Quite some time ago, we submitted an online advertisement for freelance editors. We expected to receive a dozen responses. Instead, we received over 750. We tried to correspond with each editor who contacted us, but the amount of work was overwhelming.

When we sent hundreds of email messages to request resumes, many email servers began rejecting our email because the automated programs thought that we were sending spam. The servers usually block email that is being sent in large quantities.

The first two or three hundred were delivered successfully and the editors submitted their resumes and samples of their editing. When we tried to reach the others, we were blocked. We tried to send the email messages in smaller groups, but it was too late. The spam blockers were in place. Fortunately, not all of the servers blocked our email, so we have been able to correspond with many editors.

We apologize to those whom we could not contact. Please do not think harshly of us. We tried to contact you. We might have contacted you on one occasion, but might not have been able to do so at another time. We have contacted many of the ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and have explained what happened. They understood, apologized, and removed us from their list of blocked senders. We did not contact every single ISP because there were so many.

You Raked Us through the Coals!

On one particular web page, some editors asked questions that were very pertinent. Some spread misunderstandings and speculations.

1. One said that the editing test was "a little too cute to be real." The test was (and is) just a page of fiction that a staff member made up to determine applicants' editorial skills. There are numerous types of errors in the short story about some kids and a spooky house. If an applicant submits a well-edited version, that freelancer is accepted for our outsourced work.

2. Another said that our site looked bad. Some people like our site.

3. A person guessed: "Let's face it, anyone with longtime, serious editing experience [for many years] at a major house doesn't have to deal with a company like this." That's not true. Some of the largest publishing houses in the world have full-time editors who freelance at night and on weekends to make additional money.  We received resumes and samples of editing from several of them.

4. "It's obviously a way to suck money--considerable amounts of money--out of self-pubbed authors." To the contrary, it's a way to assist self-published authors so that they can have manuscripts that are edited professionally. We run a business. The authors pay for the service. If they choose, they can publish their books without having them edited. What we are doing is providing an optional service.

5. "I thought that it was a little fishy to say that you 'set your price.' If something seems too good to be true it usually is."

We don't dictate what a freelance editor is paid. Freelance editors are running their own freelance business and they set their own fees. We submit about ten pages of a client's manuscript and the full word count to the editor. The editor tells us how much he or she will charge and how long it will take to complete. Since we review (but usually do not edit) each freelance editor's work, we add our fees and submit the total to our clients. This method is beneficial for the client because at least two sets of eyes have reviewed each manuscript.

Only sometimes do we personally know a freelancer. We have the responsibility of wisely spending our clients' money. We have to be careful. We understand that freelancers do not want to take the chance of doing their work and not being paid. No one wants to take a financial risk. Therefore, we have developed this system:

After agreeing to the fee and an approximate time of completion, we sign an agreement with the freelance editor. We send the full manuscript to the editor. The editor completes the first draft of the manuscript, submits it to us, and sends an invoice for the first third of the fee. We review this first version and submit it to our client. The client reviews it, approves or rejects the changes, and returns it to us. We return it to the editor and pay the first invoice. In the second stage, the editor makes the changes requested by the client and/or by us. The same procedure is followed. In the last stage, the final manuscript is completed, the client approves it, and we pay the final third of the fee.

We do not make our freelancers wait for thirty days to receive payment as many businesses do. Each payment check is mailed within three days of the client's acceptance following each of the three stages. We have found that this way is the most fair to each freelance editor, to each client, and to us.

In Conclusion

Frequently, we need freelance editors to handle some of our work when our primary editors are overloaded. (We have other editors who are in charge of reviewing the work of freelance editors.) We need professional editors only. We do not need proofreaders. We prefer editors with at least three years of documented experience. Content editors must have five or more years of documented experience and senior content editors must have ten or more consecutive years of experience.  We do not adhere to any particular editorial style, but each editor must be consistent in whatever style is used.

We decided not to post the samples of editing online. Instead, we submit several of the freelance editors' samples (of the story about the kids and the spooky house) to our clients. They choose the style that they prefer. (Only if your sample is selected will we contact you to begin work.)

If you want to be included in our list of available freelance editors, please call 202-737-7737. During that initial call, we will ask for your name, email address, and telephone number. Later, a staff member will call you and let you know how to submit your resume and sample of editing. We hope that this new method will prevent the blocking of email that has plagued us.

Sincerely,
Donna Howell
Senior Managing Editor

Washington, DC