A while back, editor Ramona Richards suggested she and I do a tag-team sort of post … and it never ran. That was a blessing in disguise, because now I really need it for the Read Play Edit Blog Recovery Plan! Here’s a look at a freelance editor and a managing editor, working together.

Editing From Both Sides of the Desk

JAMIE:
As a freelance editor, I maintain relationships with acquisitions/managing editors at many publishing houses. By that I mean I touch base with them (er, nag) every so often. Whether that’s a Facebook comment or an email, I make sure they know I’m around, because if I don’t ask for work, I won’t have work.

On good days, the work finds me. “It’s contemporary fiction, 90,000 words, by Author’s Name. Needs a content edit. You interested?” Whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, a content edit or a copy/line edit, I’m interested. I don’t take all the indie work I’m offered, but I rarely turn down already vetted work from a publisher.

Unless I can’t meet the deadline.*

The important question for me is when the managing editor would like to have the project back. The due date. Since editing is give-and-take, I usually have three or four projects in progress; some will be in (on my desk), some will be out (in the author’s court). I keep a detailed production schedule so I know where I have time available, to be sure I can make the deadline. Once we agree on that, we can get started.

Most of the in-house editors I work with send me the manuscript, put me in touch with the author, and turn us loose. (I’ve blogged about what comes next.) I take this trust very seriously, and I am in touch with the managing editor if I have questions or concerns.

Other in-house editors prefer that I simply provide the editorial notes and they handle the relationship with the author. Either way, I get to do what I love best: deconstruct and “solve the puzzle” of a new novel.

RAMONA:
I work with Jamie a lot, and I’m one of those editors who seldom turns a freelance editor loose with an author. There are a number of reasons for this, primarily that I’m a bit of a control freak where my authors are concerned. Many are my friends, and I’m ultimately responsible for what goes on in their books. After all, I brought them into the house.

The other reason is to give my freelance editors free rein to be blunt with their edits. I want them to talk to me, not the author. Our house (Abingdon) has always welcomed new authors, and we’ve launched a number of debut folks who’ve gone on to bigger houses. But new authors are not usually prepared for what a blunt edit looks like or how specific an editorial letter can be. I want to know exactly what an editor thinks; my job is to soften it so the writer understands the requested changes without thinking their baby has been savaged.

Which they often do.

I don’t usually have to change much. I chose editors carefully, and they are knowledgeable and professional. Otherwise, I wouldn’t hire them. But I do want them to feel free to say, “This prologue’s useless and here’s why.”

However, once an author is established and has seen comments from a particular editor several times, I tend to let the two of them work it out. I try to match one editor to one author, with the hopes of putting them together again.

Bottom line? A relationship between the in-house editor, the freelance editor, and the author is a fluid one, geared toward developing a book that’s the best it can possibly be. The triangular relationship is all about guidance, support, and feedback—so if it’s relaxed and easy, it will be fruitful.

* Unlike some indie authors, though, publishers tend to plan months in advance.

Ramona Richards is Senior Acquisitions Editor for fiction at Abingdon Press—and a writer too. She’s the author of nine books and numerous short stories and magazine articles. As an editor, she has worked on more than 350 publications and won numerous awards for her writing and editing.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”