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6. Seven deadly sins

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There are more than seven, of course, in editing as in life, but these are some that seem to me to be pretty deadly and worth avoiding if you want to be regarded as a competent editor. Try making your own list.

Sin No 1: Writing a slapdash EOI or quote

If you’re asked for an expression of interest (EOI), you give just that, no more: your interest in the job, your qualifications to do it, an understanding of what’s required, and not much more. You can’t provide precise hourly rates until you see a sample of the manuscript. The tone needs to be friendly without giving too much away – don’t commit yourself until you write the quote. The EOI is an important piece of writing – it’s the client’s first impression of you. I saw a four-line EOI recently that was rejected because the editor concerned had not checked for spelling and grammar errors, had quoted an hourly rate before reading any of the manuscript, had used a peremptory tone and didn’t refer specifically to the job (see Chat 18 ‘Editor, edit thyself’). No client will employ an editor who writes in a slapdash style and doesn’t proofread their own emails.

Plenty has been written about quoting for editing jobs. There is no need to say more here except to advise being clear about the time required (after checking a sample), what you need to charge for the level of edit required and to cover expenses, your planned approach to the job and what the client can expect and when. The quote is a definitive document: the EOI is indicative. There’s much more to writing quotes – please refer to Chats 14 and 15, respectively ‘Quoting: broad aspects’ and ‘The proposal and quote’.

Sin No 2: Not owning and using standard reference books

An editor needs to have at least the following immediately available:

 a good, up-to-date dictionary – in Australia, generally the Macquarie (latest edition or the online version), which gives Australian-preferred spell­ings first; in-house editors may need other dictionaries as dictated by house style 21

 Style manual: for authors, editors and printers (latest edition); editors of academic material may also need the Chicago manual of style or the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association for material to be published in the United States

 a thesaurus such as Roget’s thesaurus of English words and phrases

 a good grammar book – nobody can ‘know it all’ and everyone can be confused by ‘creative’ grammar in a manuscript.

In addition, my bookshelves contain classics by authors including Strunk and White, Gowers, Fowler and the like; editing handbooks (such as those by Butcher; Flann, Hill and Wang; Mackenzie; and others – see ‘References’); and grammar and style books. This doesn’t mean that the beginning editor should go on a shopping spree, but do own the essentials and do refer to them while editing. The best editors are meticulous about grammar and keep up to date with stylistic and idiomatic changes.

Sin No 3: Losing your copy of the Standards

You aren’t meant to commit the Australian standards for editing practice (Standards) to memory, but have a copy handy. Print it out from the Canberra Society of Editors website http://www.editorscanberra.org or the Institute of Professional Editors Limited (IPEd) website http://www.iped-editors.org. You do need to know what your role as an editor is and what a client expects of an editor. It’s all set out in the Standards. Print out the Commissioning checklist at the same time.

Sin No 4: Thinking you can compete in a highly technological world with antique technology

Computers date very quickly. If your editing is all hard copy, you won’t have this problem, but on-screen editors need to be able to offer quick turnaround, editing with Track Changes, formatting that is acceptable to printers and so on. If you need to get broadband to cope more speedily with large downloads, do it. There are no prizes for second best – only the best will do in editing. Build the costs into your quotes over a period.

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Sin No 5: Resting on your laurels

Editing, like anything to do with language, moves on. Qualifications acquired years ago are probably not sufficient anymore – get up to date with postgraduate courses and with training provided by the branches of IPEd and other associations of editors. Read The Canberra editor, and read other journals, manuals and handbooks on editing and style.

Learn what’s available on your computer and use it. Grab any opportunity to network with other editors. This is where you learn more about editing than almost anywhere else, and all associations of editors welcome visitors from other similar groups to their meetings, training sessions, conferences, and other gatherings.

Learn something about our allied professions – indexing, technical writing, graphic design, publishing. There are often joint events, and these are wonder­­ful opportunities for updating knowledge of the whole publishing industry.

Sin No 6: Not being meticulous and crystal clear in your editing work

The client has every right to expect pernickety editing – that’s what you’re supposed to be good at. Manual mark-ups should follow standard guidelines and symbols for proof correction; electronic mark-ups (whether or not using Track Changes) should include comment notes where explanation is necessary.

I was once asked to re-edit another editor’s work because the client wasn’t satisfied. The first editor had done a ‘broad brush’ edit which was not what the client had asked for, not what the document needed, and not clear in its recommendations. The client had every right to expect more from a competent editor. This was a little embarrassing, but it was good to be asked to do it because the reputation of our profession was at stake.

And the seventh deadly sin? Sloth

Sitting back and doing nothing. With accreditation here to stay, we all need to lift our game. Very broadly, accreditation of editors means telling the world that such editors have met stringent criteria set by our professional association in Australia, IPEd, in much the same way that accountants, doctors and other professionals are accredited by their professional bodies. In Australia, accreditation examinations seek to find out whether the candidate is competent 23 according to the Australian standards for editing practice. The Standards are revised periodically to bring them up to date, and accreditation management will develop to accommodate the needs of the profession.

But there’s no point in any of the hard work being put into all this pro­gress towards greater professionalism and recognition for our profession if we don’t take advantage of it and indulge in some self-improvement. Many will prefer not to seek accreditation – that is their choice. We all, however, do need to hone our skills and keep learning how we can do better. For some, this may mean first looking at what we’re typing in an expression of interest and making sure that our ‘first impression’ is our best impression.