Sue White

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5 ways to keep an editor happy (aka: the million dollar question)

August 7, 2013 By Sue

Across the globe, thousands – millions? – of freelancers are sitting at their desks perplexed.  “What exactly does my editor want?”

I hear you. Getting inside an editor’s head isn’t easy, especially if you’ve spent more time as a writer (or teacher, or accountant, or whatever your pre-freelancing career was – or still is) than traipsing the corridors of a newspaper or magazine’s HQ.

This post came via a request from one of you guys – a reader who asked me to write a few more posts on the tricky nature of building a relationship with an editor. You ask, I answer! However, the answer to this one isn’t simple, and there’s one key reason for this: every editor is different.

Why? Because every human being is different. We all think, act, work, organise, manage and operate in a unique way. That’s nice, right? (Hmmm, sort of.)

If you’re sitting next to someone in an office, it’s not too hard to get an insight into what makes his or her heart sing or (worse) what incites a forehead slapping moment.  But when you’re freelancing, most of the relationship is managed by email (or sometimes, phone).

So, to kick off an occasional series about what editors want, I thought I’d start with the basics. These are five things I aim to do with every single editor I work with. For more, you might like this post on getting inside an editor’s head.

5 ways to keep an editor happy. 

1. File on time.
I know, I’m a deadline freak. But seriously, file on time, file on time, file on time.  A deadline is a deadline. To me, a Wednesday deadline means 9am Wednesday, not midnight Wednesday. Sure, technically, 11.59pm IS still Wednesday, but I don’t want an editor to look at my email and think, “Well, technically she made it, but hey, I gave her three weeks and she was still doing this an hour before it was due. What the hell’s that about?” I want an editor working with me to think, “Hey, she’s got that to me early, nice stuff.” (Actually, I always try to file a day or two early, but more on that in point four.)

2.  File on word count.
A deadline’s a deadline, and a word count is a word count. Meet it! Five per cent over if you’re desperate. Don’t do more than that. Seriously. Kill. Your. Darlings.

3. Meet the brief.
If you have been given a formal brief, meet it. Treat it like a checklist. I try to go through any brief I’ve been given cross check it item by item. I do this at the start of the process, about mid way through (when I’m mid the research and interviewing process) and just before filing my story. I might literally tick each item off. That’s because I know that in journalism, the brief is King. Meet the brief. If you don’t get a brief, and you don’t know how to figure it out for yourself, it’s probably because you haven’t done this course with me yet. 🙂

4. Go above and beyond.
Hmm. What does this mean really? Especially given you are doing most of this remotely. Well, I think it’s about doing far more than the basics. Don’t just find an interview subject for your piece, find the best possible person to interview. Don’t just file your story on deadline, file it a couple of days ahead of deadline. In my book, there’s no better way to keep any client happy – exceed his or her expectations. Beating deadlines is a great example, and let’s face it: surely it’s not that hard to do?

5. Don’t overload your editor with questions enroute.
Don’t be that annoying person emailing with myriad questions between when your story is commissioned and when it’s time to file (yes, deadline time). Of course, sometimes there’s stuff you can’t figure out yourself, and will need to ask.  But mostly, if you really think it through, you’ll be able to work out the answers yourself. Naturally, it helps to have a network here – if you’re really stuck, ask one of them instead.  But that’s a topic for next week’s post.

For the comments below: Do you manage all five?  Which of the above do you have the most trouble with? Or, what else do you to do keep your editors happy? (Any editors out there – I’d love you to weigh in!)

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Filed Under: Blog, Pitching and dealing with editors scaring the pants off you? These posts may help., Write better Tagged With: Editors, What editors want

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Comments

  1. Jennifer Morton says

    August 9, 2013 at 12:16 pm

    Hi Sue! Thanks for this post. About deadlines. Is it considered bad form to file a story well ahead of time? If a commission slip says the due date is Nov 1, but the story is finished on Aug 30, could you file that early? Or is this a no no??

    • Sue says

      August 12, 2013 at 9:53 am

      You’ll see from my answer to Carla I like filing early. But it is a happy medium. I think it’s relative. If deadline 2-3 weeks, I’d file 1-2 days early if I could. If deadline 3-4 months, I’d file anywhere up to a month early. But I’m never finished a month early, because now I just prioritise those long lead pieces and fill up the time with other stories. But in theory, yes. In your specific example, I’d file a few weeks early OR when I want to pitch the editor another story. (Cause then you’ll have his/her attention…)

  2. Carla Avolio says

    August 10, 2013 at 3:10 am

    Hi Sue, Thanks for this. I always wondered about the deadline. Does Wednesday mean by that morning or by the end of the day? I always filed the day before just to be sure. Nice to know that should be the norm.

    • Sue says

      August 12, 2013 at 9:49 am

      SO glad someone asked this question, cause I get to say my favourite answer. Wednesday means “By the time they arrive at work on Wednesday” – so for me that means 8/9am. But even better – a day or two before. Nothing beats filing early. Editors notice. I know people who interpret “Wednesday” as 23.58 (ie: almost midnight) and sure, they are technically correct, but that’s just looking disorganised, IMHO.

  3. Carla Avolio says

    August 10, 2013 at 3:24 am

    Hi Sue -one more thing. I wasn’t able to access the “getting inside an editor’s head” link. Got a 404 error.

    • Sue says

      August 12, 2013 at 9:45 am

      You’re right! Have fixed it – thanks and hope that helps 🙂

  4. Lindy says

    August 10, 2013 at 11:29 am

    Thanks for such a grounded, practical post, Sue. For me, one of the trickiest things about freelancing is the multiple relationships you are juggling (and not just with editors, but case studies, experts etc). Email can be a such hard medium through which to gauge someone’s reactions and thoughts to a pitch or article!

    • Sue says

      August 12, 2013 at 9:40 am

      Welcome Lindy. I agree, building relationships via email is an art form. I might do a post on it down the track…

  5. Jennifer Morton says

    August 12, 2013 at 3:00 pm

    Thanks Sue. I like to file early too. If only so I can invoice early as well…hehe.

  6. Meiki says

    October 8, 2013 at 9:16 pm

    I’d love to hear more about building relationships via email!

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