u/Monolith_W_D

Hey people, wanted to follow up on my post from last week with a couple more questions.

First, a summary: I applied for a line editing position with a small publisher based on the west coast. They're legitimate, but they asked me to edit a 450 page manuscript as the next step of the process. I was also frustrated because they hadn't confirmed a concrete deadline. The responses I got confirmed what I'd been thinking (that this isn't normal) and that disorganization and poor communication are, unfortunately, part of working with small presses. They did reply today and confirm a date, though I haven't responded.

Before I email them back, I was wondering:

1. What is the general process for hiring editors, whether at small or large publishers? There's no way they're asking them to edit entire manuscripts; do they just give them a few chapters instead? A bit of insight into this would be great.

2. u.Ornery-Ad2199 suggested I edit a couple of chapters, then send them back as an example and ask for a contract before I move forward with the rest if they're interested. I haven't decided yet if I want to go this route, but if I do, what should I be on the lookout for in any potential terms or contract? The biggest thing for me would be making sure that I still get credited for the work I do, even if I'm not hired by them.

3. Any other advice or insight that might help inform my decision would be appreciated.

I applied for an editing position with a small publisher at the end of January. It took them two months to respond, which I understand, as they're a small team of about ten and received hundreds of applications. They asked if I was still interested in the position, and if so, I'd be editing a full manuscript as a "work trial". They sent me the novel last Wednesday and asked if four weeks was a realistic timeline for me.

I responded that same day and asked whether they had a specific deadline in mind, or if it was simply four weeks from that exact day. I also asked how they want the final manuscript, i.e. do they just want a clean edit, do they want me to use track changes and leave comments, etc. (there wasn't any direction in the email other than asking if I can finish in four weeks). I didn't hear back for the rest of the week, and haven't heard back after following up with them again yesterday.

I've already started going through the novel, but I'm a little hesitant to get any further without hearing back from them first - I don't want to get too deep in and then find out they wanted "Track changes" on the whole time and have to start over. I also don't like working on something without a target deadline.

This is my first time branching out and applying to formal editing positions after spending some time freelancing, so I'd like for it to work out. Again, I respect the fact that they're a small team and have a lot on their plates, but I figure communicating with someone editing a manuscript for you, and who you're potentially hiring, should be a bit more of a priority. Is this normal among smaller presses? Any insight or advice is appreciated.

Edit: Just want to address it here rather than responding to comments, but yes, this is a legitimate small press. I don't want to name them, but they are genuine. You're welcome to DM me if you're curious who they are.

Second edit: I already mentioned this in a couple of my responses, but I decided I'm going to work at this slowly while I apply for other jobs. Reading, and responding to, your comments has made me realize that this may not be worth it, especially with the communication/disorganization issues. It'd be a good idea to at least email again and ask them what happens in the event that I'm not hired - do I still get credit/compensated for the work I did when the novel gets published?

Third (and probably final) edit: I appreciate your comments, even the blunter ones, for helping confirm that yes, this is indeed ridiculous, even if they're legitimate. Despite the job market being awful, I'm going to email them tomorrow and respectfully decline. I'd rather keep freelancing, to be honest.

Also a big thank you to the users who pointed out that you can "turn off" "Track Changes" while still using it, that makes a big difference for me.