The following is a synopsis of a discussion on the Editors Guild listserv in October 2005.

   Question

Do you charge for an initial meeting with a potential client?  A couple wanted to meet to discuss hiring me to edit their book after it had been translated from Chinese into English to make it read well for American audiences.  After an hour of my giving advice about their options, they just stood up, said thank you, and sent me on my way.  I felt ripped off and now wonder if I should begin charging for an initial meeting with a client and perhaps apply that fee to future work if hired.  What has been your experience/practice?  It certainly would deter those who are just fishing for advice and scare away riffraff.

   Responses

Yes

I do charge for face time, because it has been my experience that some people contact an editor because they are lonely. Writers new to the game are often charmed at finding a real, live person who is WILLING to listen to them talk about their books! Since I edit memoirs, I do tend to get treated to an entire life story up front, and that can be time-consuming.
           However, I also do not have the initial consultation in person; I prefer the phone, for this very reason. That way, we can have a brief, professional discussion without giving the impression that we are there to chat. In the course of that conversation, I ask the writer to send me the first five pages of text, so I may get some idea of the project. That weeds out quite a few of the people who are there to talk, not to have editing done.

—Anne Mini

I've had similar experiences a number of times. It's usually a client who has no clue what they want done. I've also had clients that wanted me to do a free "test." (I've gotten the clear impression that getting "test" editing from a few prospective freelance editors gets a good deal of the editing done for free.) On the other hand, I've had clients that pay for the first consultation or for some work they will later evaluate. In fact, I often suggest that I do a bit of work for them to evaluate, or do a paid consultation to help the client figure out what they need done. I am usually free with 15 or 20 minutes on the phone, but I will never do a "test" edit again, nor will I do any substantial editing for free upfront, nor will I travel to a meeting without being paid for my costs and time.
     It's true that contractors in many fields have to figure estimating time into their schedule. That's real time that costs the contractor something. But an estimate doesn't get part of your roof repaired, nor does it get your engine partly rebuilt.

—Stephen Hart

Re charging for first visit--Don't lawyers charge for initial consultations? I've been charging for initial consults with private clients--in the initial phone conversation I gauge whether to suggest 1/2 hr. or a full hour, and often ask for sample pages or chapter, including a review of that written piece as part of what the fee will pay for. Of course, I'm a novice at editing for pay, so I'd be very interested in how others work with private clients.

—Linda Clifton

I, too, try to lay out fees and set up what sort of approach we'll take in e-mail or (quick) phone call. People who have no work already written or don't know what they're doing drop out right away. If we want to proceed, I ask for a writing sample - two hours' work, usually pages from the book or ms opening - and I charge what I call an "assessment fee," which is just the normal hourly rate. I can figure how many pp/hr I'm getting, am able to give them a marked sample to review as well as a complete job estimate. If they want to go ahead, the fee applies to the job. No one has ever complained. Most people do proceed, but on occasion, an estimate scared away a potential client (reality check). I feel more secure knowing the person has a sense of the cost as well as what level of editing s/he will get. Sometimes, for example, people think they don't need proofing, but the ms is an English disaster. So a marked sample makes this clear; I don't have to try to find a tactful way on the phone or in an e-mail to explain the writing needs heavier editing than the person expected. They can just review the sample, then decide, and I haven't given away any more time than it took to set things up for review. That initial phone call or e-mail, of course, is no charge.

—Irene Wanner

No

I do give a free meeting if requested but only after I have seen some pages of the project and know that the potential client is serious and ready. I'm mostly interested in not wasting my time with people who haven't done the writing yet. I also tend to have the money conversation via phone or email so that I don't spend time meeting with people who don't have the resources to hire me. Hope this helps.

—Jill Kelly

I am also an advocate of the free initial meeting. As several of you have pointed out, it's beneficial for both editor and client. Sometimes it becomes clear that our communication styles are too different--I'm thinking of a recent prospective client with whom I couldn't find a common vocabulary to talk about her novel. In this case, I gave her some referrals, which is also a win-win situation.
          I offer the same free hour consultation to email clients--that is I'll work on their project for an hour and then send it back to them. This seems an accurate way to estimate cost and to see if I am providing the sort of feedback they want.
          When meeting in-person clients, I always meet at a location near my home so I don't incur any expense, just an hour of my time. I would say this has saved me hours of frustration and probably much grief.

 —Waverly Fitzgerald

I don't charge for the initial consultation with a potential client. We're both checking each other out. They have to decide if I can do the job for them and I have to decide if I want to accept the job. We both need to know we can work together. We usually meet at a location convenient for both of us and the meeting usually takes about an hour. If the contact comes through the internet from a distant potential client, we may exchange messages or phone calls before making a decision. I'm personally more comfortable with some information gathering as a first step.

—Patricia Gragg

I'm so glad to see this discussion, as it's something I'm still kicking around in my mind even after many years of running my freelance business. Generally I offer the first half hour free, but since I live out in the country, it's always by phone and that only after several emails have verified this may be more than just someone seeking free advice. 
          If it gets serious and looks like a substantial client, I agree to meet in a conference room in Bellingham (45" drive, 1 way) where my son rents facilities (so the room is free to me). I take advantage of being in town to do other errands as well. Some clients have driven quite a distance and spent the night to discuss their project and "look me in the eye," as one man said. I can understand their desire to check me out in advance, and I like to know them personally as well. But these were large accounts. I've also had my share of time-wasters and still haven't come up with a perfect "formula" to deal with them. I try to take each one on an individual basis and be kind, helpful,
and generous. Unfortunately, sometimes people start to share all of their personal problems with me. (Anybody else have that happen?) By far my biggest struggle is the time spent coming up with bids for large projects only to be turned down.
          One other aspect I still struggle over is the client who's paid me to do one specific job (such as a manuscript evaluation) but who wants continual free advice on every other potential aspect of the project, such as positioning the book in the market, writing the proposal, finding an agent, etc., etc. I'm now to the point where I give some advice, enough to help them know what should be next, but then say they can hire me on a retainer basis as a consultant until they decide on another step in their project (and agree to pay for that). This is tricky and not always clear-cut, but when I start to feel like I'm being taken advantage of, it's a good sign it may be time to charge them again. :-)

—Linda Nathan

          I don't charge for an initial consultation, but I always have the client come to me rather than go to them, so that minimizes my investment of time. Perhaps you could limit the initial consult to a half hour rather than an hour, if you're concerned about wasting your time (though I think an hour may be necessary to discuss many projects). Perhaps you could talk more on the phone before agreeing to meet with someone in person.
          I think most people use the free initial consult responsibly, as opposed to trying to get you to do work for them for free. Occasionally someone will not follow through and work with me, but I think that's inevitable and just part of the price of doing business.

—Sherri Schultz  

Other

          I, too, have been grateful to see the practices and concerns that have been shared in the discussion on charging for an initial consultation. I was interested to see several people mention the problem of "looky-loos" who are just 'looking' for free advice, and the lonely who want to talk. One develops a kind of instinct for those in time, and I have found that insisting on a hard sample to look over before I give an estimate discourages many. The less sincere also tend to evaporate when they hear I require a contract. I don't charge to look over the sample (10-15 pages), and will mark obvious mistakes if they want to include an SASE. Other times I have used Irene's approach of an assessment edit with success. Preliminary emails/phone calls can take from one to three hours, and I view those as the cost of doing business.
          In particular, however, Linda's post below touched on something that is a current problem I've encountered. That is the client who now picks up the phone with every word processing or formatting question on projects not related to the one I've completed for her. Given some details about her,
I've worked out a certain margin of acceptance for this beyond which I shall erect suitable barriers, but I am curious to hear if others have had similar problems and what solutions they employed. My sense is it is not possible to be unilateral because different elements are at play in each situation.
          I also suspect that the conventional understanding is that it is easy to write a book (everyone is doing it), and our level of education is enough to make us confident, but also blinds us to our own deficiencies. Has anyone found a smooth way to balance the need for editing work with the ethics of working on a project that is hopeless? I am personally not comfortable with caveat emptor as a business model, but certainly much is published that astonishes me, so how does one tell? My general approach has been to tell the client the MS needs a lot of expensive work and that even that may not guarantee publication. 

—Robin Ireland