It may seem counterintuitive to push business away, but listing my preferences is a great way to find out if our working relationship is gonna sizzle or fizzle.
Let’s be honest, we've all got our strengths and preferred working styles – I’ve learnt this the hard way after more than 10 years of editing – so it’s worth knowing what mine are before we get started.
So, in the spirit of being transparent and finding my best-fit clients (and your best-fit editor), here are 9 reasons why I may not be the right editor for you.
1. You’re a fiction author
Don’t get me wrong. I love reading fiction. I used to write it too. But it’s not my zone of genius. I’ve got way more experience with non-fiction. That’s because I worked for non-fiction publishers for so long. It’s in my blood now. Plus, I don’t want my editing brain to switch on when I’m reading fiction. That said, I do edit creative non-fiction. In other words, non-fiction that uses narrative elements to tell a story (think memoir, travel writing, personal essays and literary journalism).
2. You’ve got a tight budget
I’m not the most expensive editor, but I’m not the cheapest either. When you’re getting a professional edit, you’re paying for time, knowledge, training and experience – not to mention business costs, taxes and insurance. As a guide, anything under four figures for a book-length manuscript is usually too low.
If you want to find out how much different editing services cost (so there are no surprises when you approach an editor), check out your local editing association, like the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (UK), the Institute of Professional Editors (Australia), the American Copy Editors Society (US) or Editors Canada (Canada).
3. You’ve got a tight deadline
If you need a 100,000-word book turned over in less than a week, you may need to go elsewhere. (FYI, if it’s a short blog or flyer, then tight deadlines aren’t a problem, as long as I’m not booked out.) A thorough edit involves careful analysis, thoughtful review and detailed feedback. It may also involve fact-checking, the application of styles and light developmental work.
If this process is rushed, the edit is compromised and readers will notice. In general, a book can take 2–4 weeks to edit, depending on its length and complexity – and whether I’m booked or have other projects running parallel.
4. You want error-free copy
This is a tough pill to swallow, but it’s true. We try to edit to the best of our ability, but human error is real and we can’t guarantee perfection. No one can. According to the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading website, ‘No professional proofreader should promise to make your text perfect. No matter how well trained, experienced and diligent they are, they are still human.’
It’s also why a manuscript should be copyedited and proofread. It’s the standard in book publishing and it should be the standard with self-publishing authors too. Plus, errors can be subjective, so unusual spellings or colloquial phrases may be intentional and appropriate in some contexts.
5. Your book or content isn’t finished
It’s hard to edit when your work isn’t complete. We need to see the big picture before we start marking up the text. If you’re struggling to finish, consider hiring a book coach or ghostwriter before you turn to an editor. On the other hand, if you write website copy and need revisions or rewrites, I can help. See my Services page for more details.
6. Your book or content contains offensive material
This is highly subjective, so let me be more explicit. If your book or content promotes racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, animal cruelty, sexual/physical abuse or similar, then it’s a hard pass from me. Freedom of speech is cool and all, but some themes don’t sit comfortably with me. However, if your book refers to someone who expressed these views, and they’re properly contextualised, then we may be in the clear.
7. You want me to edit in Google Docs
Some editors may disagree, but when it comes to long manuscripts, Word is the gold standard (and publishers prefer it). It has functions and macros that improve the accuracy of my edit. Plus, I can use software like PerfectIt to pick up niggly inconsistencies.
With Google Docs, feedback rounds are blurry, wi-fi can be choppy (and not save edits) and authors can make changes live, which leads to errors. Plus, it's not compatible with PerfectIt – yet.
I recently proofread a book that had been copyedited in Google Docs (it was the first time the publisher had allowed this). Unsurprisingly, the proofs were rife with errors. I blame the platform, not the editor. For a deeper discussion, see Word or Google Docs: Which is better for editing?
8. You always want to communicate via video calls
I don’t mind a quick intro call, just to make sure we’re both real and not bots, but I prefer to correspond via email. Why? Because it means we can refer to the written proposal, brief and other comments if there’s any confusion about the scope of the work. Relying on our memory or a messy Otter.ai transcript is walking the danger trail. And besides, all my edits and queries will be included in the Word file, so there’s no need to go over them on a video call and take up more of your time. For more on my process, see What to expect when you work with a book editor.
9. You’ve used AI to write your book or content
When it launched in 2023, everyone jumped on the ChatGPT train, which led to an explosion of AI-generated books and online content. After all, why write a book or article when a machine can do it for you in minutes?
The problem is, when you use these systems, they draw from someone else’s intellectual property (sometimes too closely). And because it pulls from unfiltered sources, the output can be generic, clichéd and clumsy. Plus, not only do large language systems fail to capture tone and voice, but they also struggle with structure and continuity in long-form content.
As a result, I won’t be editing books and content that have been partially or wholly written by AI. I want to collaborate with human authors who are invested in their work and not after a quick Amazon buck.
Summing up: Am I the right editor for you?
So that’s my list! Hopefully, that gives you clarity on the services I offer and how I run my business. If there’s a box I don’t tick, that’s fine. There are plenty of editors out there who will! But if you’ve come this far and I’m still a contender (yay!), take a squiz at my services page for rates or fill out my contact form to get the ball rolling.
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