Some just want a read-through of the book for style, flow and content. Others want the technical edit. I get a lot of these requests due to my military background (13 years working for Air Force News Agency and broadcasting detachments overseas covering military issues for radio, television and the Internet).

Some want military jargon and technical details fact-checked, others are just trying to make sure they get military service details correct such as uniforms and service-specific acronyms. Then there those who are confident enough in all of the above and just want the usual copy editing for grammar, spelling, punctuation and the like.

For an experienced editor, expectation management is second nature. Showing an author or scriptwriter what you are willing to do on one level for X amount of dollars sometimes isn’t the answer. Instead? Defining what your work does NOT cover for that fee and time commitment is sometimes the most important thing.

Once I had a potential client who decided he wanted a lot of in-person meetings, with an ever-changing set of tasks and requirements. I tried very hard to direct this person to the most cost-effective use of time and resources based on his stated goals for the project, but he wouldn’t listen–or come up with his own ideas on how it should proceed.

I got the strangest feeling he wanted company, rather than an editor. The lack of direction seemed to be a way to prolong things, intentional or not.

In the end, I had to turn down the work. It paid very well, but I couldn’t obligate myself to his ever-shifting projects and constant meetings. Sometimes even your best attempts at expectation management don’t work and you have to walk away. But for projects where you work out clearly defined goals, deliverables, and deadlines, the rewards for patience are wonderful.

My advice for the new editor is to define for yourself first what level of editing you are willing to do, how much you want to charge, and how long you think a given project should take. Knowing your own tolerances going into a project can help you to be more flexible and accommodating when needed, and assist when it is time to stand your ground where appropriate.

Joe Wallace is a freelance editor and writer. He is available for books, scripts, and video games and has several colleagues he works with on larger projects. If you need one editor or several, feel free to get in touch: jwallace (at) freelance-zone (dot) com.

Wallace recently completed a script editing project in English for a Japanese client and is currently editing a book on voice acting for a Chicago-based voiceover professional. He spends his spare time blogging about rare vinyl records at Turntabling.net and working on electronic music projects.

This directory was open to freelance editors and writers of all experience levels but we especially welcomed talented freelance newcomers to sign up. We know how difficult networking can be in the early days of a freelance career and want to help newcomers learn what their job options and resources are in a crowded market.

Simply Hired has a page filled with Editor Writer jobs based on keyword search. You can also find a collection of editing and writing jobs at Indeed.com, and there is also Employment Crossing, but they are a for-pay service and we can’t verify whether or not they have worthwhile entries at the time of this writing.

Believe it or not, Federal Government Jobs has a collection of editor/writer jobs, as does Writing Crossing.

Stay tuned for more editor/writer job-related resources.

What are some of the most embarrassing typos that you’ve made? My voice program will make some real doozies that don’t even resemble typos because they are related to voice, rather than keyboard errors, so I really have to watch homonyms (e.g., when I said, “dictation” above, my Dragon NaturallySpeaking program typed the words “patient program.”) I could use a laugh today. Tell me and my readers about your funniest typos. Post them on my blog at http://beyourowneditor.blogspot.com.

Sigrid Macdonald is a book coach, a manuscript evaluator, and the author of three books, including Be Your Own Editor, now available on Amazon.com: http://tinyurl.com/2a3zx6t (Paperback) and http://tinyurl.com/2blyqng (Kindle).

This week I’m giving away three free e-copies of Be Your Own Editor to the first people who can each list five well-known dystopian books (not movies). If the first poster mentions The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the second poster cannot repeat that title. Post your answers on my blog at http://beyourowneditor.blogspot.com and gear up for the next quiz where the winner will win a free paperback copy of the book!  

Sigrid Macdonald is an editor, a manuscript evaluator, and the author of three books, including Be Your Own Editor. Find it on Amazon in paperback for $12.92 (http://tinyurl.com/2a3zx6t) or on Kindle for $3.79 (http://tinyurl.com/2blyqng). 

How can we fix it to say what TR meant to say? “We’re here to celebrate the lives of two people who are extremely important to me.” That way the phrase “who are extremely important to me” modifies the noun “two people,” as opposed to it modifying the word “lives” in the original sentence.

It’s great to know that even Tony Robbins makes mistakes!

Sigrid Macdonald is a book coach, an editor, and the author of three books, including the newly released Be Your Own Editor, available on Lulu or on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle.

David just sent me a text from his cell phone.
I have to be there at 10 AM in the morning.
He was all alone by himself.
The rugged kayak lover grew up in a tiny little town.

Stop! There’s no need to repeat yourself. We know that a text message is not being sent from a toaster, and that 10 AM will always be morning. When you’re writing, it’s good to be creative and allow your juices to flow. Get everything down. But when you’re editing, streamline. Cut everything that’s unnecessary. It will make for a much cleaner sentence… And there is no need to add “please” to RSVP because SVP stands for s’il vous plaît, the French term for please.

Sigrid Macdonald is a book coach, an editor, and the author of three books, including the newly released Be Your Own Editor, available on Lulu or on Amazon in paperback, and on Kindle.

Here’s the line from “Macy’s Day Parade”: “When I was a kid, I thought I wanted all the things that I haven’t got.” Okay. What’s wrong with that sentence? The words “thought” and “wanted” are both in past tense, but the word “haven’t,” a contraction for “have not,” is in present tense. There are a couple of ways to fix this. First, we could say, “When I was a kid I thought, I wanted all the things that I had not (or hadn’t) got.” That keeps everything in past tense. Second, we could have someone from the present reflect back on the past, and rephrase the sentence like this: “When I was a kid, I thought, I want all the things that I haven’t got.” (Many people use italics for thoughts, instead of quotation marks.)

Who knew how educational Green Day could be?

Sigrid Macdonald, Author of Be Your Own Editor, now available on Amazon : http://beyourowneditor.com

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt seeks a K-12 editor for their Evanston, Illinois office. Note that this is an on-site position, not a telecommute.

The Motley Fool is searching for an editor with an obsessive streak to work in their Alexandria VA office. If you’re a grammar freak with no problems working with a Content Management System, give this one a try. Again, this is an onsite gig.

This NY Craigslist ad looks promising–the ad requests a content editor, which is a bit different than a typical editing gig as it requires specialized knowledge of content management systems and other specialized info. Got a knack for both copy editing AND gap analysis? This could be the gig for you.

The University of Maryland has a full-time editor gig open which includes work on web-based teaching materials. Chances are you’ll edit a combination of distance learning and traditional ed coursework.

Good luck!