Comments on: Editors and Contracts: Editor Beware!

By: Business of Editing: Liability Insurance — Nyet | An American Editor

Business of Editing: Liability Insurance — Nyet | An American Editor — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:01:30 +0000

[…] of the promised fee (see, e.g., The Business of Editing: Contracts — A Slippery Slope and Editors and Contracts: Editor Beware!). Recent discussions on various for a have focused on another requirement: the requirement to […]

By: The Business of Editing: Contracts — A Slippery Slope « An American Editor

Mon, 07 May 2012 08:02:40 +0000

[...] am being asked to sign a contract. This has occurred since the last time I addressed this issue, in Editors and Contracts: Editor Beware! In the prior article, I talked about a contract from India. Today, I am talking about a contract [...]

By: editor911

editor911 — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 09:01:49 +0000

Excellent post that captures the dilemmas currently facing many editors!

I especially like this comment: Professional editors really need a professional guild, at least a national one but preferably a worldwide one, whose focus is on protecting the member editors and finding the member editors work.

Amen! Let’s start that professional guild for editors right here. What do we need to get it going? The National Writers Union is a one example of an organized network for scribes. Does this blog author have any suggestions? I’ll be the first one to sign up.

By: The Book Doctor

The Book Doctor — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:59:36 +0000

Hear, hear! In my 40-year editorial career, I have signed no more than a handful of contracts, all designed to establish that I am an independent contractor, not an employee. I would absolutely reject any contract like the one Dick describes. In fact, I would write a substitute contract entirely in my favor, send it to the Indian vendor, and tell whoever sent it that I’d see him in small claims court in my city if the company failed to pay immediately for the work already done. Then I’d sit back and wait for my check before continuing work. I’d keep the publisher (end buyer) fully informed.

Nobody can be so desperate for a job that she should sign such an abomination, especially after already starting work. No court will enforce a contract that both parties haven’t agreed to. Fortunately, it sounds like Dick has a good intermediary in the publisher.

Perhaps freelancers should preempt in such situations by having a standard contract to send to the vendor first? I’ve never felt obliged to do so (I work directly with authors most of the time, with a simple letter of agreement or email spelling out obligations), but it might be a good idea.