Interviewed by Eileen Key
Hi, Katherine. We’re interested in getting to know you. First, tell us a little about yourself. 
What are your hobbies and interests outside the workplace?
I enjoy birding (“bird watching” to non-naturalists) and other outdoor activities: hayrides, picnics, stargazing and sky-watching, camping (nothing too rugged, though—I still like a hot shower at night). I also enjoy listening to folk music and old hymns, and playing board games.
Are you an avid reader? What’s your favorite book?
If you hadn’t asked about reading separately, it would have been at the top of my “hobbies and interests” list. I devour so many books that choosing a single favorite is probably impossible. So I’ll list a few favorite categories instead.
Favorite recently read book: Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver
Seven “stood the test of time” books: Where Angels Walk by Joan Wester Anderson, The Best Loved Poems of the American People by Hazel Felleman, Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster, The Book of Survival by Anthony Greenbank, A Wolf Story by James Byron Huggins, Give Me an Answer by Cliffe Knechtle, Six Hours One Friday by Max Lucado
Favorite author: Max Lucado
Runner-up authors: Michael Green, Joan Wester Anderson, Josh McDowell
Favorite topics: science and culture (I’m currently reading all the back issues of National Geographic—dating back to the 19th century—on CD-ROM), traditional poetry, solve-it-yourself mysteries, Christian living, life skills, Bible application, strange facts and popular misconceptions.
I tend to prefer nonfiction, perhaps because it doesn’t handcuff my writer’s imagination to anyone else’s story line.
What influenced your decision to become an editor?
My interest in reading led to an interest in writing, which led to an interest in editing.
Does being a writer help or hinder your work as an editor?
I think it’s more that being an editor helps your work as a writer. Editing forces you to constantly review the rules of usage and style. Also, the ongoing contact with other writers’ work keeps you well informed on writers’ current interests, which helps you spot trends before the market is saturated. Sort of like being paid to moderate a critique group.
Being a writer myself does have a few disadvantages in editorial work. If I’m not careful, I can wind up rewriting someone else’s perfectly adequate manuscript in my own style. The biggest temptation, though, is to become impatient with writers who make mistakes I never would have made, to develop a “doesn’t this writer know anything?” attitude. I admit I like working with writers whose skills are nearly perfect, whose manuscripts give me the opportunity to enjoy a good read while correcting a quick typo here and there.
What determines the length of time it will take to finish a project? Do you set deadlines?
I usually let the clients set the deadlines, though I’ll help them plan schedules if they don’t have any in mind. I’ve had a few people hire me for projects they were “going to start soon” and then never got around to making “soon” come. It shouldn’t be my problem, as I usually don’t wind up doing any actual work, but it is annoying.
If a client wants something within a difficult time span—say 350 pages within two days—I charge a substantial rush job fee, more to discourage the client from trying that again than because I really want the extra money. I plan my schedule in detail, and it doesn’t take well to last-minute changes. So it’s not so much a matter of how long it will actually take to finish a project as when I can fit it in.
As for actual work time, 25 pages an hour is about average. I do try to allow for several days’ gap between passes through the manuscript—makes it easier to see things that were overlooked on the previous readings.
How do you determine your fees?
I try to charge $80 an hour, which is more or less average for freelance business editors, though perhaps on the high side for book editors. I do leave plenty of room for negotiation.
Charging by the hour is tricky because most clients want a cost estimate at the beginning, so it’s essential to estimate work time accurately. If you’ve already set a fee, but the writer asks you to do anything additional (or do anything over), it makes sense to charge for the extra work, unless you’re correcting your own mistakes.
Is a contract a necessity?
For a small job (only a few hundred dollars), or one where you’re well acquainted with the client, partial payment in advance may be sufficient. When you do use a contract (definitely recommended for jobs involving large amounts of time and money), be careful of writing in a set fee before you and the client both fully understand all that the project entails. You don’t want to be underpaid if the work turns out to be longer or more complicated than expected, and in such a case your own contract may work against you. If the wording is vague, a client may convince a court that you promised more than you intended.
You don’t necessarily need to hire a lawyer to draft your contract template; you’re probably the best qualified to gear it toward your particular business. But do have a legal expert check for potential loopholes before you use the contract on a really big job.
Do you take electronic submissions or hard copy?
I’ll take either, but I much prefer electronic submissions for the following reasons:
Both the writer and I save postage costs by exchanging everything through e-mail.
I can correct electronic submissions on the screen and e-mail them back to the writer without having to print them out. I know that many editors sing the praises of working with printouts, and I wouldn’t argue with them—everyone has to find his or her own best work style. Consider the advantages of working onscreen, though: You never puncture the paper or find ink has soaked through; you focus on a smaller section of the page, which I believe makes errors stand out better; and you save paper and toner, not to mention work and storage space.
It’s less trouble to correct the corrections. We may talk about saving first drafts for the benefit of future literary scholars, but we also have to think of the immediate convenience of the writers. Heavily marked copy is frequently difficult to read, especially after going through a fax machine. And if an editor puts a mark in the wrong place, or changes her mind about a correction, you have notes on top of notes, which further contributes to the risk of an illegible mess.
All that said, I hardly blame the writers who want to know what was changed and why. In such a case, you can let your word processor track the changes, save separate files for separate drafts, or send the writer some basic notes on the most significant changes.
What are the most common mistakes authors make?
Sending the editor the first draft is one. Even editors at major publishing houses have this complaint. All writers should learn the basics of proofreading and editing their own work. Don’t waste the editor’s time on minor things you could easily have corrected yourself.
Arguing with the editor is another common annoyance. Asking for details on the changes is one thing; having a fit because the editor doesn’t just rubber-stamp your work is entirely different. Authors are incredibly sensitive—it seems to go with the creative temperament—but the smart ones develop thick enough skins to admit they don’t know everything.
Clichés that editors are sick of hearing include: “My mother [or kids or church group] loved this,” “I don’t have any experience, but…” “I know you don’t normally work with this genre, but my piece is so good I’m sure you’ll make an exception,” and—for Christian editors in particular—“God gave me this message for the world.” All of these phrases signal oversensitivity or laziness.
Common stylistic mistakes include writing “it’s” for “its,” dangling the modifiers (“running down the street, the clock chimed”—talk about a fast clock!), leaving out commas (usually near the end of a list or on one end of a parenthetical phrase), and using the wrong style manual for the target market (or, worse, following different style guides for the same situation within the same manuscript).
And finally, a few common plotting mistakes: leaving loose ends unresolved (e.g., the interesting minor character who disappears without a trace or an explanation); making factual or historical errors; constant “viewpoint hopping” (writers should tell the whole story, or at least each separate chapter or scene, from one point of view); and making abrupt transitions. Common mistakes in nonfiction are similar: getting the facts wrong, overlooking key points, or using a choppy outline. Even “everything you need to know about this subject” books should be arranged chronologically, alphabetically, or in some other logical order.
Do you have an editing horror story?
My biggest problem is clients who think only of their own convenience. I’ve had clients who want jobs done for under $50, clients who ask me to “run off” an extra copy of a manuscript (or 2,000 brochures) on my desk printer, clients who promise work for a tentative future that never arrives, clients who present a job on Friday and want it finished by Monday morning, clients who keep asking for more changes, clients who can’t manage their accounts (one two-time check bouncer was a financial advisor in her day job), and clients who never get around to paying their bills.
My favorite horror story was a multiple offender; he gave me two days to proof a manuscript of 200+ pages, and after it was finished on schedule he “couldn’t pay just yet but I’ll get to you soon”—a line I heard at least four times over the following months. He finally skipped town, and it turned out I wasn’t the only business he left holding unpaid bills. Apparently he spent all his funds and credit on personal luxuries.
Of course, there have been some wonderful clients too. The most recent example is the one who, during the planning stage, made a payment counteroffer 50% higher than my quoted fee.
How does one break into the editing field?
The same way one breaks into just about any freelance field: know the realities of self-employment, study your field and your market, make all the contacts you can, and don’t get discouraged when success takes a while! Most freelancers have second jobs, at least in the beginning, so organizing your time and taking care of your health are essential. There are many resources that explore the specifics of freelance editing; one interesting article is posted at http://hershleder.com/freelance_pt1.html. It’s not an easy article to read, though; the Web site designer used painfully tiny type.
Now, tell us about your writing.
Most of my publishing credits are for articles, primarily in smaller-name magazines and newspapers. I’ve had one short story and several poems published as well. In the future, I’d like to be published in Cricket, Discipleship Journal, Highlights, and Today’s Christian Woman. (I’m interested in juvenile as well as Christian writing.)
I’ve written several book manuscripts too—four middle-grade-to-young-adult novels and three or four nonfiction books—though so far none have gotten past the initial query stage. My latest project is a nonfiction book on educational reform: why schools should teach vocational and life skills as well as academic courses. (Incidentally, I’ve put together a “what I wish I’d learned in school” survey to gather data for that; any reader who wants to participate is welcome to contact me.) Someday, I hope to publish a teenage mystery/adventure series and several YA novels—geared toward the general market, but incorporating Christian principles. I have several ideas for biblical and other historical novels as well.
Where can we find you on the Web?
My Web site is Spread the Word Commercial Writing. I’ve posted some good articles and trivia there, as well as materials directly related to my writing business. I also have two e-mail addresses, address #1 and address #2.
Words of Wisdom: Nancy Williams, one of our members, posted something to the loop that I think is excellent. She said: "Too bad we only get twenty-four hours a day. Then again, I can't even manage the twenty-four I have, so what would I do with more?"
