Some work situations can be a bit unnerving. Let’s imagine you copyedit feature articles for an online publication. Generally the managing editor (ME) does a developmental edit on the article and then sends you the article for copyediting. Your latest copyedit comes back to you with list of 17 problems and the following message:
Hi! I just finished reviewing your edit, and I found a lot of problems with it. This was a story I didn’t edit before you did, but I would have thought you would have caught these issues. I’m very surprised by this.
The list of problems is enough to make you question your abilities. You feel attacked and maybe a little sick. You wonder if you’re losing your touch, if you ever had it.
What do you do?
1. Walk Away
First, take a break from the situation. Avoid just doing another work task or scrolling through Facebook, though. You need to change your environment so that you can change your response.
Do something calming: Take a walk. Do some dishes. Grab a cup of tea. Whatever helps you regain your equilibrium.
You can’t think straight if you feel like you’re being attacked or you’re doubting your skills. So work on you first.
2. Review the Feedback
Let’s start with the note. The ME admits that they didn’t do their edit before you did yours. They also say, rather passive-aggressively, “I would have thought you would have caught these issues.”
It sounds like the ME expected you to do their job but didn’t tell you.
Before making any conclusions, review the list of problems. Categorize all the problems the ME pointed out. Which are the copyediter’s responsibility? Which are beyond the scope of the job as you understand it? If you have your responsibilities written down somewhere, review them to be sure you’ve understood everything.
Take ownership for anything that comes under copyediting and let the ME know how you’ll avoid it in the future. This can be as simple as “I’ll make a note of these items and keep an eye out for them next time.”
We all make mistakes and sometimes flub jobs. Owning your mistakes shows that you’re willing to accept responsibility for yours and to improve your work.
For those items that weren’t your responsibility, do not apologize for them. Acknowledge that they are errors but point out (politely) that they weren’t part of your job: “I can see what you mean in items 2 through 15. However, those are developmental edits and I was asked specifically to copyedit.”
3. Solve the Problem
Offer a resolution that both sides can accept. Don’t offer to redo the work or not charge them for it (if you’re a freelancer). First, the ME has already done the work. Redoing it won’t improve the copy.
More importantly, though, this wasn’t your mistake, it was the ME’s. The ME isn’t owed a freebie, no matter how upset they are. Giving them one now will only tell them that it’s OK to let this happen again. After all, you’ve just rewarded them for not doing their job and blaming you for it.
Instead, help solve the problem for the future.
If you’re willing to take on additional editing responsibilities, let the ME know but push for clarity: “I’d be happy to correct for these kinds of errors in future. Let’s work out updated directions.” The key is that they have to tell you what they want before you start work.
If they duck that, when you are given your next assignment, verify what they want before starting work. Sometimes just nudging them encourages them to be clearer in their directions.
It’s OK, though, to want to stick with what you were hired to do. Freelancers might respond with something like: “I don’t currently offer developmental editing, but I could recommend a few editors who do to help you with your workload.”
If you’re an employee, suggest how the process could be tweaked to ensure the higher-level edit happens before the copyedit. Don’t allow them to do a higher-level edit after you copyedit, if possible. Remind them of how errors can creep in if a second copyedit isn’t done and how the second copyedit will cost time and money.
By accepting your own errors and avoiding blame for the remaining errors you can help prevent repetitions of the situation and maintain a good working relationship.
This article originally published on November 2, 2018 on Copyediting,com.
A friend did an edit in January. The author voiced no complaints. It’s now July, and the client has returned the edit, claiming another CE found 700 errors my friend missed. The client is demanding a refund or else they’ll tell other authors not to work with my friend. What would you advise someone do in this situation? The author community in this subgenre is rather small.
Yikes! Your friend has my sympathy, Dayna. That’s an uncomfortable situation.
I’d start by evaluating what the client is claiming. I’d ask to see the other edit and the directions given. If the client gave more detailed or even just different directions, that could affect what an editor decides is something to fix. From there it depends on how the client reacts and what your friend sees in the edit.
Whether or not the client will share those things, I’d also explain how editing can be subjective: What’s considered an error? How can it be fixed? No two editors will edit a manuscript the exact same way. Not to mention that we can use Track Changes in a way that marks more changes but is really just one edit.
The goal for me would be to show the client I was taking them seriously, judging for myself why the two edits are so different (if they are), and then respectfully educating the client on how editing works and why these are different.
I’m hoping your friend has a contract in place that allows them to keep their fee; they did the work, after all, and there’s no way to prevent the client from benefitting from that work. If the client does get unprofessional and nasty, I’d think about how to promote positives about my service and explain the situation in a neutral way, like writing an article about how editing can differ from editor to editor or a webpage on how to judge edits (but never mentioning the client) and promote those pieces.
I hope this can be resolved positively for your friend!