Freelance proofreaders, copyeditors, and line editors often do a free sample edit for prospective clients. This sample is generally between 250 and 500 words (one to two standard pages), although I know some editors who prefer to do 1,000-word sample edits. This can help the freelancer determine how...

I have a confession to make: I’m the rare introvert (hello, fellow INTPs!) who actually…don’t judge me too harshly…likes networking.

Don’t get me wrong—my enjoyment of networking events varies by the situation. I can talk to almost anyone for five to fifteen minutes, but if the conversation is less...

As an editorial business owner, I wear many hats. In addition to managing both the billable and non-billable tasks of my company, I also need to run errands and complete other day-to-day tasks.

For years, I piled everything into my Google Calendar, using it as my to-do list. I’d have client project...

In Part 1 of this series, I shared some of my recent productivity goals and provided a set of questions designed to help you create your own list.

The productivity goals that were the most important to me both related to email. Specifically, I wanted to reach Inbox Zero in Gmail, spend less time an...

Does the following sound familiar?

You sit down at your computer to work on a specific project.

Before you open the document, you check your email to see if the author has answered a question you asked yesterday.

You see that you have a new message from another client, about a project due in a fe...

Sometimes I need to turn down projects that come my way. In these cases, I like to provide the potential client with a few referrals to editors who may be interested in the work. I try to refer projects to editors I know personally, because I trust them to do good work.

When that’s not possible, ho...

In late June 2017, after working a very long week and pulling a few all-nighters to finish two copyediting projects, my hands suddenly became so painful that even thinking about typing on a keyboard made me feel sick to my stomach. The low-level hand and forearm pain that I’d been ignoring and pushi...

Editorial business owners are always negotiating. Whether it’s terms for an upcoming project or an existing contract that’s gone out of scope, having these tough conversations is part of the job.

It’s not just about getting the most money or the most favorable terms, but also about finding a balanc...

You’ve taken the first big step toward avoiding burnout as a freelance editor: you’ve booked your next vacation. Hooray! That’s a huge deal.

But now, the panic begins. What will your clients do without you? How will you manage your deadlines? What about the gap in your income?

Not to worry—this va...

Burnout is a real thing for editorial freelancers—trust me, I’ve been there.

While I know that running away from my problems isn’t the answer, I’ve learned that taking a true break helps me recharge my batteries and come back to work refreshed.

That’s why I decided to take a mandatory vacation eve...

The 2023 ACES conference is coming up, and it’s time for me to hop on a flight, pick up my name tag, and bravely enter the World of Networking yet again.

As a freelance editor, networking is a necessary evil. For me, ACES is the fun kind of networking (it’s a word-nerd shindig!), but it’s still a g...

If you're a freelance editor, you’re probably working too hard. This is because editorial business owners often wear many hats: marketer, bookkeeper, sales professional, project manager, webmaster, customer service representative…the list goes on. Even when you’re not working on client projects, you...

Every business owner runs into a problem client from time to time. Even as you get better at defining your ideal client, watching for red flags, and setting clear boundaries and expectations, someone is bound to sneak through the gates and wreak havoc every now and then.

The good news is that you r...