Questions to Ask an Editor
Questions to ask an editor, most of them for a writer about to hire a freelance one: which level of edit the draft needs, what it will cost, how many rounds are included and how the notes come back. Two shorter groups are for the editor a publisher or magazine assigns you, and for anyone interviewing an editor about the job itself.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Hiring
What level of editing does my manuscript actually need, and how did you decide that?
Why ask it
A good editor will tell you if you are asking for a copyedit on a draft that still needs structural work. The reasoning behind their answer tells you more than the label they land on.
What have you edited that is closest to this in genre, length, and readership?
Why ask it
Editing a 90,000 word literary novel is a different job from editing a business book or a dissertation. Ask for titles you can look up rather than a general claim of range.
Would you do a sample edit on a few pages of my own writing?
Why ask it
A sample on your own pages is the closest thing to a real test of fit, and it shows you whether they edit toward your voice or toward theirs. Editors differ on how many pages they will do and on whether they charge for it, so ask both.
Can you point me to two recent clients I can contact?
Why ask it
Past clients will tell you things a portfolio cannot: whether deadlines held, whether the editor went quiet, and whether the finished book was better. Some authors ask not to be named, so one contact and a published book that thanks the editor in its acknowledgments can be a fair substitute.
What is your process from the day I send the file to the day I get it back?
Why ask it
You learn whether they read the whole manuscript before marking anything, how many passes they make and what you receive at the end. If the answer is a single read from page one, ask how they deal with a problem in the last chapter that changes the first.
Which kinds of editing do you take on, and which do you refer to someone else?
Why ask it
Shaping a book and catching its last typos are different skills, and few people are equally good at both. An editor who names what they pass on, and to whom, knows where their strengths stop. Be careful with anyone offering every level in a single read.
What training do you have as an editor, and do you belong to a professional association?
Why ask it
In most places nobody licenses editors, so the title alone proves nothing. Years inside a publishing house, a recognized course or a long freelance list are all fair answers. What you want is a route you can check, and membership of an editors' association in your country is something you can look up.
Will you do the edit yourself, or does any of it go to an associate?
Why ask it
Agencies and busy freelancers sometimes hand work on, which can be fine. It does mean the sample and the references belong to someone else, so ask for the name of the person who would edit your pages and a sample from them.
Do you mostly work with authors who self-publish, or with writers going to agents and publishers?
Why ask it
If you self-publish, nobody at a publishing house will edit the book after this, so the edit you buy is the last one it gets. A writer about to query is more often paying for structure and a strong opening. Say which route you are on and ask how that changes what they would do.
Do you use AI tools at any stage, and would my manuscript be uploaded to one?
Why ask it
Practice is unsettled: some editors run nothing beyond a spellchecker and consistency macros, others use more. If you are under contract or plan to submit, check what the publisher or agent says about it first, and ask the editor to put their answer in the agreement.
What sort of book or writer are you the wrong editor for?
Why ask it
Everybody has some: a genre they never read, a tense they cannot warm to, a subject they would be guessing at. A frank answer is worth more than a claim to edit anything, and it often comes with the name of a colleague who suits you better.
What do you read in my genre when nobody is paying you to?
Why ask it
Someone who names three recent titles without stopping to think knows what your readers expect right now. If the only examples are decades old, they may be editing toward a market that has moved.
Reading my sample, what do you think this book is trying to do, and where does it fall short of that?
Why ask it
This is the real audition. An editor who can name your intent back to you, then point at the gap between intent and page, is an editor who will be useful for the whole draft.
Scope
How will the edit come back to me: tracked changes, an editorial letter, a call, or all three?
Why ask it
A developmental edit that arrives only as margin comments, with no letter pulling them together, is hard to act on, and a two page letter with no marked pages is hard to apply. Knowing the format lets you plan your revision time.
How many rounds are included, and what counts as a new round?
Why ask it
Writer and editor often mean different things by a round, and nobody finds out until the second invoice. Ask whether a look at rewritten chapters is included or billed separately, and how long you have to use any rounds you have left.
What does this edit not include?
Why ask it
Fact-checking, permissions clearance, indexing, formatting, citation building, and legal reads are often assumed by writers and excluded by editors. Naming the gaps tells you what you still have to arrange.
Which style guide and dictionary will you work from, and will I get a style sheet?
Why ask it
Chicago, AP, APA, and house style disagree on things you will notice, and a style sheet listing your names, spellings, and quirks is what keeps later rounds consistent. If they do not build one, ask why.
When I break a rule on purpose, with dialect, fragments or odd punctuation, how will you treat it?
Why ask it
The answer separates editors who query a choice from editors who quietly normalize it. It also gives you the chance to flag the patterns you want protected before they start.
On a line edit, do you rewrite the sentence yourself or tell me what is wrong with it?
Why ask it
Rewrites are quick to accept and easy to resent. Comments teach you more and leave the labor with you. Both are legitimate, so say which you want and ask to see one page done their usual way.
Do you keep track of timeline and continuity, like a character's age or what day of the week it is?
Why ask it
Many copyeditors log dates, ages and physical details on the style sheet as they go, and others treat continuity as a structural matter that should already be settled. If your book jumps around in time or has a large cast, mention it when you ask for the quote, because it changes the hours.
Will you edit to British, American, or another English, and does that match where I plan to publish?
Why ask it
Spelling is the small part. Quotation marks, dates, collective nouns and everyday vocabulary shift too, and an editor working outside their home variety should tell you so. Decide before the copyedit, since switching at proof stage means paying for the same pass twice.
Does the fee cover my blurb, synopsis, query letter, or the front and back matter?
Why ask it
These short pieces often sit outside the word count that was quoted, yet they are what an agent or a browsing reader sees first. If they are excluded, ask what adding them costs and whether they are better left until the main revision is done.
What software do you edit in, and what kind of file should I send?
Why ask it
Many editors work in Word with tracked changes, so a draft that lives in Scrivener or Google Docs may need exporting. Settle the format before the start date. Converting back and forth in the middle of an edit is how accepted changes go missing.
What should I do to the draft myself before I send it?
Why ask it
Expect a short practical list: read it aloud, run the spellcheck, search for the words you lean on, cut the scene you already suspect. Everything you clear yourself is something you are not paying for, and it lets the edit reach problems you cannot see on your own.
Once you have the file, should I stop revising until it comes back?
Why ask it
Editors lose days reconciling versions when a writer keeps tinkering, so most will ask you to leave the draft alone. If an idea will not wait, write it in a separate document and apply it after the edit returns. Ask too whether they send a questionnaire first, and fill it in properly.
If you open the file and it needs a different kind of edit than we agreed, what happens next?
Why ask it
Sometimes a copyedit reveals a structural problem. You want to know whether they pause and talk to you, plow ahead at the agreed level, or refund and step back.
Fees and terms
What do you charge for this, and is that by the word, by the hour or a flat fee?
Why ask it
A per-word or flat fee tells you the total before the work begins, and an hourly rate does not. For hourly work, ask for an estimate of the hours and a warning before it is passed. Fees vary a great deal with the level of edit, so compare quotes only when they are for the same service.
What deposit do you take, and when is the rest due?
Why ask it
A deposit to hold the slot, with the balance on delivery or in stages, is a common arrangement, though terms differ from editor to editor. Ask whether the deposit can be refunded, up to what date, and which currency and payment method they expect.
Do you work from a written agreement, and can I read it before I pay anything?
Why ask it
A page or two naming the service, the word count, the fee, the dates and what happens when plans change protects you both. No contract does not have to mean no deal: put the same points in an email and ask for a reply confirming them. For a large sum or terms you do not follow, have someone qualified read it.
If my word count changes before the start date, how is the fee adjusted?
Why ask it
Drafts grow and shrink in revision. A per-word rate corrects itself, while a flat fee quoted on an older count may not move in either direction. Find out how much drift they allow before they quote again.
If the full edit is beyond my budget, is there a smaller service that would still help?
Why ask it
A manuscript assessment, which is a read and a report with no marked pages, usually costs less than a full developmental edit and can be enough to steer a revision you do yourself. Some editors will also work on the opening chapters as a model for the rest. Ask this instead of going quiet after the quote, because nobody can offer the cheaper option to a writer who has vanished.
When could you start, and how long will the edit take?
Why ask it
Many editors are booked weeks or months ahead, so the start date can matter more than the turnaround. Add your own revision time and a proofread to whatever they tell you before you promise a date to an agent, a printer or your readers.
If I am late sending you the manuscript, do I lose my slot?
Why ask it
An editor with a full calendar may have another book starting the day yours was meant to be finished, so a week lost on your side can become a much longer wait. Get the reschedule rule in writing now, including whether your deposit moves with the booking.
What happens if you are the one running late?
Why ask it
You are being asked to commit to dates, so it is fair to ask the same in return. A penalty clause matters less than hearing how early they would warn you and whether they could deliver in parts. If a launch, a preorder or a submission window depends on the date, tell them now.
If either of us has to pull out partway through, what do I pay and what do I get?
Why ask it
Illness, family trouble and plain loss of heart happen on both sides of an edit. One fair version is payment for the work done and delivery of everything marked up so far. Hear theirs in specifics while there is nothing yet to argue about.
Will you keep my manuscript confidential, and would you sign an NDA if I need one?
Why ask it
Confidentiality matters most for unpublished work, memoir and anything under contract. Plenty of editors already have a clause for it in their own agreement, which may be all you need. If a publisher or an employer requires a formal NDA, say so before you book.
Would you like to be named in the acknowledgments?
Why ask it
Expectations run from no mention at all to a named line, and some editors would sooner not be credited on a book that changed a lot after their pass. Asking early saves either of you a surprise on publication day.
Feedback
How direct are you in your comments, and can you adjust that for me?
Why ask it
Some writers want the problem stated flat, and others stop being able to work when the margin fills with blunt verdicts. Say which you are. Then look at the tone of the sample edit, which is more reliable than how any editor describes their own manner.
Will you tell me what is working as well as what needs fixing?
Why ask it
Praise in an edit is information: it marks the passages to leave alone. Writers who never hear it tend to revise their best pages into something flatter. Ask to see the positive comments in a past editorial letter, with the author's name removed.
What is the hardest feedback you have had to give a writer, and how did you deliver it?
Why ask it
It reveals both their honesty and their bedside manner. Look for someone who will tell you the middle third does not work and can say so in a way you can act on.
When we disagree about a sentence, how do we settle it?
Why ask it
You will disagree. Some editors defer to the author on anything stylistic and hold firm only on accuracy and consistency, others expect to win. Hearing their default now saves a bruising round three.
How often will I hear from you while you have the manuscript?
Why ask it
Weeks of silence are normal in the middle of an edit and unnerving the first time. Agree on one check-in, even a single line at the halfway mark, and find out whether they send queries as they come up or save them for the end.
Once the edit is back, can I ask you questions, and for how long?
Why ask it
Some editors include a follow-up call or a few weeks of email, and for others the job ends at delivery. Your real questions will not surface until you are deep in the notes, so know the window and whether it is part of the fee.
If you think the book is still not ready when you finish, will you say so?
Why ask it
You are the one paying, which gives any editor a reason to send you away happy. Asking ahead of time is permission to be honest. Watch how they take the question: it shows whether they think the job is improving the manuscript or pleasing the client.
After your pass, what will still be my job before this is ready for agents, a publisher, or readers?
Why ask it
It stops you assuming an edit is a finish line. A candid editor will name the proofread, the permissions, the synopsis, or the second structural pass that still stands between you and submission.
In-house editors
Which part of the manuscript convinced you to take it on?
Why ask it
On a call with an editor who hopes to acquire your book, listen to this answer harder than to anything about money. A scene or a chapter named from memory means they read closely, and it shows you which book they think they are buying. If the part they loved is one you meant to cut, talk about that now.
What are the two or three biggest changes your first editorial letter would ask for?
Why ask it
A light polish and a rebuilt second half are described with the same warmth on these calls. Getting the large notes named early is the only way to tell them apart. If one of them is the thing you would refuse to change, you both need to know before a contract exists.
Who else at the house has read it, and how did they react?
Why ask it
At many publishers an editor has to bring sales, marketing and publicity along before an offer can be made. Hearing who else is keen tells you how much support the book has when your editor's attention moves on to the next season.
How many books are you editing this year, and how fast do notes usually come back?
Why ask it
An editor's list decides how long your manuscript waits in the queue. The number itself is not the point. You need to know whether to expect a letter in three weeks or three months so you can plan other work around the gap.
If you changed jobs before publication, who would take the book over?
Why ask it
Editors move, and a book whose champion has left can land with someone who did not choose it. Nobody can promise to stay, so skip that and ask how the house handles a handover. If you have an agent, let them ask what the contract says about it.
What length and deadline do you want for this piece, and who is it for?
Why ask it
This one is for a magazine, newspaper or website editor who has just said yes. An assignment agreed in a friendly call can mean different things to each of you by the due date. Send a short email restating the length, the deadline, the angle and the reader, and ask them to confirm it.
What does the piece pay, and is there a kill fee if it does not run?
Why ask it
Ask when the money arrives as well, since payment on acceptance and payment on publication can sit months apart. A kill fee is a part-payment for a commissioned piece that gets dropped, and outlets differ on whether they offer one and how much. Raise it before you start the reporting, not after you file.
Will I see the edited version, headline included, before it is published?
Why ask it
Outlets differ, and headlines are commonly written by the desk and not by the writer. Asking to check the final text for accuracy is reasonable when your name and your sources are attached to it. Asking to approve every change of style usually is not, so be clear which one you mean.
What makes you say yes to a pitch from a writer you have never worked with?
Why ask it
It comes straight from the person who decides. Most editors describe something short that shows the story, why it matters now and why you are the one to write it. Follow up by asking how long to wait before nudging an unanswered pitch.
What could I do to make my copy easier for you to edit?
Why ask it
For a reporter or regular contributor, this is the one to put to the editor you already file to. Expect something small and fixable: file earlier, put the point higher, flag what you could not confirm. Do the thing they name before you ask again.
About the job
How did you become an editor?
Why ask it
An easy opener for a class interview, a student paper profile or an informational chat. Routes vary widely, through assistant jobs, reporting, teaching or freelancing, and the detours are usually the best material, so ask what they did before.
What does an ordinary working day involve, and how much of it is actual editing?
Why ask it
People outside the job picture someone alone with a manuscript. Many editors will tell you the day is mostly email, meetings, schedules and persuading colleagues. If you are weighing the career, that proportion is the answer to take home.
What do you enjoy most about editing, and which part would you happily hand to someone else?
Why ask it
The first half usually brings a story about one book or one writer, so let it run. The second half is where the plain picture of the job sits: the admin, the rejections they have to write, the late nights before a deadline. A profile needs both.
What makes someone a good editor?
Why ask it
Good grammar is the obvious answer, so notice what they put ahead of it: tact, curiosity, wide reading, knowing when a piece is finished. Then ask which of those they had to learn on the job.
What do you look for on the first page of a submission?
Why ask it
Answers tend to be plainer than writers hope: a voice, clean copy, a sense that the writer knows where this is going. Then ask the opposite, what makes them stop reading, which usually gets a quicker and more specific reply.
What mistake do you see most often in the writing that reaches you?
Why ask it
Every editor keeps a mental list and it changes with the field: the buried point in a news story, the slow wind-up in an essay, the feeling explained twice in fiction. Write the answer down and use it as a checklist on your next draft.
How do you decide when to change something and when to leave it alone?
Why ask it
Restraint is most of the craft, and a good editor can state their rule in a sentence or two. Listen for the difference between fixing what is wrong, querying what is unclear, and leaving what is simply not how they would have put it. It works in a hiring conversation as well as an interview.
Which book or piece are you proudest of having edited, and what did you actually do to it?
Why ask it
Editors are rarely credited in public, so most enjoy being asked. The second half keeps the answer concrete: a chapter moved, an ending cut, a title found. If the work is confidential they will say so, and you can ask for the kind of problem without the name.
How has the job changed since you started?
Why ask it
Staff sizes, budgets, the pace of publishing online, new software: anyone with a few years in has watched the work shift. For a profile or a school assignment this gives you history and opinion in a single answer. Ask what they miss and what they would never go back to.
What are you hoping to find in your inbox that nobody is sending?
Why ask it
Many editors carry a wish list of subjects, voices or kinds of story they cannot get enough of. At a panel or conference, the whole room benefits from this one. Unless you are invited to, resist pitching your own project on the spot.
What would you tell someone who wants to become an editor now?
Why ask it
A natural last question for a student or a career changer. Push past the general encouragement by asking which skill to practice first and whether a course or degree is worth the cost in their part of the field. If you want the work yourself, ask who else you should talk to.
Hiring and Working With an Editor
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Which Questions Fit Which Editor
- Hiring a freelance editor for a book, thesis or long document: start with Hiring, go through Scope and then Fees and terms before you agree to anything, and use Feedback once you are close to booking.
- On a first call, five or six questions is plenty. Lead with the level of edit, the closest comparable work and the sample edit, and put the detailed terms in a follow-up email where the answers end up in writing anyway.
- An editor at a publisher who wants to acquire your book: the first five under In-house editors are for that call. You did not choose this editor and are not paying them, so the questions are about their plan for the book, not their rates. If you have an agent, agree beforehand which of you asks what.
- An editor at a magazine, newspaper or website: the last five under In-house editors. Four are for a piece that has just been commissioned, asked before you start work and confirmed by email. The fifth is for an editor you already file to.
- Interviewing an editor for a class, a student paper, a panel or a career conversation: About the job is written for that. Pick five, and let the follow-ups do the rest.
Know Which Level of Edit You Are Buying
- Developmental or structural edit: works on the whole, including argument, structure, pacing, character, and what to cut. Usually delivered as an editorial letter plus chapter notes.
- Line edit: works paragraph by paragraph on rhythm, clarity, and voice. It rewrites sentences, so it is the level most likely to clash with an author's style if expectations are not set.
- Copyedit: grammar, consistency, usage, style guide compliance, and a style sheet. It assumes the structure is settled.
- Proofread: the last pass on a laid-out or final file, catching typos, bad breaks, and stray formatting. It is not a rescue for a rough draft.
- Editors and countries do not all use these labels the same way, so ask each editor what theirs covers. When two quotes are far apart, the editors are often quoting different levels. Compare scope before you compare numbers.
Before You Sign Anything
Pay for a sample edit if you have to
Send the same few pages to two or three editors, ideally a passage you know is weak rather than your polished opening. Compare how they query versus how they overwrite, and whether their comments explain the reasoning or just assert a fix.
Get scope, price, dates, and rounds in one document
A short agreement should name the level of edit, the word count it covers, the fee and payment schedule, the delivery dates in both directions, the number of rounds, the exclusions, and what happens if either side is late. Where there is no formal contract, an email that both of you have confirmed is a record you can point to later.
Send the draft you actually want edited
Do not book a copyedit on a manuscript you plan to keep rewriting for another month. Freeze the file, name it clearly with a date, and keep your own tinkering in a separate copy so versions never merge badly.
Check their availability against your real deadline
If you have a contracted delivery date or a query season in mind, work backwards: editing time, your revision time, and a proofread afterward. Book earlier than feels necessary, because many editors are full months ahead.
Answers That Should Give You Pause
- They agree to every level of editing at once for one flat fee without seeing the manuscript.
- They promise an agent, a publisher, or a specific sales result, or they steer you toward a paid publishing service they are connected to.
- They cannot name a style guide or do not produce a style sheet on copyedits.
- The sample edit rewrites your voice into theirs with no queries explaining why.
- They will not give you client references, or the only praise available is anonymous testimonials on their own site.
- The number of included rounds, or what counts as a round, stays vague after you ask twice.
- They want the full fee up front with no milestones and no cancellation terms.
Working With the Edit Once It Arrives
Read everything before you change a word
Read the editorial letter and skim the marked file end to end first, then wait a day. A first reaction to structural notes tends to be harsher than the second, and accepting changes as you read makes you lose the pattern.
Sort the notes into three piles
Obvious fixes to accept in bulk, judgment calls to sit with, and changes you will decline. Reply to the declines with a one line reason so the editor stops re-flagging them in the next round and can update the style sheet.
Treat a repeated note as data even when you disagree
If an editor flags the same problem in six places, the specific fixes may be wrong while the diagnosis is right. Ask what they think is causing the pattern rather than arguing each instance.
Ask questions in one batch, not a trickle
Collect your queries and send them together with chapter and page references. It respects an editor who is paid per project rather than per hour of email, and you get more considered answers.