What to include in an editing brief
Guiding questions to help you describe your project to an editor when requesting a quote
An editing brief is simply an email or a document in which you describe your writing project to an editor. To prepare one, you don’t have to follow a particular template or format, but you do need to make sure it covers all the information the editor needs to gain a clear picture of your project and a good understanding of the work you’d like done.
Editing briefs are typically attached to a request for quotation. They might also be used under other circumstances, such as between staff in different departments of an organisation to describe work to be undertaken, even if no quote or payment is involved.
A comprehensive brief not only facilitates accurate quoting, but ensures that if the work proceeds, the client (you) and the editor have the same expectations regarding services and deliverables. Having everything down in writing cements mutual understanding, and the brief can form the basis of an agreement or a contract if one will be in place.
You don’t need to include everything presented in the list below in your initial enquiry to an editor. The items near the top of the list – what type of content or publication your project is, and its subject matter, size and schedule – are the most important in the first instance and affect the quote directly. But at some stage before the editor agrees to take on your project, they will want to know all the logistical details.
If you’re ready to approach an editor, note down the answers to the following questions, and, hey presto, you’ll have an editing brief! Your prospective editor will grasp what’s involved in working on your project and be able to provide you with an accurate quote and a high-quality, personalised service.
The editing brief
What is your project and what’s it about?
Provide a concise description of your project. This only needs to be a sentence or two – and it doesn’t need to be slick marketing copy.
Include the content type – book, report, research paper, training materials, brochure, press release, website copy, etc. – and any relevant background.
For non-fiction, mention the subject area, as well as the purpose (e.g. how the content will be used, what action you expect readers to take after reading it) and audience (e.g. generalist or specialist).
For fiction, mention the genre, and if you have a blurb or synopsis available, attaching it to the brief could help the editor get a feel for the work. You should also mention it if your book includes any potentially triggering, offensive or otherwise questionable content.
What’s the status of your manuscript?
Let the editor know whether your manuscript is complete. Most editors like to see the whole manuscript before providing a quote, though this isn’t always possible if it’s not yet finished when editing is being booked. In that case, a sample can help the editor make a relatively accurate estimate (as opposed to a binding quote). For a book, one chapter could be enough, but preferably not the first – especially in fiction, writers spend a lot of time making this one the best so it may not be representative of the whole book.
You don’t necessarily need to provide the manuscript or sample with your brief (editors have different ways of handling the enquiry process), but it will be needed before the quote or estimate can be finalised.
For complex projects, let the editor know if the work you want done might change as the project progresses.
How big is the project?
A key piece of information that the editor will base their quote on is the size of the document (or each document of a bigger project), in number of words. For editing, the number of pages in a document isn’t a useful indicator of its length because the number of words per page can vary widely depending on margins, paragraph spacing, font size, and the number of elements apart from the text on the page.
Remember to include in the word count all items to be edited – tables, text-heavy diagrams, image captions, text boxes, footnotes, endnotes, references and annexes.
Also note if there are any parts of the document that shouldn’t be edited (e.g. tables and text boxes reproduced from another source).
What’s the project’s schedule?
The editor will need to know both when the document will be ready for editing and the deadline for its return to determine if they can (1) fit your project into their calendar and (2) complete the work in your desired time frame.
If delays are likely, be upfront about this so the editor can make contingency plans. And indicate whether, should a delay occur, work outside standard office hours would be required of the editor to maintain a downstream deadline (e.g. sending to the designer for layout). Evening and weekend work may affect the quote.
Which type of editing do you need?
If you’re familiar with editing or the editor has a good description of their services on their website, you can simply say which type of editing you’re after. If you’re not sure what you need, mention your objectives for the project. The editor will be able to help you decide which type of editing is right for you by assessing your manuscript and discussing your objectives with you.
If you have a restricted time frame or budget, the editor may be able to tailor their services accordingly, for example by reducing their level of intervention in parts of your document (parts agreed with you). Or if someone on your team will be taking care of parts of the document (e.g. the references), the editor can take that into account in their quote.
In the case of any deviations from a standard service, make your expectations and desired outputs clear.
Who will incorporate responses to the queries raised during editing?
Keep in mind that not all editorial issues can be resolved by the editor alone – the editor will inevitably raise some queries (as Microsoft Word comments) in your document that need your consideration or action. During substantive or development editing, these might be numerous and require a significant amount of follow-up work by you (should you choose to follow them) (e.g. moving text around, rewriting a passage to clarify meaning or inserting new text). Think about whether you’ll take responsibility for any amendments or insertions you make to the text after editing. You might prefer the editor to incorporate your query responses into the text and look over any new material you added.
In fact, some editors include this ‘query response’ stage as a standard part of their service, so if you don’t want them to do it, mention it.
How many times do you want the document to be edited?
If your project is complex or comprises many drafts and several stages of review over a long period, you may wish to have more than one draft edited.
Also, note that comprehensive edit includes two rounds of editing – for non-fiction, substantive editing followed by copyediting, and for fiction, developmental editing (also known as structural editing) followed by copyediting – either by two separate editors or the same editor at different points in time. But this isn’t always allowed for in a project’s budget. In practice, the editor may be able to perform a copyedit that addresses some substantive aspects.
Is there a reference list or bibliography?
Making sure the references in a document are presented correctly can take up a large amount of editing time. If there are many of them and they’re not in good shape (e.g. if reference management software wasn’t used), the editor needs to know. It’s helpful to indicate if you have any special requirements here; for example, you might want the editor to only style the references, not search online for any missing bibliographic information.
Are there any figures and do they need to be edited?
‘Figures’ are illustrations, graphs, charts, diagrams, photos and maps, and the editor will need to know how many there are and what to do with them. If the text in the figures needs editing, they will need to be supplied in an editable format. Objects pasted into Microsoft Word sometimes can’t be changed. If the figures are in another file type, note this so that the editor can check whether they’ll be able to open the files and either annotate them on screen or print the figures out and mark them up on hard copy (depending on your preference).
Similar considerations apply to equations.
If copyright materials (e.g. figures and tables) are being reproduced, it’s usually up to the client to obtain permissions (because doing so can take a long time – beyond the editing time frame – and may involve a fee). If you want the editor to do this work, let them know.
How will you supply the work?
The editor will want to know whether they can expect the entire project to land on their desk all at once or in a staggered fashion (e.g. chapter by chapter, parts of it arriving later than the bulk of it). Also indicate the corresponding preferred return of work (i.e. all at once or in stages).
Keep in mind that editors generally prefer the entire document to be available when editing. That way, global style changes can be made more efficiently, and earlier edits can be tweaked, if necessary, in the light of text further down in the document. Also, it’s difficult or impossible to complete some tasks, such as checking cross-references, if the entire document isn’t on hand.
Which file types will you provide?
Editing in software other than Microsoft Word (e.g. Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel, LaTeX, PDF) is non-standard and generally takes longer.
How will you transfer the files and do you want the work done online?
Mention whether the work is to be done online on a collaboration platform or whether files will be downloaded (from email or a platform), worked on offline, and re-uploaded when completed.
Is a house style guide or particular style manual to be followed?
Mention whether your organisation has a house style guide, or if you’re an independent writer, whether you have any preferences regarding style.
Indicate whether any organisation-specific publication guidelines or model documents (e.g. others in a series) need to be followed.
You also need to state whether your manuscript should conform with American, Australian, British or other English spelling and usage.
Is there anything about the author that’s relevant to the project?
For example, the editor needs to know if the document is a multi-author work (e.g. a different author wrote each chapter of a book) and if so, whether you would like the writing aligned to a uniform voice and consistent style. Other examples of relevant information could be that the author’s first language isn’t English (only if this means they’re not confident in their writing skills) and that the author is hesitant about having their work edited and tends to reject most edits (which may be more likely in the case fiction, and necessitate a light touch).
Are any tasks other than editing required?
The editor will need to know if progress reports will be expected and if they’ll need to do any administrative tasks such as updating a document management system or project management app. If yes, indicate which apps or other tools are in use.
Many editors have a broad range of editorial and production skills. Let your editor know if you need help with tasks for your project such as compiling a style sheet, developing author guidelines, carrying out photo research, coordinating input from reviewers, writing alt text for digital figures, compiling a glossary or selecting excerpts to use in promotional material.
Also indicate if any formatting – beyond maintaining or applying Word styles for fundamental elements such as heading levels, lists and captions – will be required, and if so, whether a template is available.
What’s your preferred mode of communication?
The editor might like to know if you prefer email, web chat, phone or online calls, or virtual meetings to communicate.
They need to know if they’ll be expected to attend any in-person project meetings (assuming you’re located in the same city) so they can factor in transport time and costs.
It may be relevant to let the editor know whether they’ll have a direct line to the author (i.e. if you (the editor’s client) are not the author) or will be asking their questions via other team members. Names and contact details aren’t needed at this stage.
Where does accountability and authority lie?
When you (the editor’s client) are someone who hired the author rather than the author, the editor might need confirmation that you hold the balance of power in the case of conflicting opinions and instructions received from the author.
Editing is always done using Microsoft Word’s track changes function (or some other way of tracking changes if that program isn’t being used) because the person who pays for the editing has the final say on the document. And changes that the editor is unsure about will generally be suggested in a comment rather than made in the text. But if there are any restrictions or issues around the changes the editor has the authority to make, it’s best to mention them so as not to waste the editor’s time in making changes that you will then have to waste your time rejecting without considering.
What are the administrative arrangements of the relationship with the editor?
The editor also needs to know if you’ll ask them to sign any documents, such as a formal contract or a non-disclosure agreement, whether you’ll require them to have insurance (in which case state what they need to be insured against and for how long) and whether a sample edit will be required (for which many editors charge a fee).
Payment details aren’t necessary at this stage, though you could mention if there is something particular about them (e.g. some organisations have payment cycles that can result in freelances being paid a couple of months after work is returned, which may not be acceptable to the editor).
Is there an option for the editor to be credited on the project?
The editor may reasonably expect that their work on the project will be acknowledged in the same way as that of any others contributing to it (e.g. in the acknowledgements section of a report or book). If this is not possible, be up front about it, because the editor may want to include the project in their portfolio.
Note though that an editor shouldn’t be acknowledged without their consent. This is because in some cases, the version of a document that is published may look quite different from the version the editor returned, either because edits and suggestions were rejected or because further changes were made after editing.
What currency should the quote be in?
A final tip. These days, editors have clients located all over the world. Indicate which currency the quote should be in if your organisation stipulates one.
Note that in their quote, some editors use number of hours as their unit or present a rate per word, while others provide their quote as an overall fee.