The Editing Process

Several requests for information about editing services are flowing through my email lately. Often people ask about the process or, as one gentleman put it, "Can you tell me a little more about your mode of operation?" I'm always stumped as to what they are really asking. Do they want to know that I need to see a sample of the material, to know exactly what they want done with it, or that I ask for a down payment before starting work and use PayPal and accept local checks?

Or do they want to know that a document with more than ten pages must be on paper as well as in an electronic file, and that I use my brain and eyeballs as well as certain MS Word features (with or without comments and changes tracking as required); and that I make "notes to self" which become incorporated into a report at the end?

Maybe they are actually asking literally how to perform editing, especially a complex one with several aspects. In my style of work that means multiple passes through the text sometimes concentrating on the mechanics, other times for grammar and syntax, perhaps once searching out repetitions and another for the flow of the writing or concept and again for continuity.

I could design an entire website devoted to all the nuances of editing. In fact, the Bay Area Editors' Forum has done just that. Especially useful are the pages connected with What Do Editors Do? Incidentally, it is a very well-designed website, too, clean in appearance, logical in structure, and with excellent navigation.

When you ask an editor to tell you about how they work, what exactly do you mean? If you're an editor, let me know how you interpret such general questions or what information you think people are usually requesting.