July 10, 2006

How do you treat a client well; how do you critique and deal with problems, personalities and opportunities?

Guild member Irene Wanner facilitated the discussion.

During the early steps when your contacts and consultations are by email or telephone. How do you introduce yourself to the author and handle the initial consultations?

·           Try to avoid meetings (which can take a lot of time) unless there’s a good reason to meet.

·           If you do meet with an author, the order of introduction should be a phone contact, followed by a sample edit, then get a proposal ready and finally schedule a meeting.

·           A meeting may be necessary because the client may want to see a portfolio.

·           Typically there’s no charge for this initial meeting, try to keep it under an hour and use it as an opportunity to get to know each other.

·           When you have a talkative client, one hour quickly becomes two hours. How can you protect your time? You can build it into your charges later.

·           A sample edit should be about five pages and take no more than 2-1/2 hours.

·           I like to see a hard copy and I charge an assessment fee equal to a two-hour edit. I require the author to send a hard copy via snail mail with a personal check to pay for the sample edit. If they hire me, that fee goes toward the cost of the project. If they don’t, they’re out the money.

·           I get half of the total fee up front and the remainder when the project is delivered. Tell clients you need to pay the bills just like they do.

·           Give an estimate of how much you think it will cost, not a quote. Halfway through the project, let them know how close you are to your quote. Often when you get a sample, you’ll receive the first chapter, which is polished. Later chapters get more hurried, need more work.

·           Depending on the project, develop a specific list of questions to go through, such as how long have you been working on the manuscript? Do you know what an editor does?

·           Watch out for red flags. If writers are difficult to deal with during the initial contacts, they will be difficult to deal with later on.

How do you help a writer whose work is not ready for editing?

·           Refer the writer to a writer’s association, such as the Seattle Writers’ Association, which meets once a month during the school year and has wonderful speakers and is very supportive.

·           Author may think the manuscript is perfect. Be respectful, don’t discourage, but sometimes writers need a wake-up call. Here are the real strengths, here are the weaknesses.

·           It is not our job to tell him the book is not marketable.

·           Author may ask, “Should I take classes? Send them to community colleges or continuing education at UW. Tell them to look at the online catalogs.

·           Steer people to professionals or to their favorite authors to read and emulate or to readers’ groups.

·           Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park has an open writers’ group.

·           Refer to a writers’ coach.

·           Some manuscripts need a ghost writer.

·           Refer writer to guild website questionnaire which asks “are you ready to work with an editor?”

·           Offer a list of ideas in lieu of a long phone conversation. Sometimes we act more like therapists than editors!

·           You need to be tactful. If you find something taken off the web, ask “Did you forget to cite?”

How can we set limits with authors on which services we offer (and which we don't)?

·           Settle on a contract up front.

·           Delineate your own responsibilities. Decide how far you will go with each author. Sometimes we have to be business managers, time managers. Sometimes we have to say no.

·           When content needs more detail, you go back to the author. Query the writer or a senior editor on the project. Ask “I don’t understand this—will your readers?”

·           If you reach the point where you need to work with a defensive author, be honest with your limitations.

·           Most people are fine with a straightforward question, even if it sounds blunt. Ask impersonal questions. After all, they have come to us for critiques.

·           Set limits on what clients want from you. When they can’t get a manuscript accepted and they keep emailing or calling, they can be a real nuisance.

·           Your contract should delineate everything and set the expectations up front. Make sure to include the clause that either one of us can cancel our contract at any time in writing. A sample contract is available on the guild’s website:
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How can we get out of a project gracefully when we realize we cannot meet the client's expectation?

·           Talk about the problem, not the person.

·           Say “I don’t think I’m the best person for this job.”

·           You may offer to help research the topic, but at times you just may have to say “this is outside my realm of expertise.”

·           Renegotiate the terms of the contract. Let them know the job is taking more time than you initially thought because you didn’t realize it would require additional time-consuming steps.

Other related issues we discussed or asked for advice about!

Editing Tests

·           Editing tests—do we have to take them for free? (Yes. If you have to take a test, it’s on your own time and just part of the application process.)

·           Do we admit how long it takes us to do them? (Not usually!)

·           Editing tests are not representative of what the editor ends up doing. Publishers use them to weed out those who won’t make the effort to go through it.

Repeat Authors

·           Do we ask for a contract and sample edit on returning clients? (Yes. Sometimes an author’s second work won’t be the same quality as the first or the subject matter may be more complex.)