Protecting Yourself with New Editors
Working with an editor for the first time presents a different kind of challenge for you as a writer. You want to show a new editor that you are full of enthusiasm and excitement for whatever assignment you have landed, but you also have to be realistic about the fact that you are entering into a business relationship with somebody you don't know well. In other words, you need to be smart about protecting yourself while at the same time laying the groundwork for a relationship with a possible future ally and advocate.
Get That Paperwork
As you learned in previous chapters, the best way to protect your interests when working with any kind of editor is to get your assignment letter and contract in advance of doing your work. This is especially true with editors who are new to you. You have no way of knowing whether what they tell you about their payment dates, copyright purchases, and more is actually what will be outlined in print when it comes time for you to sign on the dotted line. Initial conversations can be misleading to both parties, and you need to make sure you understand exactly what you're agreeing to before you start a job.
Before you begin working for a new editor at a new publication, make sure you have an assignment letter and a signed contract in hand. If the editor doesn't offer them to you immediately, then you should politely ask for them by saying, “When can I expect the assignment in writing, so I can file the copies in my records?” A tone like this presumes that the paperwork is coming and is less likely to make the editor feel defensive or even suspicious about your desire to have all your t's crossed and i's dotted.
Few editors will intentionally mislead a new writer about payment and rights issues. However, not all editors are as well versed as others in their magazines' inner workings — including how and when writers get paid. Written agreements are all you will have to fall back on if something a new editor tells you turns out to be false.
Follow Through on Your End
Once you have that paperwork from your new editor, you can rest assured that you have taken the first step toward building what may someday become a relationship with an advocate or ally. It's now time for you to hold up your end of the agreement by writing a great story that fits all the requirements of the assignment, including word count and deadline. Show your new editors that if they follow through for you, then you will follow through for them. This kind of collegial approach is the seed of many a great writer-editor relationship.
