Freelance Freedom
A few weeks ago at the ophthalmologist’s office, I got the “Do you need a doctor’s excuse for work?” question again.
I’m always shocked at this question. There are jobs where a GROWN ADULT has to provide a permission slip from Mommy? I mean the doctor?
Are you kidding me?
No, I don’t need a note. I’m self-employed and even if I were a staffer, I wouldn’t work for a control-freak organization that would require me to get a doctor’s note to prove that I was where I said I was going to be.
If you’re tired of being treated like crap by the people who pay you, maybe it’s time to think about becoming a freelancer and achieve freelance freedom.
Other Helpful Content
Focusing on the Big Picture
One of the first things I teach newer developmental/story editors is to focus on the big picture. That means looking for problems with a novel manuscript’s plot, character development, and setting. It means noticing perspective/point-of-view problems, flabby scenes, unnecessary exposition. It does not mean pointing out every unnecessary adverb or overused word. Don’t Overwhelm the…
Unpacking Your Assumptions about Fiction
If you’ve ever taken a class from me, you know that I have a pathological hatred of using questions in editorial queries. By this I mean asking questions like, “What is Joe’s motivation?” where you are, or think you are, asking the author to address the problem of Joe’s lack of motivation. Use statements instead…
What Is the Difference Between Line Editing and Copyediting?
Line editing (LE) and copyediting (CE) are related skills, as they both focus on the sentence level. Obviously there is significant overlap between the two skills. Basic Definition of Copyediting But copyediting is about ensuring consistency across a manuscript, correcting egregious errors, making sure the manuscript conforms to a specific style guide, and otherwise smoothing…
