Yellow (and Red!) Flags when Freelancing for Publishing Companies

I’ve freelanced in various capacities for a lot of publishing companies over the years, and overall, it has been a rewarding and happy experience.

However.

There are some yellow (and red!) flags to watch out for if you want to work as a freelance editor for publishing companies. The following are the most common.

Edit Tests

If you connect with a publisher who is looking for a freelance editor, you’ll almost certainly be asked to take an editing test or possibly a series of editing tests. It’s not required across the board—I’ve been hired without having to take a test. But on other occasions, I’ve needed to take one, particularly in circumstances where the publisher is looking for a freelancer to take on a long-term workload versus when an editor who has gotten behind and just needs someone to take one manuscript off her hands.

You will need to know to expect this and to decide what to do about it. Some freelancers feel their experience should preclude their having to do an editing test and refuse them. That’s certainly understandable, but in some cases you simply won’t be hired without taking the test.

Basically, you’ll be asked to review a chapter from a book (or something similar), then given a little information about the context of the book (audience, purpose), and asked to edit the material (usually line edits/queries).

For copyediting work, you’ll be expected to make sure the manuscript adheres to the house style, which is usually The Chicago Manual of Style with some variations (for example, one book publisher I’ve worked with follows CMOS with the exception of the serial comma).

For developmental editing work, you’ll also be asked to write a revision letter outlining your overall developmental concerns. Even if you’re asking for DE work, you’ll need to show that you understand the basics of copyediting (that you know how to use a style guide, that you understand how to untangle a confusing sentence).

Just be sure that you understand what the client wants you to do on the test and follow the instructions.

That said, beware of any company that expects you to participate in testing that costs money or that requires more than an hour or two of your time. Exploitive practices at the start of a business relationship never improve.

Scams

Some people (not legitimate publishers) use “tests” to scam editorial services from editors. They’ll ask ten different people to do a free “sample” edit on ten different chapters of their book, then think they’ll be able to revise their work without having to pay anyone to edit the whole thing.

Of course, you can imagine how ridiculous that revision is going to end up being, but the scam artist doesn’t know this.

So, use caution when responding to postings on Craigslist and similar places. And, vet publishers by doing some Googling before jumping through too many hoops. Just because a company has “publisher,” “publishing company” or “Inc.,” in its name doesn’t mean it isn’t just Joe the plumber trying to cash in on his memoirs.

Hiring expectations

Also, be aware that even legitimate publishers can have ridiculous expectations of a freelancer; we’re not applying to be staffers but sometimes they act as if we are.

Just be proactive about finding out what their freelance hiring process is. If it requires five rounds of interviews and a trip to a city three thousand miles from home, maybe it’s an opportunity to pass up. The key is to find out ahead of time what their decision-making process will entail. Then you can decide if you want to be part of it.

The best time to do this is after you’ve reached out (perhaps you’ve sent a letter of introduction or responded to a LinkedIn post asking for applicants to a freelance pool) and the publisher has responded. A “Thank you so much for your interest! Can you tell me a little about your hiring process so I can be sure I understand your expectations?” will do the trick.