Tag: freelance editors

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Letitia Henville

How Freelance Editors Plan for the Year Ahead

November 14, 2024 by Letitia Henville | 1 Comment on How Freelance Editors Plan for the Year Ahead

I struggle with planning my freelance business: with collecting and analyzing my time-tracking data and my website analytics, with reflecting on the clients and projects I enjoyed and those I didn’t, with knowing when my calendar is fully booked and when I need to push on my marketing.  I can imagine what the process of […]

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Jill Walters

Staying Connected through StetPets

July 25, 2024 by Jill Walters | 3 Comments on Staying Connected through StetPets

Who doesn’t enjoy an adorable animal photo every now and then? For many editors, it’s fun to get a glimpse into the everyday lives of colleagues we interact with online but might not get to see in person — especially when that glimpse includes a cat on a keyboard or a dog eager for a […]

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Two short-haired people type on laptops while sitting on either side of a giant book with its covers open like a tent.
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Shannon Scott

Body Doubling: A Game Changer for the Neurospicy

July 11, 2024 by Shannon Scott | 1 Comment on Body Doubling: A Game Changer for the Neurospicy

My first exposure to the concept of body doubling was through “writing sprint” events hosted by some of my author mutuals on TikTok. They would start a TikTok LIVE video, put on some chill focus music and start a 20- or 30-minute timer. Conveniently connected online, we worked independently with the knowledge that others were […]

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Suzanne Bowness

Suzanne Bowness: An Editor’s Top 3

May 2, 2024 by Suzanne Bowness | 1 Comment on Suzanne Bowness: An Editor’s Top 3

In this series, experienced editors reflect on their Top 3 tools, rules and suggestions for clients and colleagues. Suzanne Bowness is a writer, editor and communications consultant. She has written for publications from The Globe and Mail to University Affairs magazine. Since 2002, she has provided content creation, editing and consulting services to corporate clients through […]

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Katherine Morton

Katherine Morton: An Editor’s Top 3

March 28, 2024 by Katherine Morton | Leave a Comment

In this series, experienced editors reflect on their top 3 tools, rules and suggestions for clients and colleagues. Katherine Morton is an Editors Canada certified copy editor. She has been editing throughout her more than 20-year career and has been freelance editing for the past few years. With a Master of Business Administration and a […]

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Illustration of two hands typing on a typewriter. The paper in the typewriter says “New Chapter.”
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Peter Erikson

Going Solo: Choosing to Freelance After Layoffs

October 19, 2023 by Peter Erikson | 3 Comments on Going Solo: Choosing to Freelance After Layoffs

The fateful call from the largest newspaper in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I worked as an editor, left me unprepared. It was the same for the other 17 people who were laid off this year, almost all of whom, like me, were over 40. It felt as though a door had been slammed […]

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Two smiling people with thought bubbles above them stand on either side of a giant question mark. The short-haired person holds a laptop, and the long-haired person holds a dramatically oversized magnifying glass.
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Laura Bontje

Preparing for Traditional Publishing: Tips from Agents and Editors

June 29, 2023 by Laura Bontje | Leave a Comment

When a client comes to me for editing, one of my first questions is how they hope to publish. Why? Because an author who is self-publishing will use freelancers for each stage of the editing process, whereas an author who secures a traditional publishing contract will receive additional editing through their publisher.   The journey to […]

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Illustration of five people adding charts and graphs to an enormous book. One person stands on the ground, one uses a ladder, one sits atop the book, one stands on a graph on the page, and one stands on a stack of other books so they can bring the graphs down like artwork on cables.
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Melinda Martin

Document Prep Tips from a Book Designer

June 15, 2023 by Melinda Martin | 2 Comments on Document Prep Tips from a Book Designer

After a book has been professionally copy edited, a book designer will begin the layout. My goal is to help you, your self-publishing clients and their book designers work smarter, not harder. I often say, “It’s not the doing but the re-doing that costs.” More than just money, re-work costs us the most valuable asset […]

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Laura Bontje

Freelancing While Parenting Young Kids

May 25, 2023 by Laura Bontje | 7 Comments on Freelancing While Parenting Young Kids

Laura will be co-presenting “Introduction to Picture Book Editing” at Editors 23: Editors in Real Life, taking place from June 17 to 18 at Toronto Metropolitan University. Conference registration is limited, so reserve your spot now! Do you want to know the trick to keeping it together when freelancing with young kids? So do I. […]

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Tanya Mykhaylychenko

Social Media Content Management for Self-Employed Editors and Writers

March 30, 2023 by Tanya Mykhaylychenko | Leave a Comment

For self-employed editors and writers, knowing how to manage your social media content is a key ingredient for growing and maintaining your clientele. The following are some factors that need to be taken into consideration, regardless of the platform. 1. Know your audience(s) This one is obvious. Questions start coming up when you have several […]

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Kate Merriman

Combining Careers, Part Two: Rewards — Financial and Other

March 23, 2023 by Kate Merriman | Leave a Comment

In the first part of this series, I described the circumstances that led me to vocational discernment. The parish in which I was serving could not afford a full-time priest. Was there another career that I could combine with Anglican ministry? Vocational discernment revealed the intriguing possibilities offered by editing. With a mixture of trepidation […]

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Laura Bontje

Editing for Authors on a Budget

February 16, 2023 by Laura Bontje | 6 Comments on Editing for Authors on a Budget

As a freelance fiction editor, I find it incredibly rewarding to help an author shape their story or find their voice. And as an author, I know firsthand how transformative the insights of a strong editor can be. But professional editing can be expensive, so what do you do when an author has a limited […]

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Jahleen Turnbull-Sousa

Freelance Tips from an Editor with ADHD, Part 2

February 9, 2023 by Jahleen Turnbull-Sousa | Leave a Comment

In Part 1 of this series, I discussed how getting to know yourself well, setting up your environment for success and exploring scaffolding strategies are keys to freelance business success for editors with ADHD or other forms of executive dysfunction. In this article, I will share my next two tips: Embrace routines and self-care On […]

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Jahleen Turnbull-Sousa

Freelance Tips from an Editor with ADHD, Part 1

December 15, 2022 by Jahleen Turnbull-Sousa | 6 Comments on Freelance Tips from an Editor with ADHD, Part 1

Neurodivergent or neurotypical, freelance business owners share many of the same struggles: choosing a niche, finding clients, balancing admin time with billable time, juggling deadlines and allocating time, money and energy. In my previous article, I shared my story of how I discovered I had attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) just as my editing journey was beginning. […]

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Kate Merriman

Combining Careers, Part 1: Vocational Discernment

December 8, 2022 by Kate Merriman | 11 Comments on Combining Careers, Part 1: Vocational Discernment

I had been losing sleep for the better part of a year. The Anglican church in Toronto’s St. Clair West area, where I served as incumbent, could no longer afford a full-time priest. In a part of the city bounded by Little Portugal and Corso Italia, the prospects for Anglican congregational growth were slim … […]

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Laura Bontje

The Pros and Cons of Sample Edits

December 1, 2022 by Laura Bontje | 6 Comments on The Pros and Cons of Sample Edits

If you asked 10 editors how they approach sample edits, you’d probably get 10 different answers. Some editors charge for sample edits, some offer samples for free and some don’t do sample edits at all. Some editors begin on page one, and others edit an excerpt from the middle. So if you’re a new freelancer, […]

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Jahleen Turnbull-Sousa

Can I Be an Editor If I Have ADHD?

October 4, 2022 by Jahleen Turnbull-Sousa | 8 Comments on Can I Be an Editor If I Have ADHD?

Can you be an editor if you have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? It’s a question I’ve been asked more than once, and one I see posted periodically in editor groups. It’s also a question I asked myself many times at the start of my career. I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2016, the same year I […]

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Laura Bontje

Editing Picture Books without the Pictures

September 6, 2022 by Laura Bontje | 2 Comments on Editing Picture Books without the Pictures

Picture books: the artwork is so integral that it’s part of the name. But unless you’re working with an author/illustrator, editing a picture book usually means analyzing a text-only manuscript. For contemporary picture books, the illustrations are more than adornments; they’re a critical part of the storytelling. At the manuscript stage, it’s a balancing act: […]

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Suzanne Bowness

Long Live Long-time Freelancing

July 5, 2022 by Suzanne Bowness | 7 Comments on Long Live Long-time Freelancing

My name is Sue, and I’m a long-time, full-time freelancer. While most of the time I’m in the trees of my business, once in a while I zoom out to the forest and think about how different my way of working has been from that of other people. For 20 years, I’ve been the only […]

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Amy J. Schneider
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Amy J. Schneider

Amy J. Schneider: An Editor’s Top 3

May 24, 2022 by Amy J. Schneider | 1 Comment on Amy J. Schneider: An Editor’s Top 3

In this series, experienced editors reflect on their Top 3 tools, rules and suggestions for clients and colleagues. Amy J. Schneider has been a full-time freelance copyeditor and proofreader of fiction and non-fiction and the owner of Featherschneider Editorial Services since 1995. Since 2012 Amy has written articles and presented in-person and online sessions on […]

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Miriam Bergeret

A New Editing Community Emerges: Neurodivergent Editors

May 10, 2022 by Miriam Bergeret | 2 Comments on A New Editing Community Emerges: Neurodivergent Editors

The pandemic has tested our mental health time and again and taken it to its limits. It has also led to more open conversations about prioritizing mental health, especially on social media. In particular, this period has been difficult for people who identify as neurodivergent (ND) — people who have differences in brain structure and […]

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Michelle Waitzman

Three Ways Long-term Clients Make Freelancing Less Stressful

April 25, 2022 by Michelle Waitzman | 6 Comments on Three Ways Long-term Clients Make Freelancing Less Stressful

A lot of creative professionals become freelancers because it gives them the freedom to work on projects they enjoy, make their own schedule and pursue personal goals. But life as a freelancer is stressful for some. Income and schedules can be unpredictable, and finding clients requires constant effort. These stresses can lead to anxiety and […]

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Judy Phillips

What Does a Recipe Editor Do?

April 19, 2022 by Judy Phillips | 4 Comments on What Does a Recipe Editor Do?

Whether for soufflé, soup, salsa or something else altogether, a culinary recipe is essentially a how-to document. As a form of technical editing, then, recipe editing is all about ensuring that the user (the reader) can successfully assemble the product (a dish). As a recipe editor, it’s my responsibility (along with the author’s, of course) […]

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Ruth E. Thaler-Carter

Ruth E. Thaler-Carter: An Editor’s Top 3

April 12, 2022 by Ruth E. Thaler-Carter | Leave a Comment

In this series, experienced editors reflect on their top 3 tools, rules and suggestions for clients and colleagues. Ruth E. Thaler-Carter has been managing and speaking about websites for several years, for both her own ventures and those of her clients. Her in-person and virtual presentations about editors’ websites have been popular with several professional […]

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