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Michelle Levy's avatar

Great article, Alle!

To add a couple reasonable expectations…

A DE should work with a contract that is satisfactory to you. A DE should be able to explain/defend/cite justification for every edit they suggest. I feel a DE should offer a support call a few days after delivering the Development Summary and marked up text, to debrief with the client and set goals for revision.

Authors are best served when they give the DE a list of questions or points to consider during their review—in addition to the DE’s standard thorough treatment. I think this helps authors get the most out of their investment.

As a DE, I include a second proofread in my package, and give the MS another read after the author has revised (accepted/rejected suggested edits and addressed and deleted margin comments).

I work with clients for 6 months to a year… and also become a lifelong champion of their work!

I think authors can expect DEs to have training/certification as a manuscript editor; have references; and have knowledge of the market for their book, so they can coach around publishing goals and keep the author’s publishing goals in mind.

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