A few months back, I was approached by a writer to do a developmental edit, which isn't anything out of the ordinary. I am a developmental editor, after all. But there was something in that initial communication that really didn't sit well with me.
I've written about this before, how those initial communications with a writer will tell me what type of client you're likely to be. And this one…
The email dripped with entitlement and superiority, making me question whether this particular writer was even ready to hear criticism about their writing.
It was a random email that seemed to have come out of nowhere with a file attached (an OpenOffice file, no less). There was zero information about the manuscript—no genre, no word counts, no synopsis, no summary. Just negative commentary, saying that they were unable to find my prices on my website for developmental editing (which is odd, because I know for certain that they are there—and in an easy-to-find location too). But there were also the following lines in the email.
"After I receive my sample back, I will wait for a week until I'll let you know if I'm interested or not.
Thank you for your time, and I wish you best of luck!"
So… Zero information about the project and this underlining demand for a sample edit. To top it off, there's the attitude that suggested a person who thinks editors are just waiting around for clients to give them the privilege to edit the writer's work.
Did I mention how those initial communications can tell an editor about the type of client you're likely to be?
Had this particular writer approached things just a little differently, they would have likely gotten more than just my boiler-plate quote and the comment that I don't offer free sample edits.
There are soooo many things wrong with this particular opening communication, the most important of which is the assumption that all editors will provide a free sample edit when a client demands such.
But sample edits are at the editor's discretion. And of those editors who do offer free sample edits, not all of them will edit any old sample you send them.
It's time to get down to the realities of sample edits.
The purpose of the sample edit
The real purpose of a sample edit is not so a client can see what an editor can do—though that is certainly part of it. In reality, the sample edit is for the benefit of the editor.
When an editor looks at a sample, they are able to assess exactly what shape the writing is in. They are able to estimate how much time editing the full manuscript will probably take them, assuming that the rest of the manuscript is in a similar shape to the sample. From there, they are able to provide the client with a realistic quote for how much the editing would cost.
Many copyeditors will use the sample edits as a way to showcase what they can do with a manuscript. But not all copyeditors deal with sample edits in the same way. There are many factors involved, and the more experienced editors have learnt from past mistake, changing their policies regarding sample edits.
Where within the manuscript a sample is taken
Sample edits are commonly 1000 words. But which 1000 words?
The beginning of a manuscript is often so well polished, workshopped frequently by the writer in their various writing groups. As such, the opening of a manuscript is no longer a true representation of what state the writing within the manuscript is in.
I have heard countless editors complain about how the sample was so clean, but when they get to approximately 50% of the way through a manuscript, they come across a section that is so off the mark compared to the sample they did, making the time estimates completely out of whack (and the quote well below what should have been quoted).
As a consequence of this phenomenon, many experienced copyeditors now ask to see the full manuscript before providing a quote. They will choose which 1000 words of the manuscript they will provide a sample edit on, often taken from the middle of the manuscript.
And this, by the way, is also the advice that is now being given out to new editors by business mentors. Take your samples from the middle, not the beginning.
Free sample edits vs paid sample edits
Editing takes time. Even that 1000-word sample edit takes time. For most copyeditors, it'll probably take them in the order of 1 hour between the editing itself and the drafting of the email response.
The recommended rates for copyediting ranges between $36 to $50 per hour (according to the EFA website as seen in February 2021), but I know of some copyeditors who charge in the order of $70 per hour (different currencies and niche editing plays a role here). If an editor is frequently bringing in contracts in the order of $2000+, then losing that $70 because a prospective client chose to go with another editor is not a big deal. But when it happens all the time…
Not only that, there is a thing that editors call Franken-edits. These are the cobbled edits put together by a writer who sent sections of their manuscript to different editors to get the free sample edits in an effort to get their entire manuscript edited for free. There are so many issues with this idea, including the lack of consistency. But the experienced editors have gotten to the point that they can spot a Franken-edit a mile away.
These two factors combined have led to some editors refusing to offer free sample edit.
It is becoming more and more common for editors to charge a nominal amount for a sample edit. This is then deducted from a larger contract should a larger contract come in containing the same words (with some level of editing expected).
This is how I operate, but I have different reasons for charging for sample edits.
The nuances of sample edits within developmental editing
If you had carefully read through my words of the previous section, you will have noticed that I frequently said copyeditors.
A copyeditor looks at the line-level of a manuscript. They are looking at wording choices, punctuation, and grammar. There is a lot more to it, but because of the nature of copyediting, a 1000-word sample (nominally 4 pages if following standard manuscript formatting) is enough to tell a copyeditor what state the writing is in.
However, a developmental editor is looking at the big picture things. They are looking at story structure, characterizations, pacing, dialogue, narrative voice, among other things. More often than not, 1000 words are nowhere near enough to showcase what a story is about or what the writing is truly like, particularly the first 1000 words.
It is common for a writer to start their story in the wrong spot, making those first 1000 words redundant. And taking a sample of 1000 words from the middle of the manuscript will have little meaning or context. Without reading what comes before the middle, how am I to know that the middle works well for a story?
Sure, in 1000 words, I'll be able to spot things like the he-said-she-said fest (assuming there is dialogue in those 1000 words). And I might be able to spot things like excessive backstory or exposition. But not necessarily. If those 1000 words were action-driven, then issues like excessive backstory might not show themselves for some time.
It has been my experience that for a manuscript of 80,000+ words, it takes in the order of 10,000 words before any major developmental issues start to show their ugly head. In some cases, story structure problems don't show up until the midpoint (with the famous saggy middle). That's at 40,000 words.
If the typical sample edit is only 1000 words, then how on Earth am I supposed to really showcase what I can do for a manuscript when it takes at least 10,000 words for me to get a sense of the character and structural issue unique to the manuscript?
I have spoken to other developmental editors about sample edits, and all of us agree: 1000 words just doesn't cut it.
The communication that sparked this blog post
At the beginning of this post, I highlighted an email communication that carried such a negative impression about the writer. Needless to say that I'm NOT working with that writer, but I want to discuss why that initial communication left such a negative taint regarding the writer.
Issues with an uninvited attachment
The email was sent to my generic inquires email on my website. That's okay. There is a reason why I have that email listed there, and I'm happy for prospective clients to use it. BUT it is clearly stated on my website that clients are NOT to send any attachments until invited to do so. It's even in bold letters!
Strike 1.
It's in bold letters on the 'Contact Us' page, right under my email address.
It doesn't matter if you know the editor will offer sample edits or not… NEVER send an attachment with your email until invited to do so. If an editor wants that as part of the initial communications, they will say so on their website.
And editors will also likely specify the file format that they prefer—which is often DOC or DOCX. Most editors that I know work in MS Word for their editing, taking full advantage of the tools that are available to us, including Track Changes. Some editors will work with other formats, but not often.
So, sending an OpenOffice document (uninvited)…
Strike 2.
ALL word-processing programs have the ability to export to DOC or DOCX. Even Google Docs has this ability. If an editor asks for DOC or DOCX, there is zero excuse to send them any other format. But remember to only send the file when invited to do so.
(And for those of you wondering, I could tell the file was an OpenOffice document because of the file extension. I've worked in OpenOffice and its cousin Libre Office for years. Yes, MS Word can open a ODT file, but formatting has been known to go hinky.)
Issues with lack of information about the manuscript
In that initial email, there was zero information about the story to be edited. No genre. No word count. No 1-2 sentence summary. Nothing.
If I went by just the email alone, there was no way for me to know if the story was something I was interested in or in a genre that I work with.
Strike 3.
Let's say that I did in fact offer free sample edits (which I don't), and I choose to look at the sample to see how much time it would take me to do the editing on the full manuscript. Umm… No word count.
How can I actually estimate how much time the editing is going to take for a manuscript that I have no clue how long it is?
Strike 4.
The initial contact with this particular writer was actually via Facebook in a Help Wanted thread. To get the genre and word count information, I had to hunt out the particular thread, something that I only did because I was curious if it was the same person that I had communicated via Facebook that morning.
But let's say that there were a couple of days between that Facebook communication and the email. Or let's say that I had received dozens of inquires for editing at the same time. Without any information about your manuscript within the email…
Strike 5. (And the client already is one I don't want to work with.)
The tone of the emails dripped with entitlement
You put all the negative marks that I'd mentioned above combined with a underlining tone of entitlement…
Hire someone else.
I do ask to see samples of writing
When taking on new clients, I do ask to see a sample of their writing. This is not so I can edit it or even get a sense of the story that I'll be editing. I want to see what your writing is like, so I can judge whether my particular skill set is something that you might benefit from. And I also want to know if I'm going to like working with your writing.
Issues like the he-said-she-said fest or the show vs tell conundrum are my wheelhouse. I see them ALL the time. And I have yet to turn down a client because of them.
But one writer came to me with a Christian romance. I'm the wrong editor for that. I know nothing about Christian fiction.
I had one client whose sample was highly literary, and I had to point them to a different editor. I knew, just from the sample, that my comments would have significantly changed the nature of their voice.
And I had one client whose writing was poetic in nature—and confused me to no end. I couldn't see the story, so I was unable to provide them any comments that they could directly benefit from.
Saying that, with almost every single client that I have taken on, I got those samples in and I sent back a commentary that was a few paragraphs based on what issues I saw with their writing style in those short samples. This is my normal practice.
I have an opinion about what I've read, and the writer has the right to know that opinion.
(The prospective client that spark this blog post… They got one sentence, because they irritated me and I didn't want to work with them. I didn't care what their writing was like.)
An editor doesn't NEED to take on a client
Those initial communications are vital. Don't assume that we editors need your contract, because we don't have to take you on as a client if we don't want to. And our reasons for rejecting a client can range from something in the initial communications through to something we saw in the sample. And maybe we just don't have the time to take on your project.
Regardless, it is vital to be nice during those initial communications.
And don't assume that you'll get a free sample edit.