author/editor relationship

Five Smart Moves to Help You Pitch an Editor for Your Christian Book

If you have sought a Christian editor by posting jobs and making offers but haven’t received a response, try these five smart moves to help you pitch an editor for your Christian book.

Smart Move #1: Ditch the Unreasonable Fears

Maybe your job pitch reveals your fears. Do you believe these things?

Editors will demolish your voice!

Editors will steal your story!

Editors are getting paid too much if you give them more than $1000!

Professional Christian editors have no interest in harming you or your work. We want your hard work to benefit from our corrections.

Smart Move #2: Know Different Editors Exist

Maybe you don’t see the value of what different types of edits can do for your Christian book.

For example, don’t ask for a proofreader and expect improved readability. Don’t ask for a copy editor and expect him or her to spot plot holes.

When a writer asks for an edit like this, we know the writer doesn’t understand the editing process.

Smart Move #3: Prepare Your Best Offer

Perhaps you expect heaps of work for little pay. For instance, don’t offer $200 to edit a 40,000-word manuscript. If you’ve gotten away with this, you’ve taken advantage of someone’s naïveté. For 40,000 words, prepare your offer at or above these 2020 rates instead:

Developmental: $1600 (e.g., You need help with the best order and progression of your non-fiction content.)

Line Edit: $1600 (e.g., Your non-fiction sentences need punch, organization, and clarity.)

Substantive: $2000 (e.g., You suspect your fiction story could be better through development and lines; Your manuscript was rejected.)

Copyedit: $1500 (e.g., Your manuscript contains several errors and needs fact-checking.)

Proofreading: $800 (e.g., Your manuscript needs a final edit.)

Comprehensive Edit: $3000 (A compilation of 2-3 of these services.)

Also, think about the editor’s livelihood. What editor could pay his or her bills with $200 after working for two weeks on your book?

Even Better…

Choose an editor from the Christian PEN and pay the rates on that editor’s website. Did you write a Christian kidlit novel? Contact me at https://iedit.ink. I negotiate payment plans.

You might have no idea what you need, which means you should purchase a manuscript critique. Read more about critiques and coaching in my upcoming article, entitled “To Critique or Not to Critique Your Christian Manuscript.”

Smart Move #4: Stop Worrying

Remember the list of unreasonable fears above? Indie book sales fail because writers fear and ignore the preparation process. But maybe you don’t want to self-publish. In that case, hiring a Christian substantive editor will help your book to get accepted.

Consider these long-term benefits. Hiring the right editor prepares your book to sell because Christian readers like good Christian books. Thorough, professional editing helps your book to contend in Christian award competitions and last through the years as a classic pick. A proper edit will increase your chances of getting offers from Christian publishing houses.

Smart Move #5: Facts You Don’t Need to Add

I want an editor to track changes.
I want an editor to know my book is my baby.
I want an editor to finish in 48 hours.

Essentially this means don’t micromanage the editor. We know how to do our job, plan the scope of the project, and want the best for your precious work of art. In fact, working on your manuscript excites us because you have finished a Christian book and invested in a Christian editor. Smart move.

Bobbie Temple can improve your Christian KidLit storyline. Hire her for critiques, illustrations, or a content edit for picture books to YA and graphic novels at iedit.ink.

Editors Need To Extend Grace and Mercy

by Sue A. Fairchild

I’m constantly thinking about relationships in my editing business. I like to get to know my authors and to understand why they write and what they hope to convey to their readers. It’s this constant consideration of the author/editor relationship that first came to mind one Sunday as my pastor spoke about the relationship we have with Christ.

My pastor talked about how grace and mercy are part of that relationship and I started thinking about how these two words could also relate to our relationships with our authors.

God’s example of mercy is not giving us what we deserve. We’re sinners. We don’t deserve mercy, we deserve much harsher treatment than God gives. Merriam-Webster gives several definitions for the word mercy, and two include the word compassion. “Compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one’s power” and “Compassionate treatment of those in distress.”

I think plenty of authors would agree that the editing process can be distressful! As editors, we can assist by offering compassion.

When we connect with our authors, do we offer mercy? Have you ever stopped yourself from typing, “No! Use only ONE space after a sentence!!!” instead of gently reminding the author it is now standard procedure to use only one space? I know I sometimes get upset with new authors—ones who have difficulty with the standards we, as professionals, know. However, it’s up to us who have greater knowledge to extend mercy and help each author learn when we can. We need to be compassionate to them and strive to assist.

What about grace? Grace—in biblical terms—is God giving us something we do not deserve. I thought this word seemed a bit harder to connect to the relationship we have with our authors until I saw one definition in MW: “the quality or state of being considerate or thoughtful.” That’s what we should be doing every day to everyone we meet—not just those we’re mentoring or editing. It seems simple, doesn’t it? Sometimes, though, we might let the stress of deadlines or the anxiety of work overwhelm us, and we forget to extend grace.

I often forget to offer praise while editing. All too often I edit, pointing out errors along the way, but forget to also include praise for well-written passages or finely constructed thoughts. In my head, I rationalize that the author will know if I don’t offer any comments, the section is fine as is. However, who among us doesn’t need a little praise every now and again? Doesn’t it make it easier to accept the corrections? By offering praise to an author, we exhibit grace by being thoughtful of the author’s feelings as well as build on the relationship with that author. We begin to relate on a deeper level—one that speaks to the human heart.

If we wish to increase our business as well as connect on a deeper level with our authors, we should always keep grace and mercy in mind.

In addition, reminding ourselves about grace and mercy will help us stay focused on the Lord—always a good practice!

Sue A. Fairchild is a freelance editor, blog coordinator for the PEN Tips Blog, and Christian author. Her clients include a USA Today Bestselling author. In addition, Sue has been published in Christian devotion magazines, two Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and has self-published two novels currently available on Amazon. Find out more about her by following her on Twitter and Instagram.