Here’s how it works.
Someone writes a book and then sets out to find an agent or a publisher. He submits his query and sample to the agent, and the agent writes back requesting more samples or perhaps the full manuscript for review. So Julio sends his manuscript to the agent, who then writes back to say “Yes, we’re interested in representing this work,” and sends a contract.
Julio signs the contract and does the hallelujah dance (“Yes! I’ve got an agent!”).
I don’t know what the contract says, but it probably says something like “I will be your literary agent and represent your manuscript on the publishing market. I will receive some fee (a percentage of royalties probably) for my services if the manuscript is sold to a publisher.”
The agent tells Julio that his manuscript is not yet in a presentable condition to send to publishers. He refers him to a company, let’s call it Editing, Inc. which can provide editing and other services to help him get his manuscript ready for submission to publishers.
So Julio contacts Editing, Inc. to inquire about their services. They offer a few different options. He can have the first 20 pages of his manuscript edited by a professional editor who will provide him with a detailed commentary and suggestions for revisions to his work. This service costs several hundred dollars. Or he can have the entire manuscript edited and receive an even more detailed commentary and more assistance. This service is about a thousand dollars, or more if it’s a really honkin’ big manuscript. Or he can hire an editor for a set number of hours to be his coach. In this case, the editor not only reads and edits his work but works with him on the phone to coach him and discuss in detail the revisions needed. Another service offered is a rewrite—if an editor needs to do something way more involved than line editing, like shuffling chapters around, rewriting large sections of it, helping with plot and character development, etc. This service is very expensive: two or three thousand dollars. Other services offered by Editing, Inc. include assistance with query letters, bios and synopsis sheets. Basically, this company provides anything the writer may need to get his manuscript ready to submit to publishers, but also provides valuable writing tips and coaching to improve the quality of Julio’s writing in general.
But all these services are shockingly expensive (to me).
So Julio decides to pay a few hundred dollars or maybe a thousand dollars to have some or all of his manuscript edited. The agent receives a commission from the company for referring Julio to them for editing services. Technically, I don’t know for a fact this is what happens, but I assume so because there would be no other reason for an agent to establish a relationship with the editing company and send all his clients to them. In fact, when you see the writing sample below, you’ll understand what I mean when I say this commission from the editing company has to be the only incentive the agent has for signing this writer as a client. The editing money (from the writer/client) is the only money the agent could ever make on this deal, as there’s no way he expects to truly sell it to a publisher.
In fact, the most likely truth hidden in this situation is that the "agent" is really just a cardboard extension of the editing company Editing, Inc. whose only purpose is to find writers and give them incentive to purchase editing services.
This is where I come in, the professional editor. I print the manuscript, read it and mark it up with a pen, then transfer my edits to the screen via Microsoft Word’s Track Changes feature. The writer can see every change that I make and can choose to accept my edits or reject them. I correct punctuation, spelling, grammar, point out inconsistencies in the story or put comments in the text showing where something needs to be clarified. Sometimes I may do a little minor rewriting here and there to improve things. If the formatting of the text is terribly wonky, I will fix that and let the writer know about standard publishing format (font size, line space, margins, etc.). I write up a commentary giving Julio my impression of the work and my suggestions for improvement.
As a relatively new editor (two years), I tend to have too much of a “light touch” when tearing into another writer’s work. But as my confidence and experience grow, I think I’m more comfortable now to really rip it up (constructively, of course). I figure this writer didn’t pay a thousand dollars or more just to have me come back and say, “Hey, this is good. I fixed your margins and corrected a couple of spelling mistakes.” When I edit a manuscript, I do it with an eye toward making it as good as it can possibly be, whatever it needs. I try to tell the writer what I feel he really needs to understand in order to be a better writer.
So the edited manuscript goes back to the writer and I’m out of the loop. I don’t know what then happens between the writer and the company or the agent. But apparently what happens sometimes is the writer gets pissed off when his book doesn’t get published. After spending all that money and doing what the agent told him to do, suddenly there are crickets chirping over at the agent’s office and he’s not heard a word. He feels he’s been cheated and he sues the agent and the company for fraud.
I find that the better the writer is, the more realistic his perception of what he’s getting for his money. If he’s smart enough to write a decent manuscript (not publishable maybe, but not bloody awful) then he’s typically smart enough to understand the service he’s getting from me his editor, from the company and from the agent. He truly appreciates the edit work and the commentary and seeks to improve his craft, regardless of whether his book gets published or not. This guy is not the problem.
There are, apparently, a great many people out there in the world who have somehow come to the mistaken conclusion that they are writers. They produce thousands of pages of the most horrible stuff you could imagine. As a writer, it actually hurts me—a real physical pain in my heart—to see my beloved craft butchered and bludgeoned so carelessly. I weep sometimes as I read this stuff, I really do. I’m going to post a little sample so you can see how bad it is—there are simply no words to describe the horror.
After what seemed a long morning he was able to get a hold of Mark they agreed to meet at JD’ys it was a little café. Toby went to his sister’s room, told her to get ready, then left they walked hand in hand she was only six but she still liked to hold hands Toby didn’t mind as long as no one saw them especially Jade a girl he liked, he didn’t want her to think he was a sissy or something. When Toby and his sister made it to the Y he let go of her hand and walked her to the bus. All her friends liked him because he was a lot older then them. He really didn’t mind he liked little kids he even babysitted them for free. After he singed her name on the paper (a parent needed to sign it they said he would do). He then left her she seemed scared to leave but she did he walked all the way home, got his bike after telling his parents that he was leaving to go out with Mark. He peddled down South Ave. he then turned down Franklin Street there was JD’ys, he looked in the window and saw Mark sitting at the counter with his back to the window. Toby walked in he saw Jade in her uniform he smiled. She saw him and waved to him. He walked over to her “Hey you ready for school to start?” Toby asked she looked at him then answered “Yes I ‘am it’s been a long summer, I’m tired of watiressing for idiots.” She laughed in spite of her self. Toby walked over to Mark sat down next to him. Mark looked over at him “Your late.” He said Toby shrugged “My sister took forever to get ready.” Toby then reached for a menu he ordered a turkey sandwich. “School starts tomorrow-high school it might be fun.” Toby said this last thing with ununderstanding Mark looked paler then usual. Mark ate his food in silence, Toby kept on looking at Jade over his shoulder she also kept on looking at him, but as soon he would notice she would turn around and walk away swinging her hips.Toby got on his bike; Mark didn’t have his bike with him so he had to sit on the handle bars. “Where to Mark?” asked Toby “To my house.” Toby started slow but got going Toby took the main road to Marks house he knew it would be quicker the taking spring street. Also they didn’t want Quigley to chase them Quigley was Toby’s next door neighbor dog that liked to chase them; when they where little they used to tease Quigley until Toby got bite then they stopped. When they reached Marks house Mark got his bike, “Let’s go to the bowling alley Jade said she would be there.” Said Mark, he also liked Jade but he already dated her in the fifth grade they’re good friends now. “Okay.” Toby was more then willing to get to see Jade again. Toby and Mark then peddled down Pine Street toward the bowling alley. The bowling alley came into view the red pillars outside of it and the big pin ball.
Okay, that’s a really long sample, but you see what I mean. No paragraph breaks, punctuation at random. Nothing interesting happening in the story, no real plot or character development. Let me tell you, to read and edit seven hundred pages of this stuff feels a bit like smacking yourself in the face with a crowbar for ten hours. I want to tell this person—beg him—to stop. Find another hobby. This writing thing is not working out--hey, you gave it a shot, maybe you can try your hand at painting? Clearly, after spending countless hours, days, months writing this huge monstrosity and spending a thousand dollars or more to have it edited, the writer cares about this manuscript very much and must be handled with care. I do my best to teach him what I know and help him do better.
Reader, this is the guy who comes across with the idea that his book is in the process of getting published because he has found an agent and an editor. Ironically, it’s the writers who have the least chance of being published who persist with the delusion that they will be published! They come to me with questions like, “Is there anything else that needs to be done to this before I send it back to my agent for publishing?” or “So this is ready for publishing now?” And I don’t know what’s been told to him by his agent, so I have to be diplomatic. I say, “Well, the editing work is done. Work on implementing my suggestions and you should be in better shape.”
So some of these guys (and ladies) have sued the company to which I contract my editing services. Fraud. I can understand their frustration—I’ve played the “publish me, please!” game myself. And the money these people have dished out is a lot! If they did so under the impression that they were in the process of publishing their book, no wonder they’re pissed when they find out it was money spent on nothing—a book that will never see print in anybody’s lifetime.
What do you think, based on what I’ve told you (which is all I know). Is it fraud? Is it ethical? (I’ll put my opinion in the comments section.)
