange of services in parts or chunks of the book. However, if you send an email to your editor and they don’t get back with you for long periods of time, then you might worry a bit about the lack of communication. Personally, I don’t often communicate with clients when I’m in the middle of an edit about where I’m at in the process, etc., because life is weird and often messes with the schedule I had in mind. But I will always communicate as soon as I can and clearly if I know I won’t complete the edit on time because of life interfering. Often, my clients are absolutely understanding, especially if they aren’t on a specific deadline for publishing themselves.
If you’ve already paid for editing services, even partially, and the editor won’t reply to repeated attempts for an update or return of the manuscript, that’s a problem.
Normally I’d list this as a red flag, but by this point it’s often too late. I’ve heard many horror stories from authors of paying the entirety of editing fees up-front, dutifully sending the manuscript and waiting until the agreed-upon deadline for the edits to return, only to get crickets when they ask for updates after the deadline passes without the manuscript’s return. Often, these stories are accompanied by an admittance no contract was involved, and the conclusion is the author is never going to hear from that editor again, receive the edits they paid for, or get their money back.
🤢 Unsavory Practice #3: Editors rewrite your book as their own/provide no constructive criticism or editorial feedback
This pertains mostly to developmental/content/structural editing and line editing, but it can also comprise copy editing to a degree. Untrained editors often don’t understand genre conventions, have trouble defining an author’s voice, or have trouble seeing an author’s vision for the book. As such, an untrained editor’s feedback is based upon what they would do, rather than the genre conventions within the industry. This ends up being a book rewritten with the editor’s vision or voice, rather than the author’s. Professional editors, on the other hand, work within established genre conventions and reader expectations to strengthen the author’s vision, retaining the author’s voice and work’s integrity.
Another related issue is when editors offer nothing for improvement, but simply gush about the work. That’s the role of a beta reader, not an editor. Even for a very clean or well-structured manuscript, a professional editor will find a few key areas that can be strengthened. If there isn’t much structurally that can be strengthened, the editor will often ensure the author gets good editing service by providing other types of editing, so as not to “cheat” the author out of their investment.
This is where a sample edit can come in handy, or conversing with the editor’s past clients. With a sample edit, you can see if an editor will offer good, constructive feedback to strengthen your story. Be wary of readers who pose as editors and offer only suggestions of how they would write it, or who rewrite your words without consideration of your voice or vision, and of editors who only give positive feedback.
An editor should champion your work, whether they’re part of a publishing company or not. However, that championing should also come with constructive feedback that will strengthen the story, characters, and your author voice so your vision shines and reaches readers.
This got to be a long post, but I have been thinking about several of these things for some time and, with the rise of generative Artificial Intelligence, it seems as though I’m hearing more and more stories of authors encountering “editors” who don’t deliver what they’ve promised. After my own recent encounter with one of these practices, I knew I needed to share my thoughts and help other authors avoid editors who simply want their money.
Many professional editors charge for their services, as they should—they’re taking many hours out of their day and providing expertise they’ve gained from classes, tests, and experience to help you make your novel better. After all, we all need to pay the bills. 😄 But there’s a vast difference between an editor who’s excited to help an author strengthen their story and one who’s simply out to make a few bucks at an author’s expense. (Check out average editing rates for different services here.)
The publishing industry is a hard one, and it seems ever more full of scams and unsavory characters preying upon new authors who don’t know what to look for or ask. For those reading, I hope my thoughts, opinions, and experiences here help you find an excellent editor in the future. 💙