Some writers think that the only consideration they owe editors is the money they’ll pay. Not so. Sure, you’re paying them, but that doesn’t mean you can treat them unprofessionally. You owe your editor these courtesies:

Be realistic in balancing time, money, and quality

It’s said there are three ways to get any work done. It can be done well, it can be done quickly, or it can be done expensively—and it’s possible to have any two out of the three. So if you want your story edited well, it will also be done quickly or expensively, but not both. Similarly, if you want it done quickly it’s either going to be expensive or will be done poorly. You can’t really expect great work to be done quickly, yet inexpensively. Yet some writers think it’s possible to have it all ways. For example, one writer called me at 6 p.m. wanting me to edit a book—with a deadline of 10 a.m. the next day, and with no increase in my usual fee. Obviously, that was unrealistic and I declined the job.

Expect editing, and nothing more

Your editor's job is not to teach you writing skills, grammar, punctuation, or any other aspect of writing. It’s also not their job to research the information you failed to include or to get the spelling of a name that you “weren’t sure about.” In short, it’s not your editor’s responsibility to do your job. If you want your editor to extensively revise your work, which is called substantive editing, be prepared to pay for it.

Trust the editor

Editors want stories to be the best possible, yet some writers complain about the changes they’ve made. I’ve had a writer chastise me for making too many changes (he later apologized) and another writer complain that I didn’t make enough changes. (Why I would make changes when they weren’t necessary is beyond me.) But unless your editor really messed up you need to accept changes in good faith. They are the editor; that’s their job. And, of course, if you disagree with the edits you can change them back.

Comply with the agreed-on word count

If you said you’re sending 50,000 words, you can’t send 60,000, at least not without paying more. Similarly, you can’t make major additions to a story you’ve already submitted. I once had a writing client who did this. He’d say, “I’m adding another chapter” or “I’m revising Chapter 10” after I edited it.

Meet deadlines

If you’ve agreed to send your work to an editor on Friday, you can’t tell them, “I’m not done yet. I’ll send you the story on Monday.” If you do, you’ll need to push back the editor’s deadline or pay more.

Relationships between writers and editors don’t need to be disagreeable. They should be amicable because they’re working toward a common goal—creating as good a story as possible. Don’t sabotage that goal by violating the above precepts.