The Truth About Book Editor Contracts: Essential Pieces To Include

February 21, 2025

Book Editor Contracts are Essential

So it’s time to hire an editor for your book—congratulations! If this point in the self-publishing process feels a little overwhelming, I get it!

Hi, I’m Kaitlin, an editor for indie romance authors. If you’re asking yourself whether you need a book editor contract, or how to know if the one an editor sends you has all the right pieces, you’ve come to the right place. This blog post will answer all those questions and (hopefully) make navigating your book editing contract a bit less scary.

Why do you need a contract with your book editor?

When you work with a book editor, a contract is 100% non-negotiable. Having a clear contract in place before any work is done outlines the scope of work, fees and payment structure, and expectations for both parties. You want to make sure you’re on the same page in case they start work and suddenly things aren’t going to plan.

Here’s the unfortunate reality: There are editors out there who aren’t qualified and can’t (or won’t) give your work the professionalism it deserves.

Moral of the story: Just like any major purchase, doing your research and reading the fine print will definitely pay off in the end.

So how do you know if the contract your editor sends you is professional and covers everything it should? Keep reading to find out!

5 essential things your freelance editing agreement needs

1. The Basics

All your book editing contracts should have the following basic information (if it doesn’t, can you really call it a contract??).

Names and Contact Information

Your contract should include the full names and contact information for both you and the editor. This helps establish trust and gives each party several methods to contact each other in case one method isn’t available or working.

Type of Service

The contract must outline the type of service, sometimes called the “scope of work”—including what type of edit that will be provided (more on this below), as well as the word count of the project.

Timeline

The project start date and end date should be included, along with any other deadlines within the project.

Price

The contract should outline the price for the service(s) given. This is the part you’re probably scrutinizing the most! Make sure the fee format is clearly specified—do they charge per word, per page, per hour, or a flat rate? Is a deposit due before starting? When is the final payment due? Make sure late fees are also outlined, if any, with the amount.

(How much do book editing services cost anyway? This post sheds some light on that subject.)

Legal Agreement

Here comes the fun part . . .

Your contract should include a liability agreement, including arbitration proceedings and a confidentiality statement. This protects your work from being distributed, sold, or revealed to a third party without your permission. Better to be safe than sorry!

(And since I’m not a lawyer, it’s best to consult an attorney in your country for any legal advice. Nothing in this blog constitutes legal advice.)

Modification Clause

What if the contract needs to be modified? There should be a section describing the process to follow in order to make corrections to the agreement.

2. Generative AI Clause

Generative AI is everywhere nowadays, and your contract should have a statement that your editor doesn’t use it. This protects your work from being fed into AI language training models. Yes, this even includes some grammar checkers!

Because honestly, if an editor plugs your draft into an AI generator to do the editing, that is not the kind of person you want touching your book. This is a scam because they are charging you for work they did not do themselves. When you’re paying someone to edit a book, you want to get what you’re paying for!

If an editor feeds your work into an AI editing tool, the AI editing tool may take your work to “learn” how to get better. If you don’t want your work being used to train AI language learning models, make sure this is part of your book editor contract.

Many editors may also include a segment where you, as the author, confirm that you didn’t use generative AI when writing your book—that it’s all your own, original work.

3. Deliverables

The project deliverables fall under the “type of service” section we mentioned earlier, but you’ll want to make sure it is specific. Depending on the type of edit you’re receiving, here is a quick list of the items that should be included for each one (at minimum).

For a developmental edit, you should receive an editorial letter and a marked-up draft.

For a line edit, you’ll receive back a marked-up draft.

For a copyedit, you’ll receive a marked-up manuscript and a style sheet.

For a proofread, you should get a marked-up manuscript as well as an updated style sheet (if changes were made to the original).

Honestly, these items are the bare minimum, so make sure they’re stated on the contract! Some editors provide other items as well.

For example, I always provide clean copies of manuscripts for copyedits and proofreads (meaning all changes and revisions have been accepted via Track Changes but comments still show). I include these because sometimes it’s easier to read through a clean version and make notes about what you don’t like rather than accepting every little change one at a time.

4. Cancelation Agreement

What if you cancel during the project? What money do you get back, if any? Your book editing contract should be specific about what happens in this situation.

What happens if you cancel before the project starts but after you’ve paid the deposit? Do you keep it? Do you have to pay any additional money? If it’s decided by the number of hours worked so far, how will the editor calculate this?

My editing contract says that if a project is canceled after it has started, the deposit is nonrefundable and that they need to pay for work already completed. How do I calculate this? I use Toggl (a desktop time tracker app) whenever I’m editing, so I can easily create a report of hours worked. If a client cancels during the project, this time tracker provides proof of hours worked to send to the client along with a final invoice.

One last part of your cancelation segment should list the valid reasons for canceling (for either party), and whether certain reasons change how much money is refunded (or not).

5. It Won't Be Perfect

All editors (I’m serious—ALL of them) should have a clause in their contract stating that, although every effort will be made to make your manuscript error-free, perfection isn’t guaranteed. (We’re human too!)

While this statement tends to be included for the benefit of the editor more than the author, it’s important to check if it’s there. If they are promising perfection—or doesn’t know enough to have this clause in their contract—they likely don’t have much experience. Now is a great time to find that out—before you sign!

Ready to tackle a book editor contract?

A contract may feel scary, but it truly is your best friend as you search for and hire a book editor. It’s there to protect your work and ensure everyone is on the same page so no unpleasant surprises pop up in the middle of the project. Overall, it helps you get one confident step closer to publication!

Many editors create contracts using their own contract template, so if you’d like to see what a freelance editor’s contract looks like, give it a google and see what pops up! Book editor contracts are usually pretty easy for an editor to change or adjust, so if you see something in a contract that you would like changed, it never hurts to ask!

If you’re ready to talk with an editor about your book, let me know! I’d love to chat and see if we’re a good fit.