The other day I finished an edit for a new-to-me publisher client and submitted my first invoice to the company as agreed. I was set up in their accounting system and paid by direct deposit the same day. That’s the sign of a client who cares about their freelancers. And it’s a good reminder that…
One of the challenges older workers face when shifting into a second act career is time pressure. People in their forties, fifties, and sixties can have children or grandchildren at home, parents or other loved ones who need help, a regular full-time job, and multiple obligations, including doing the laundry at least now and then….
Many of the freelance editors I know love running their own businesses … except for the marketing part. They love editing, they love their clients, they love the freedom and flexibility of freelancing. But then … they have to get clients. They have to market. And many (probably most) of them hate it. So they…
As a member of several expat groups on Facebook, I see versions of this question all the time: “how does a US citizen get sponsorship to relocate to live and work in other countries these days?” There are, ahem, obvious reasons why someone might want to do this, but the problem is that this is…
More than twenty years ago, when my daughter was born with significant disabilities, I couldn’t keep a staff job because companies weren’t flexible enough. More than twenty years later, and the workforce is still pushing mothers out because companies are not flexible enough. I admire people who push for change but I also understand that…
Newer editors often express frustration to me about how long it takes to establish themselves in business. Often they’re concerned because they don’t have a lot of spare time and they feel like they’re spinning their wheels. They want to do something big and bold to grab attention – if only they could figure out…
When you’re first starting out as a freelancer (and at other times, too, such as when business slows down or a major client closes shop), it’s tempting to work all hours of the day and night to keep things moving. There’s a strong hustle culture around freelancing that suggests you should be working twelve- and…
A while back I subscribed to a software service that backs up my website. No more than a week later, I got an urgent message from the company saying that I was running out of room for backups and that I needed to upgrade my plan. They threatened that they wouldn’t be able to save…
One of the common questions I’m asked by newer editors is “How much should I charge for editing?” Some editors undervalue their work in an attempt to stay competitive. This approach can lead to exhaustion and potentially compromise the quality of your work. How to Price Editing Services My hair stylist moved to Indiana from…
The search term “Editing jobs near me” is apparently a popular one (or so my SEO guru tells me), and of course I completely understand why: people think of jobs as a thing they commute to as an employee and if they have to have one of those, they’d rather it be near them. But…