Questions to Ask an Editor
For writers hiring a freelance editor or starting with a new one: twenty questions that pin down the level of edit, the price, the number of rounds, and the feedback style before your draft changes hands.
The questions
Open any question for the note
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 pages is the only real test of fit, and it shows you whether they edit toward your voice or toward their own. Two to five pages is a normal ask, paid or free depending on their policy.
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. Reluctance here is worth noticing.
Walk me through 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 editing, how many passes they make, and where the check-in points are, which sets your expectations for the silent weeks in between.
How do you price this, and what could change the number after we start?
Why ask it
Per word, per page, per hour, and flat fee behave very differently when the work turns out heavier than expected. Ask what triggers a re-quote and what the deposit and cancellation terms are.
What is your turnaround, and what happens if my delivery date slips?
Why ask it
Editors book weeks or months ahead, so a late manuscript may lose its slot entirely. Getting the reschedule rule in writing now prevents an awkward negotiation later.
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.
How will the edit come back to me: tracked changes, an editorial letter, a call, or all three?
Why ask it
A developmental edit delivered as 4,000 inline comments 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
This is the most common source of disputes. Clarify whether a follow-up on rewritten chapters is included or billed separately, and how long you have to use your remaining rounds.
What is explicitly not in scope here?
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.
How do you handle intentional rule-breaking in my voice, like dialect, fragments, or unusual punctuation?
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.
How many other projects will you be carrying during my window?
Why ask it
Freelancers stack work, and staff editors have full lists. You are not asking for exclusivity, you are checking that your dates are realistic and that a busy month will not swallow your slot.
What do you need from me before you start, and what should I stop revising?
Why ask it
Editors lose days reconciling versions when writers keep tinkering. This question surfaces their file requirements, their questionnaire if they use one, and the moment you have to let the draft go.
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.
Who owns the edited files, will you sign an NDA, and how do you want to be credited?
Why ask it
Confidentiality matters for unpublished work, memoir, and anything under contract, and credit expectations vary from acknowledgment to a named line. Settle all three before the work starts, not at publication.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Hiring and Working With an Editor
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
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.
- If two editors quote wildly different prices, they are usually 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 three to five 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. Email counts as writing.
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 good editors fill up 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. First reactions to structural notes are almost always worse than second ones, 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.