This question is very subjective. Every editor has something different they wish authors would stop doing. But in this article, I’ll focus on some common things I’ve experienced and that I’ve heard other editors complain about as well.

1. Expecting us to be good, fast, and cheap.

I’ve heard a saying that you can only have two of these when looking for an editor. I believe that’s true. Many newer authors I’ve worked with value fast and cheap and don’t realize that rules out their quality options, which is why so many self-published novels aren’t as good as they could be. Other authors complain when their budget is $300 for an 80,000-word novel, but they want an editor to finish it in a week and a half. I’m personally happy to work with whatever budget an author has, but if you have a low one, most editors won’t get it to you that quickly because their spending more time on projects that are willing to pay what they’re worth. And if you do want it done in a week or two and you want quality edits, be prepared to pay a lot. Most editors will charge more for rush edits because that means they have to pause other work to finish yours on time. It also typically means the editor will work longer days and weeks, meaning your manuscript is digging into their personal time. So the prices will typically reflect that.

2. Asking for the copy edit before a developmental edit.

Copy edits focus on the smaller things like punctuation, spelling, and grammar. Developmental edits focus on the bigger picture things like plot holes, chapter organization, and pacing. When you make developmental edits, all the other smaller things like punctuation and grammar change as well because you’re rewriting many of the sentences. So any time an author says they just want a copy edit for now and will look at the other edits later when they have more money to spend, I know my work is just going to be made obsolete the second they decide to look at those bigger issues.

The bigger issues are what make readers want to invest their time in the novel too. So if I can already tell that there are some plot or pacing issues, I know the author will struggle to find and keep readers. And part of what I enjoy about my job is helping authors be successful. If I already have an idea that authors aren’t prepared to do what it takes to be successful, I know I won’t enjoy working with them as much as I might.

If your budget doesn’t allow you to do multiple rounds of edits, I always recommend you at least get the edits you need that focus on the biggest picture. Those will be the ones that help you capture readers’ attention. They might be annoyed at errant commas on the page if you haven’t done a copy edit, but they’re more likely to keep reading than if the pacing for your story is too slow or even too fast.

3. Accepting another editor’s offer before giving us time to finish our sample edit.

I’ve had several people request a sample edit from me, but before I can even send it to them (mind you, I try to get samples back within one or two days), they email me back and say they’ve already decided to go with another editor. This shows me that you don’t respect my time. What if I’d already invested a lot into your sample and was just about to send it back to you? Then, I’ve just wasted my time to not even be considered for the project.

And how do you know that the first editor who gets you a sample back is the best fit for your project if you haven’t compared their edits to others’. Most professional editors will understand if you let them know that you’re waiting for other editors to send in their sample edits before you make a decision. And most of us will even encourage you to look at multiple samples. Every editor will be better at something different, which means some editors will fit you better than others. And that’s okay. We just ask that you give us all consideration if you’ve already asked us for a sample edit.

4. Saying we’re charging too much for our work.

I understand that self-publishing can be very expensive as you’re paying for editors, cover designers, formatters, marketing, and so many other things for a novel that you can’t guarantee will succeed. But if you want it to succeed, you also have to realize that you’re going to have to shell out a bit of cash for quality work. And that the freelancers you’re using are trying to make a living.

Most freelancers put at least some thought into how much they charge as well. For me, I base my prices off an average shared by the Editorial Freelancers Association (https://www.the-efa.org/rates/). Then, I think about how much I’ve paid for professional training and for editing materials. Lastly, I think about my current client work. I have professional training in editing, specifically with the Chicago Manual of Style, which is the style guide for most published books, and I have a few years of editing experience, but I’m working on building my client base, so I charge a little less than the average on the Editorial Freelancers Association website.

Each editor will have a different thought process and pricing strategy, but most have thought about it and will have a reason for charging what they do.

5. Telling us you need it back by the end of the week.

Unless you’ve professionally edited something before, you probably don’t realize how much goes into it. At least, I didn’t realize until I began my training. Editing takes a lot longer than just reading the novel does. You remember how much time it took to write the novel and how that probably took much longer than you typically take to read a novel? Editing is the same. We have to look at each individual word while also keeping the entire sentence context in our minds so that we don’t miss any spelling, punctuation, or grammar errors.

This is especially an issue if you’re looking to get bigger-picture edits. This often means that we go back and forth between different chapters as we try to find the right organization and the right places to include things. And that’s going to take a lot longer than just reading through something.

Telling us you need something done this quickly also doesn’t take into account the fact that many of us likely have other projects we’re working on that have deadlines coming up. We can’t always drop what we’re doing to work solely on your manuscript for the week. And if we can, like I mentioned earlier, be prepared to pay a lot more for those edits.

Overall, think about yourself at work. If your boss were to come to you and tell you that you need to finish a big project by the next day, but he’s only going to pay half your salary for it, how would you react? Treat freelancers like you’d want to be treated, and you’ll likely create a strong working relationship that in turn can make your work shine!