When the Editor-Client Relationship Doesn't Work
How—and Why—to Fire Them
Image credit: Iván Tamás from Pixabay
In a perfect world, writers and editors would work together in perfect harmony, creating the finest works known to man. I’ve been fortunate to enjoy working with “my” writers, who ask for clarification if they don’t like or understand some of my changes, and who trust my judgment more often than not.
But sometimes things just don’t click. Regardless of the reasons, if you find yourself in a professional relationship that isn’t serving you well, you should be able to end it with no hard feelings and no regrets.
I should probably clarify right away that I’m talking about either party “firing” the other. You as a writer should be able to end the relationship with your editor, and vice versa. The right editor is out there for every writer, and sometimes it’s just a matter of searching a little harder.
What does a healthy working relationship look like?
Each party has a similar vision for the final product
There’s a mutual respect for each other’s skills
Each side publicly supports/promotes the other
There’s a level of professionalism with a friendly vibe
Each party understands the tools of the craft, or is willing to provide minor/limited education to meet those needs
You don’t have to be besties with the person you’re working with, but it helps to get along, and it never hurts to share your love of their work when someone asks for a book recommendation or an editor referral.
What are the signs of a troubled working partnership?
The author is resistant to the editor’s changes
constant argument over minor issues with no facts to back it up
rejects most changes with “that’s the way I like it” or “famous author so and so does this and no one cares”
The editor is not listening to the author’s concerns
consistently ignores author’s questions and imposes an authoritarian position
belittles the author for not knowing certain styles/processes
The editor is trying to change the author’s voice
forces personal preferences (e.g. “I just hate when people say, ‘See ya,’ so I’m changing all of those to ‘Goodbye’ instead”)
follows “zombie” rules, e.g. changing the sentence structure to something awkward just to avoid having a preposition at the end
The author does not respect the editor’s time/work hour boundaries
expects immediate replies to messages or email, even on weekends/late at night
calls the editor at home/on personal phone if texts aren’t answered quickly
expects unrealistic turnaround without paying a rush fee
demands to be bumped to the front of the queue after missing agreed-upon submission deadline
The author does not respect the payment agreement
late payments/excuses for nonpayment
decides the pricing is too high after agreeing to a set amount in contract
tries to talk the editor down to a much lower price for the work involved
wants to cancel/change booking date at the last minute without paying the agreed-upon nonrefundable deposit
Either party breaches the contract
the manuscript isn’t delivered on time per the scheduled booking
the editing deadline is not met, causing delays for the author
final payment is not made upon delivery of the edited manuscript
Scope creep occurs, when an author requires/expects more from the editor than the contracted job covers
hires for copyediting but wants developmental feedback
hires for final proofread only but expects line edits if needed
asks for help with formatting, marketing, etc. as “favors” instead of doing their own legwork
submits a manuscript that is significantly longer than agreed upon
Either party posts veiled complaints on social media
unprofessional behavior in public groups or on personal pages
libelous content can damage an author’s/editor’s reputation
Either party displays passive-aggressiveness
author rejects advice or changes without acknowledgment
editor inserts silent changes and hopes the author doesn’t notice
Either party ignores communications from the other
ghosts the author after getting up-front payment
author ghosts the editor after delivery of the MS but before they make the final payment
either party only answers every third or fourth email/inquiry, or doesn’t address all concerns but only answers one of many after repeated attempts by the other
What steps can you take to meet in the middle?
Address the issues
avoidance solves nothing—you’ll have to face them eventually
ignoring the problems only allows them to fester and grow larger than the reality
Be specific about what’s getting in the way
having a list helps you to not forget anything important
staying on topic keeps things professional
Try your best to not sound accusatory
put yourself in the other person’s position and decide whether your tone or content would put you on the defensive if things were the other way around
always assume good intentions until the other person proves you wrong (often, this may mean a Skype/video call so there’s no chance of misinterpretation of email “tone”)
Come to an agreement about the aforementioned specifics
try your best to discuss the entire list of concerns immediately, even if some of them will take a more extensive action to resolve
deal with the easier stuff first so your list of conflicts is immediately shorter
Decide what will or will not happen, setting a deadline for each item
catch up to payments before further work is done
allow a certain style change if it’s important to the author, even if it’s against the editor’s better judgment (remember whose book it is)
renegotiate the contract to include extras requested
When is it time to end the work partnership?
If either side is unwilling to make adjustments
If hostility has compromised the possibility of a future relationship
If things have escalated to include physical threats
If the anxiety/stress of the situation makes it undesirable for either party to continue
If the only recourse is legal intervention
Deciding to end a working relationship isn’t a frivolous thing. It’s often brought about by months of trying to make it work, and hours of agonizing over whether we’re making too much of something others might ignore.
What could have caused such a bad fit?
If this is an author’s first experience with an editor, they may assume this is the way author-editor relationships go, and that will skew their perspective of the entire process. They will see all future interactions with an editor through that tainted view.
Trust me, most authors and editors work very well together, and the ones who don’t are rare. Most times, it can be traced to something as general as a “bad fit.”
A bad fit can occur because:
an author hired the editor only based on the lowest price, rather than skill level and price and editing need combined
there may have been unclear expectations of the work involved
the editor oversold their skills/services
the author was unsure of what type of editing they needed and/or misrepresented the work involved
the editor was unclear on exactly what services they were providing
personality types clash
There’s an editor out there for every author, regardless of genre, writing style, price, or type of editing needed. Due diligence prior to hiring someone can usually eliminate most of the above-mentioned issues before the job even starts, but every so often, the decision has to be made to end the author-editor relationship.
How to take The Big Step
It should go without saying that severing the working relationship should be the last resort after other efforts have been made. If you’ve attempted to identify specific problems and have discussed them, decided on a course of action, and then there was no mutual follow-through, ending the work may be the best option.
The most important thing to remember is to keep all communication on a professional level, even if the other party doesn’t. Keep a copy of all written conversations and a record of all attempts at contact (if you’re being ghosted).
In your written communication, list the items that were addressed, what was expected, and what did or did not happen to resolve them. Don’t apologize unless something was genuinely your fault. Keep things factual, not emotional.
Above all, don’t delay. If you’ve tried everything to make it work and it hasn’t, you’ve already taken enough time that can be better spent looking for a new editor or author/client. It benefits neither party to remain in a holding pattern.
One person’s bad fit might be the perfect match for someone else, so don’t be discouraged. The right working relationship may be just around the corner!
