It’s funny—many times you’ll only hear from an editor when receiving a rejection. For whatever reason, your e-mailed query letter and their e-mailed rejection is the only interaction you will ever establish. But sometimes things click: An editor connects with your query letter, and an author-editor relationship is born.
Although courting an editor with a query letter and then having it accepted may seem romantic—almost as if an editor has agreed to go out on a date with you—be careful to remain professional. Remember that when dealing with an editor, a friendly relationship is mandatory. But keep in mind that an editor is your boss—at least while she is assigning you pieces—and you should treat her with the same respect (and professional distance) that you would any boss.
It should be noted, however, that during the span of several years, editors and writers often become friends—it’s the nature of the business. Furthermore, in journalism, unlike between journalist and source, no strict professional boundary exists between editor and writer. In the world of freelancing, editors and writers switch professional roles, and often someone who is an editor one day will be a freelancer another. In the beginning, however, it’s best to maintain a friendly and professional distance from your editor.
If an editor has expressed interest in your query letter and offered you an assignment, don’t hesitate to e-mail her with relevant questions. Remember to keep your e-mails well written, concise, and professional. There’s no reason to send your editor a five-paragraph missive every time you want to check in with a quick question. Also, with new topics, be sure to use an explanatory title in the subject line instead of responding to a previous e-mail, and always be sure that your e-mail clearly outlines a call to action. In other words, make the reason for your e-mail apparent. With well-written e-mails, you can establish a strong virtual presence in the minds of your editor and others. (An editor once offered me a job because I was always meticulous with my e-mails to her.)
When responding to e-mail, make sure to acknowledge any incoming e-mail within the first twenty-four hours. This is common business practice. If you plan to be away from your e-mail account for several days, it’s a good idea to compose an auto-reply message with a quick explanation.
Before you begin writing any article, you should clarify by e-mail or phone whether your editor wants you to summarize events or information, speak with one or numerous sources, speak with specific sources, examine opposing viewpoints, create sidebars, and so forth. You may want to be proactive and anticipate a publication’s needs; doing so can be a good way to please an editor. For example, you may want to ask your editor whether you can help take or track down high-quality photos.
Nowadays, many editors prefer to use Dropbox when communicating with a writer. Dropbox is a free data repository service that works on a virtual cloud. Documents, pictures, and so forth are dropped into a folder in Dropbox and shared with other parties. The basic version of Dropbox is free and comes with 2 gigabytes (GB) of online space. Although this amount of space is usually sufficient, if you want more space, you can pay for it.
Try to submit your piece a few days before the deadline. Everybody likes wiggle room, especially a busy editor. By getting your piece in a few days early, you will save yourself the frustration of typing up something last minute and will impress your editor with your timeliness.
When it comes time to send sources copies of a published piece, you sometimes need to send your editor an e-mail request for these copies. (I always try to send my sources a copy of the final publication along with a thank-you note as a courtesy. If I’m dealing with a digital publication, I send the published piece as a PDF attachment or link and thank the source via e-mail.) With a smaller publication like an association magazine, often the only way to secure a copy of the final piece is to request it from the editor or editorial staff. (Sometimes smaller publications are gracious enough to send copies to sources on your behalf. If this were to happen, I still suggest sending along your own thank-you note. Remember that a good source is a lifetime resource.)
Editors are busy people, and many months can pass between the time you turn in a final piece and when it’s published. By the time you request copies, your request may seem less important than more pressing editorial concerns. Furthermore, editors are not required to send writers a copy of the final piece but often do (or have their assistants do so) as a courtesy. Don’t be shy when requesting a few copies of a piece—one for each source and a couple of hard copies for your portfolio. Just be careful not to request too many—I once heard about an author who wanted twenty-five copies of a magazine for one source!
Obviously, if you are writing for a national consumer magazine, which are sold at newsstands, there is no need to request copies. After all, you can go to your local bookstore or newsstand and purchase as many copies as you want. Sometimes an editor won’t even tell you when to expect a piece, so you must hit up a bookstore, Walmart, or Target a few times a month so as not to miss it.
When submitting a final piece to an editor, make sure to title the document and include a word count and source list. Typically, the word count for any final piece should be within 10 percent of what was initially agreed on. After you complete your assignment, you may also need to submit an invoice. Invoice templates are available through Microsoft or can be generated using bookkeeping programs such as QuickBooks.
Most writers do their own bookkeeping using programs such as QuickBooks; thus, it’s important to keep copies of invoices and any tax documents (1099s) sent to you by the publisher. Unless you’re pulling in a large salary from freelancing and need to incorporate, most writers file taxes as sole proprietors and submit records to an accountant who files taxes. If you do your own taxes, be careful when claiming deductions. For example, don’t deduct the rent of your entire apartment as a business expense if you only use one room to write. Instead deduct a fraction of the rent.
Occasionally, you’ll make a mistake and anger or offend an editor. If this were to happen, apologize and don’t make the mistake again. For example, I once missed a phone appointment with an editor. It was embarrassing, and the editor was miffed. I apologized and never made the mistake again. We still have a good working relationship.
While working with an editor, remember that her job is to edit even if that means changing your article around and possibly deleting parts that you like. When you receive edits, do your best to work with your editor. Accept the edits that you think improve the piece, and politely voice your concerns about the edits that you feel compromise the meaning or the message of a piece. Just as you would never unilaterally accept all edits made to a piece, be careful not to spurn edits that improve a piece.
Nowadays, most editors use track changes in Microsoft Word when providing edits. (A minority send edits in a PDF document, which requires that you own Adobe Professional to make changes to the document directly.) When raising concerns about a specific edit, reply using track changes in Microsoft Word. If you don’t understand how to use the track changes or editing functions in Microsoft Word, you can find some quick instructional videos on YouTube. When responding to an edit, try to frame your concerns in terms of the five Cs: conciseness, comprehensibility, cohesiveness, clarity, and correctness. By doing so, you are able to think like an editor and better make a case for your argument. When arguing a point, feel free to clue your editor in on any extra information that you may have learned about the subject or source.
Remember to always respond to edits in a timely fashion and always be courteous. Sometimes an editor will “hack a piece to death.” Your first temptation may be to fight back and make the situation adversarial. Whatever you do, don’t fight back! Respond to the edits in a courteous manner. Remember that the vast majority of edits are done to improve the piece and publication. And remember that ultimately, the publication commissioning the piece owns, at the very least, first rights to your article and, in the end, has the right to merely proofread it, edit it, or completely rewrite it.
If you feel completely justified in debating a change that your editor has made, try to be tactful. First, acknowledge the validity of the concern. Second, make your point clear and don’t oversell it with extraneous information—one or two good reasons are usually enough. Third, if possible, consider compromise.
Keep in mind that good editors change only what they have to; consequently, nearly all edits are made for a reason. “I do what I have to do for a story,” says Margaret Guroff, features editor at AARP The Magazine. “Even a piece that I truly love might need changes to work for my reader. And if it doesn’t need changes, I won’t lift a finger.”
Sometimes an editor or publication will edit a story without contacting you, or the editor may even rewrite the story completely. Although you may be displeased by this practice, there is little that you can do. If a publication were to warp your story without your input, your only recourse may be to express concern that the final piece (with your name on the byline) is off base and never work with the editor or publication again.
The topic of money sometimes comes up when dealing with an editor. When first trying to establish a relationship with an editor, it’s best not to quibble over a few cents per word. But sometimes, if you’ve been writing for an editor and publication for a while, you may be tempted to ask for more money, which may be justified. Editors are often sympathetic to the financial needs of freelancers because they were once (or still are) freelancers themselves. If an editor has no way to pay you because her resources are tapped—as is often the case in a time of dwindling advertising revenues and diminished circulation—there may be different ways you can receive payment. You may want to request a credit as a contributing editor in the masthead. (A contributing editor is a fancy name for somebody who contributes to the magazine often.) Getting credited in such a way could look good on your resume and secure you future work. Keep in mind, though, that sometimes editors will not only reject your requests for more money but also your request to be designated a contributing writer or editor.
Although your editor and the staff at the publication for which you’re writing can be of great help and support, in case of a lawsuit, you may be on your own. Consequently, you must make sure to avoid libel or the unjust defamation of another person in print. (Some people confuse libel and slander. Although similar, slander is verbal defamation.) If you’re practicing good journalism—journalism of coherence, verification, and transparency—the likelihood that you will engage in libel is low. Additionally, in the United States at least, it’s very difficult to prove libel in court. Nevertheless, if you are engaged in high-risk (investigative) reporting, you may want to consider covering yourself with media liability insurance, which is available through organizations such as Mediabistro and the Author’s Guild.
On a final note, one of the great things about journalism in the United States is that, to some extent, journalists enjoy certain freedoms that improve the quality of published work. For example, although there is no federal shield law, in almost every state there are shield laws in place to protect journalists. Furthermore, thanks to the pioneering work of colonial publisher John Peter Zenger and his lawyer Andrew Hamilton, truth is a defense against libel—a major win for freedom of the press. If what you write is true, then there’s no reason to fear libel.