People fear editors. A few months ago, after my grandfather passed away, my mother and her siblings gathered to go over the many details that entails. At one point one of my uncles shared copies of the obituary draft he'd written up, but when it got to me he hesitated. "You don't have a red pen on you, do you?" he said nervously. As if my primary concern at that moment was whether the obituary would have a comma splice.
What is it that makes people fear editors so? It can't be stories of Gordon Lish or Charles Chapin—most people wouldn't recognize those names. It can't be the red pen itself—the color of editing pencils is a result of photocopying limitations, not a metaphor for hatred or blood. What, then?
The obvious answer ties into the whole spirit of writing and baring of the soul, etc. (a subject we'll get into at a later date). But regardless of the reason, here are five ways to know that your editor isn't out to get you and does, in fact, have your best interests at heart.
1. He says so. (Yeah, I'm using "he" as gender-neutral; deal with it until I explain how I feel about "they" in this context.)
It's probably not lip-service. A good editor is conscious of many things, including his own motivations. If he's out to make a name for himself he's not likely to tell you otherwise; he'll just be mum on the subject. So if an editor says, "Hey, writer, I'm excited to help you make your work the best it can be," he probably means it. Whether he has the skill to do so is another story.
2. You get tracked changes.
Seems obvious, but you'd be surprised how often I hear from writers that they first hired someone for $11 an hour and said "editor" sent back the manuscript with plenty of changes that the writer disagreed with; without the changes tracked the author really has no way of undoing what was done without reverting to the original draft completely. And believe me, Word's document comparison feature is only so useful in these situations.
Especially when going through a manuscript review or substantive edit, the change tracking feature of major software is vital for sharing notes at specific points.
3. He asks lots of questions.
A good editor needs context to do his job well. Let's say you've written a short mystery novel for the young adult audience. If that's all the information your editor asks for, you're in trouble. He should be asking what your target audience is (new adult? crossover? younger YA?), how you hope to distribute (pitch to agents? direct to small presses? self-publish?), and what titles/authors you view as your biggest influences and your biggest competition.
This last bit is especially important because it indicates your editor knows the genre or at least has some familiarity with it. It would be unethical for me to tell a writer I can edit her paranormal action romance novel well. Sure, I can probably help make the text better generally, but without knowing the conventions and pitfalls of the subgenre I'm powerless to help her like another editor who knows them could.
4. He answers your questions.
If you ask for a cost estimate, you should get an answer. If you ask for an update on the progress, you should get an answer. If you ask why he rewrote a line of dialogue, you should get an answer. You're paying for his expertise, which means that yes, you should trust him as a professional (you didn't just hire some random schmuck with an English degree, did you?), but you should also get professional answers. One thing all good editors I know have in common is a desire for clarity. If you're getting mixed answers—or, worse, none at all—to your questions, it may be time to bail.
5. He can refer you to previous clients.
Every editor has to start somewhere, and it can be difficult to build up a list of satisfied clients. Still, you probably don't want to be any editor's first victim. Don't just trust the testimonial quotes on the website—ask for references, then contact them yourself if you can. They don't have to be the same kind of writer you are. In fact, sometimes it's better if they aren't. While some editors are very specialized, many take on projects in multiple genres and styles and of varying lengths. If your editor has made writers of various sorts happy, it's a good sign that he's adaptable and puts in the time to think carefully about each project. Those are good things.
Why it all matters
Producing good written work is a collaborative effort. The idea of a writer as a solitary artist is unrealistic. At some point you'll need to collaborate with someone, and it's important that that someone has your best interests at heart. Yes, there are cheap alternatives to professional editors, just as there are cheap alternatives to mechanics and doctors and contractors and limousine drivers. Some of them may even be perfectly trustworthy and have a good idea what they're doing. But before you hire someone you've probably never met and maybe never will, ask a few questions and read the details. A good editor doesn't want to be right for his own sake. He wants to be right for yours.
Or, in my case, for Grandpa's.