đ¤ˇââď¸Recently an editor and I were having a casual conversation about freelancers. She was telling me a few âfunnyâ stories about freelancers, one who demanded to see their edited copy with the changes highlighted, and asked me if Iâd ever asked for that. Canât say that I have.
And then she waxed poetic about freelancers who never turn in their copy on deadline. There was even a story about a freelancer who just thought any direction to the story was a suggestion, and then proceeded to write whatever it was they wanted instead.
There were stories of writers who constantly have tech trouble like their computer crashes frequently or their email is on the fritz a lot, and ones who constantly notify the editor about their personal woes.
đ¤Śđžââď¸Then there are writers who get defensive about their editsâtheyâd rather not have any of their words changed and are precious about it.
đ There are even writers who bug their editor frequently with ânonsenseâ as my editor friend called it. And writers who eat their crunchy salad while talking to their editor about a revise. Ewww.
To call these writers difficult might be an understatement. I think we can say they are not-easy-to-work-with writers.
Be easy to work with.
One thing I try to pride myself on is being easy to work with. You wonât know I have computer problems or email crashes, even if I do. Why? I borrow a computer or write on my iPad and still turn in a story on time. I donât endlessly email you with my problems and questions unless absolutely necessary. Heck, I try and cut down on your emails by not writing a lot of âOK, thanksâ and âno, problemâ chit-chatty mails that can feel unnecessary when you get a bazillion emails a day.
đ I donât typically miss deadlines and I laugh, yes, laugh (OUT LOUD) when I hear writers are precious over their words being changed.
Many of my compatriots say that as long as their name is correctly spelled on the check, theyâre good. And I pretty much agree, baring added errors, of course!
I always thought that if you are easy to work with, you make your editorâs job easier and theyâre more likely to work with you again and again. Iâve found that quite true over the years. So here are some other ways you can make your editorâs job easier and be easy to work with:
       Keep the editor up-to-date if somethingâs gone wrong. Canât get sources on the phone, the story has become controversial, your dog ate your copy? Tell the editor sooner rather than later.
      Keep a paper trail. Record study links, document research, keep interview files handy. Your paper trail is your lifeline when it comes to the project. Pulling up what your Ed needs at a momentâs notice makes you easy to work with and valuable.
     Offer options. At the beginning of the pandemic a story I was working on fell through because all the infectious disease experts were either at home or unavailable due to their COVID-19 duties. I gave the editor options for what we could do including change the scope, change the story, postpone the story until people became available or do a write-around without sources. Then I laid out the pros and cons for each and how I could deliver each one. The editor appreciated these options and considered them carefully. You and your editor are a team, acting like one makes you easy to work with.
  Taking on more work than you can handle and doing it all poorly endears you to no one, and you wonât be thought of as âgoodâ or easy to work with.
 Be easy to contact, available for a phone call, easy to connect with on social, quick to reply, and always kind and helpful.
 Finally, donât work with jerks. Life is too short. Editor insults your work, makes revises a living hell, writes snide quips in the margins? That should be the last time. Cut them loose because for every jerk, thereâs ten great editors looking for a writer whoâs easy to work with. Is it you?
Who/What/Where to Watch?
Book addiction got you down? Youâre not alone And thereâs a word for it.
Facing the truth when you write memoir. You must face hard truths daily in writing memoir. Can you handle truth in writing?
Iâm a sucker for âwriterlyâ things. I own âlibrary glassesâ and a book-smelling fragrance and I have a âwriter in residenceâ sign on my office door. So this âreading sweaterâ is a must buy.
Most books per capita. A little Welsh town takes the honor of the the most secondhand books shops per capita. Donât you wish you could visit and dig in? Writerâs retreat anyone?
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