Louise Harnby | Crime Fiction and Thriller Editor
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The Editing Blog: for Editors, Proofreaders and Writers

FOR EDITORS, PROOFREADERS AND WRITERS

8 tips for transparent AI disclosure in your editing business

3/11/2025

6 Comments

 
Here are 8 suggestions for you to consider when disclosing how you use AI in your editing business.
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In this post​

Read on to find out more about:
  • the impact of AI on editors and proofreaders
  • why disclosure is important
  • where to disclose your AI use
  • disclosing why you use digital tools
  • disclosing who's accountable for the output
  • disclosing use of generative AI
  • disclosing specific digital tools
  • disclosing where tools are hosted
  • disclosing AI's presence and interaction
  • disclosing whether AI systems are open or closed
  • seeking consent
  • drafting your own statement
  • free checklist for you to download.
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​The impact of AI on editors and proofreaders

Editors and proofreaders are already feeling the effects of AI-assisted technologies on their work.
  • Some of it’s uncomfortable – with reports of our colleagues losing clients as workflows they’d previously undertaken responsibility for have shifted to AI.
  • Some of it’s beneficial – we’re seeing opportunities for efficiency, the knock-on effect of which can be better hourly rates.​
  • And some of it’s confusing – because we might not even realize that AI’s still operating behind the scenes of some applications, even though we’re not actively using it.
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​Why disclosure is important

Making time to understand whether AI is part of our editorial workflow because of the digital tools we use, and then disclosing that usage, ensures we model transparency for our clients and our community.

And when we do it, others feel inspired to do the same. That helps everyone make informed decisions based on the best information we have available at the moment.

​Being transparent also means we’re participating in a journey that fosters professional integrity and trust. Clients are more likely to feel confident in our recommendations when they see us being honest and understand which tools we’re using, why, and what the limitations and risks are.

Perhaps, like me, your approach to disclosure is a work in progress, but I think we should all be accepting of that given how rapidly the landscape around us is changing, and how complex some of the issues are!
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Where to disclose your AI use

There’s no single best place. It’s up to you where you make your disclosure and how you link to it.

I work solely with indie authors and so I’ve chosen to include a section in the terms and conditions that make up my contract of services agreement. That’s because this is the text that clients are required to read prior to making a booking.

However, some of you might prefer to create a separate disclosure page and link to it from the T&Cs or your contracts. If modelling transparency is important to you, it’s less about where your disclosure is than that it exists in the first place.
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What to include in your disclosure

I’ve suggested 8 things to consider for inclusion in your disclosure, though admittedly these are based on my particular needs.

If I’ve omitted anything that you think would be critical to your editorial business, please do leave a comment!
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Tip 1. Why you use digital tools

This is an opportunity to state at the outset not just that you are using digital tools – and most of us are using them, though not all of them are AI-assisted – but also why.

​It shows clients that you’re able to use technology responsibly, and that the goal is to maintain professional standards for their benefit.

Example from my T&Cs
‘To enhance the quality, accuracy, consistency and efficiency of my editing service, I use digital tools that may have AI-assisted technologies running in the background (even if I'm not actively using them).’
Reason
I want to clients to know that I’m not working in the Stone Age, and that my use of digital tools will help give them a better result.
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Tip 2. Who’s accountable for the output

This is an opportunity to make it clear that regardless of a machine’s involvement in your editing process, it’s you, the editor, who’s accountable and responsible for what’s delivered.

Here you’re focusing on your human value – the sense and sensibility you bring to your work for them, even though you’re using tools to help with some of the mundane heavy-lifting.

Example from my T&Cs
‘All outputs are reviewed and refined by me, a qualified human editor, before delivery to ensure quality and contextual accuracy. Software and AI tools are used strictly to support my human editing process and do not replace my human judgement or professional oversight.’
Reason
I want to draw attention to the fact that a human is in control of the process at all times.
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Tip 3. Your use of generative AI in the editing process

Here’s where you can make a clear statement about your specific use of generative AI. It can help to clarify this because not all AI is the same.

Some editors use AI-assisted tools such as ChatGPT, Draftsmith or ProWritingAid for generative support with revisions; some might not. Being transparent helps clients understand what your particular skills are and who or what is doing the work.

Example from my T&Cs
​‘I do not use generative AI to draft recasts of your text or make stylistic recommendations on how your book should read.’
Reason
I pride myself on my stylistic line editing skills and want clients to know that I, a human editor, have the capability to do this nuanced and emotional work.
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Tip 4. Which specific digital tools you use

This is where you can name the digital tools you use as part of your workflow, their specific purpose and whether they’re licenced.

You don’t have to limit yourself to AI-assisted technologies. You can include word-processing and spreadsheet software, PDF tools, consistency checkers, macros, search engines and file management tools associated with your editorial process.

Including a full list also means that when you seek a client’s consent (see #8 below), they know exactly which tools they’re consenting to the use of.

3 examples from my T&Cs
​‘Microsoft Excel: Used for creating chapter summaries. […] via a licensed version of Microsoft 365.’
‘PerfectIt: Used for consistency checking. A licensed […] Word add-in.’
‘Google search: Used for fact-checking.’
Reason
I want my clients to see the breadth of digital tools I use to support my service and to understand that I’m not using any old junk off the internet – where required, I have licences from reputable providers.
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Tip 5. Where the tools are hosted

This is an opportunity to tell clients whether each of your tools is hosted locally, in the cloud or elsewhere. Bear in mind the following:

  • Locally hosted tools: The data stays on your computer, offering more control and privacy.
  • Cloud-hosted tools: The data is stored on external servers, enabling easy access and collaboration but requiring trust in the provider’s security.

If you’ve committed not to uploading client material to third-party sites, creating this information is a good way of double checking that you’re not in breach of that commitment.

3 examples from my T&Cs
​‘Microsoft Word: […] Hosted locally via a licensed version of Microsoft 365.
‘PerfectIt: […] A licensed, locally hosted Word add-in.’
‘Dropbox: […] Cloud-based licensed version.’
Reason
By stating where my digital tools are hosted, I hope my clients will trust that I’m handling their data honestly and responsibly, but within the realms of what’s on offer and practical for my business.
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Tip 6. AI’s presence and interaction

Some of the editing tools we use may have AI operating in the background, and even though we’re not using it, it’s still ‘reading’ text and transmitting data.

This is an opportunity to be honest about that, and for your client to make informed decisions about whether they’re okay with it. 

Examples from my T&Cs
‘Microsoft Word: Used for text editing and reporting. Hosted locally via a licensed version of Microsoft 365. Copilot runs in the background but I don't use it for editing. Copilot may still transmit small portions of the text in your project (commonly called 'code') to generate suggestions. Any editorial suggestions I add to your project may also be processed in this way. GitHub provides privacy controls to protect this private work. This private code will not be stored or used to improve Copilot unless I have explicitly opted in, which I have not.
PerfectIt: Used for consistency checking. A licensed, locally hosted Word add-in. Does not use AI. Runs offline and does not transmit data.’
Reason
​Compare the italic text in the above examples. I think it’s really important that I’m up front about the fact that Copilot is still sniffing around in the background when I’m using Microsoft Word, even though I’m not actively using the AI to suggest textual edits.

This is especially the case given that I’m not yet ready to turn the function off because I’m still exploring how it might aid efficiency with non-client work that I do in Word.
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Tip 7. Use of open and closed systems 

You can also disclose whether any AI systems you use are open or closed, or what your position is on this matter.
​
  • Closed: These systems are operated by companies that keep their technology and training data private and secure. Uploaded content isn’t shared publicly or used to train AI models. It remains confidential and is processed only for the purpose of providing editing support.
  • Open: These systems make their code and data public, allowing anyone to modify or retrain them.

Providing this information shows clients that you understand the differences and are making responsible decisions.

Example from my T&Cs
‘I do not use open AI systems for client work. This ensures that your materials are never used for language model training and that your privacy and data are fully protected.’
Reason
I’m still learning about AI, and the list of editorial digital tools I’m using in 2025 may look different in two years’ time. However, I want my clients to be confident that I’m using them in a way that respects their privacy to the best of my ability.
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Tip 8. Seeking client consent

If your disclosure is part of your T&Cs and contract agreement, seeking consent is an opportunity for informed transparency, legal compliance and professional integrity.

It’s protects you both, and you’re being clear that there’s choice involved here. You’ve chosen to use a set of tools, but they can decide whether they’re okay with that … before the project’s underway rather than halfway into it, when it's too late.

Example from my T&Cs
‘I use reputable providers and maintain the confidentiality of your materials. However, by submitting your content for editing, you acknowledge and consent to my use of the digital tools referred to in [section] in the processing of your materials under my supervision.’
Reason
I want my clients to formally agree that they’re happy for me to use the tools I’ve listed. That way, it’s part of our service agreement from the get-go and avoids misunderstandings.
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Can I copy your disclosure statement?

What's right for me, my business and my clients may be partially or completely unsuitable for you and yours, so I wouldn't recommend this.

Instead, think about the tips that I and others in our community have offered up for consideration, and then use that information as a jumping-off point ... something to help you craft your own AI and digital tools disclosure statement – one that's perfect for your business.
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Summing up

I hope you've found these tips useful. Creating a transparent digital tools and AI disclosure statement helps all of us professional editors to build trust, demonstrate ethical practice and ensure we're complying with privacy regulations. 

It clarifies how our clients' materials are going to be handled, distinguishes our human expertise from automated support, and protects both parties by obtaining informed consent.
​
And, ultimately, by doing this, we're showing our clients that we're professionals who are committed to treating their data and creative work responsibly and securely.

Want to take a look at how I've approached the disclosure of digital tools in my terms and conditions? The button below will take you there – scroll down to section 14.
LOUISE'S AI DISCLOSURE
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Free checklist

There's a free fillable checklist to help you think about your position and obligations in relation to the use of AI tools. It's available in my resource library via the button below.
GET THE CHECKLIST
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About Louise

Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

  • Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Crime Fiction & Thriller Editor
  • Connect: X @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn
  • Learn: Books and courses
  • Discover: Resources for authors and editors
6 Comments

New 5-book series from The Editing Podcast hosts!

8/7/2025

0 Comments

 
Learn about editorial foundations, growth, sustainability, legacy and marketing with this 5-book series.
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Fancy reading some of the core takeaways from The Editing Podcast? Notes from the Podcast is a brand-new book series that focuses on five core areas of editorial business development.
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What’s in the series?

Currently there are five books in the Notes from the Podcast series, all focusing on what Denise and I like gassing about the most – running, growing, sustaining and marketing an editing and proofreading business.
  • Editorial Foundations – helps editors and proofreaders who are setting up their new businesses. It captures the conversations we’ve had about building a freelance business from the ground up.
  • Editorial Growth – helps early- to mid-career editors and proofreaders who want to grow, focus and professionalize. The Notes capture our discussions about refining, marketing and elevating a freelance editing practice.
  • Editorial Sustainability – helps more experienced editors and proofreaders who want to invest in longevity. The focus here is on strategy and business evolution.
  • Editorial Legacy – focuses on how we as editors can make quiet contributions that shape and support the editorial profession.
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  • Editorial Marketing – speaks to every editorial freelancer who’s ever felt nervous about business promotion, and who wants ideas about how to go about being globally visible.
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Is the content identical to The Editing Podcast?

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The content in the podcast is scripted with the spoken word in mind. Publishing those conversations verbatim would not have made for engaging books.

What we’ve done instead is extracted that content and presented it so that the written word takes centre stage.
So, yes, it’s still our podcast content, but it’s been repurposed and reworked so that it’s book-fit.
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How long did it take to create the books?

The answer to how long it took depends on your starting point.

We didn’t write the books from scratch – creating them required having the podcast scripts in the first place. And since we broadcast our first episode in 2019, so you could say the journey started then.
However, it was 2022 when Denise and I got together for a strategic-planning weekend in Tynemouth so we could review where we were with The Editing Podcast and discuss our longer-term goals.

​​During the discussion – with breaks for fish and chips, and ice cream … not always in that order – the idea for a book series was born.
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We’ve spent the past three years doing the following to bring these books to life:
  • scoping the themes of the series
  • exploring different series names
  • developing the cover designs to reflect the podcast branding
  • organizing, revising and checking the content
  • discovering what we need to do, and what we need help with
  • preparing the books for print-on-demand publication.
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Did you use AI?

The biggest challenge we faced in making this project viable was untangling well over 100,000 scripted words spread across 145 separate episodes broadcast in no particular order.

Some of that scripted content was irrelevant because it:
  • took the form of speaker-identification tags
  • included jokes or anecdotes that went off at a tangent
  • focused on issues that weren’t relevant to the five core book themes
  • included information about how to subscribe to the podcast.

Even the content that was relevant wasn’t located only in episodes whose titles made it obvious. It was all over the place! Plus, it was scripted in a way that suited voices rather than books.
Initially we embarked on doing that untangling work ourselves. However, it was backbreaking – eye-wateringly inefficient, not to mention mundane.

​We realized it would take us years, not months, and the project looked like it might have to be shelved …
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Unless we got help.

We talked over the options and wondered if AI might come to the rescue. We decided to give it the task of:
  • hunting down where the theme-relevant content was located within all 145 episodes
  • extracting the relevant snippets
  • and then returning them to us.

That was a learning curve because it took a while to work out how give it the right prompts to ensure it gave us exactly what we wanted. However, it was time well spent because we got there in the end! 
​
So, yes, we did use AI – to analyse our own content and extract the chunks of it that we wanted. From then on, it was up to us to do what we do best …
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What Louise and Denise did

Once the AI had delivered our booty, we spent several months doing the following:
  • organizing the content logically within each of the volumes
  • stylistically line editing each book to make it book-fit rather than spoken-fit
  • writing new information to provide clarity
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With that done, we turned to:
  • creating the prelims, introductions and conclusions
  • designing the covers and promotional images
  • formatting the interiors so they’re KDP-ready
  • copyediting the five manuscripts
  • proofreading the page proofs
  • sending advance PDF copies to multiple reviewers who generously agreed to cast their eye over the series and provide testimonials (thank you, each and every one of you!)  
  • preparing our marketing plan.
 
And finally, we published!
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Why bother publishing when people can listen?

Denise and I have always been massive advocates for repurposing valuable content because it respects the fact that people like to get their information in different ways.

​Some like to listen. Some like to watch. And some like to read.
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Plus, some of our listeners have specifically asked for books, saying that they love listening to The Editing Podcast, but sometimes they want to revisit a particular nugget but can’t remember which episode it was in.

​By reorganizing our conversations into themed narratives, we’ve given people choice.
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​How to buy the books

​All five books are available in print via Amazon.
ORDER YOUR BOOKS NOW
Still want to listen? Head over to The Editing Podcast!
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST
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About Louise

Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

  • Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Crime Fiction & Thriller Editor
  • Connect: X @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn
  • Learn: Books and courses
  • Discover: Resources for authors and editors
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0 Comments

What are editorial reports, and should you write them?

25/6/2025

0 Comments

 
Learn about editorial reports, and whether you should provide them to clients.
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Summary of episode 143

Find out more about the following:
  • What an editorial report is
  • Why not all clients need editorial reports
  • What to include in an editorial report
  • How long editorial reports take to write
  • Why editors should create editorial reports
  • Tips for creating effective editorial reports
  • Bonus content for Second Cup tier Patreon members: An extra 25 minutes in which Louise and Denise discuss how they approach editorial reporting, taking into account the types of clients they each edit for.

​Listen to episode 143

Support The Editing Podcast

  • Tip your hosts: Support Louise and Denise with a one-off tip of your choosing.
  • Join our Patreon community: Our patrons benefit from access to PDF transcripts for episodes featuring just Louise and Denise, and for some of our guest episodes. Members of our Second Cup tier get extra free bonus content too!

Music credit

'Vivacity’ by Kevin MacLeod
  • Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4593-vivacity
  • Licence: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

About Louise

Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

  • Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Crime Fiction & Thriller Editor
  • Connect: X @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn
  • Learn: Books and courses
  • Discover: Resources for authors and editors
0 Comments

Assessing a non-fiction editing project: With Hester Higton

26/3/2025

0 Comments

 
Learn how to assess a non-fiction editing project with special guest Hester Higton.
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Summary of episode 139

Listen to find out more about:
  • Time required for different aspects of a project
  • The different parts of a project
  • The different types of editing
  • Counting and assigning time
  • The order of editing work
  • Recording project time

About Hester

Find out more about Hester:
  • Website: academicedit.co.uk
  • Email: [email protected]

Support The Editing Podcast

  • Tip your hosts: Support Louise and Denise with a one-off tip of your choosing.
  • Join our Patreon community: Our patrons benefit from access to PDF transcripts for episodes featuring just Louise and Denise, and for some of our guest episodes.

Music credit

'Vivacity’ by Kevin MacLeod
  • Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4593-vivacity
  • Licence: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

About Louise

Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

  • Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader
  • Connect: X @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn
  • Learn: Books and courses
  • Discover: Resources for authors and editors​
0 Comments

Academic editing: With Hester Higton

12/2/2025

0 Comments

 
Learn about becoming a professional academic editor with special guest Hester Higton.
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Summary of Episode 137

Listen to find out more about:
  • ​The journey from academia to editing
  • How editors support academics
  • Specific skills needed
  • Acquiring training
  • Different types and sources of clients
  • Academic voice
  • Ethical issues and AI

About Hester

Find out more about Hester:
  • Website: academicedit.co.uk
  • Email: [email protected]

Support The Editing Podcast

  • Tip your hosts: Support Louise and Denise with a one-off tip of your choosing.
  • Join our Patreon community: Our patrons benefit from access to PDF transcripts for episodes featuring just Louise and Denise, and for some of our guest episodes.

Music credit

'Vivacity’ by Kevin MacLeod
  • Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4593-vivacity
  • Licence: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

  • Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader
  • Connect: X @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn
  • Learn: Books and courses
  • Discover: Resources for authors and editors
0 Comments

Human vs AI: How editors and proofreaders can remain relevant

7/8/2024

0 Comments

 
How human editors and proofreaders can remain relevant when AI capability is improving exponentially.
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Summary of Episode 131

Listen to find out more about:
  • Emotional intelligence and sensitivity
  • The ability to be subjective
  • Focusing on the writer as well as the writing
  • Service opportunities
  • Being present in person
  • Unique personal and business identities

​Related resources

  • Branding for Business Growth (multimedia course)
  • Editor Website Essentials (multimedia course)
  • ​Marketing Toolbox for Editors (multimedia course)
  • Resource library for editors, proofreaders and writers

Support The Editing Podcast

  • Tip your hosts: Support Louise and Denise with a one-off tip of your choosing.
  • Join our Patreon community: Our patrons benefit from access to PDF transcripts for episodes featuring just Louise and Denise, and for some of our guest episodes.

Music credit

'Vivacity’ by Kevin MacLeod
  • Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4593-vivacity
  • Licence: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

  • Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader
  • Connect: X @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn
  • Learn: Books and courses
  • Discover: Resources for authors and editors
0 Comments

Should editors offer free discovery calls?

26/6/2024

0 Comments

 
Should editors offer free discovery calls? Our three-step discovery process will help you deliver the process effectively.
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Summary of Episode 128

Listen to find out more about:
  • What a discovery call is
  • Benefits of discovery calls
  • Time and money considerations
  • Managing unqualified leads
  • Scope creep
  • Emotional labour
  • The three-step discovery process: Web page, email, call

​Related resources

  • Branding for Business Growth (multimedia course)
  • Editor Website Essentials (multimedia course)
  • ​Marketing Toolbox for Editors (multimedia course)
  • Resource library for editors, proofreaders and writers

Support The Editing Podcast

  • Tip your hosts: Support Louise and Denise with a one-off tip of your choosing.
  • Join our Patreon community: Our patrons benefit from access to PDF transcripts for episodes featuring just Louise and Denise, and for some of our guest episodes.

Music credit

'Vivacity’ by Kevin MacLeod
  • Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4593-vivacity
  • Licence: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

  • Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader
  • Connect: Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn
  • Learn: Books and courses
  • Discover: Resources for authors and editors
0 Comments

What should I include in my editor services agreement?

1/5/2024

0 Comments

 
Find out more about what editors and proofreaders might include in a services agreement.
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Summary of Episode 124

Listen to find out more about:
  • Parties involved
  • Scope of the job
  • Rates and fees
  • Payment terms and methods
  • Timelines and deadlines
  • Revision and feedback process
  • Confidentiality and ownership
  • Termination clauses
  • Legalities and governing jurisdictions
  • Communication methods


Related resources

  • Branding for Business Growth (multimedia course)
  • Editor Website Essentials (multimedia course)
  • ​Marketing Toolbox for Editors (multimedia course)
  • Resource library for editors, proofreaders and writers​


Sign up for alerts about our publications

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Sign up for alerts and we'll let you know when our publications are live and how to order.


Support The Editing Podcast

  • Tip your hosts: Support Louise and Denise with a one-off tip of your choosing.
  • Join our Patreon community: Our patrons benefit from access to PDF transcripts for episodes featuring just Louise and Denise, and for some of our guest episodes.


Music credit

'Vivacity’ by Kevin MacLeod
  • Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4593-vivacity
  • Licence: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

  • Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader
  • Connect: Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn
  • Learn: Books and courses
  • Discover: Resources for authors and editors
0 Comments

Proofreading: 12 things you need to know, Part 2

20/7/2022

0 Comments

 
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Summary of Episode 95

Want to become a professional proofreader? Discover 6 more key pieces of information you must know before you embark on your new career. 
​
  • How it requires a lot of hard work to build and sustain a proofreading business
  • Why having periods of no work isn’t something you have to accept as given
  • Why grammar- and spell-checking technology hasn’t made proofreaders redundant
  • How it’s a myth that all proofreading work is done in-house 
  • How proofreading means the different things to different client types
  • Whether word of mouth is a good enough promotion strategy


​Join our Patreon community

If you'd like to support The Editing Podcast, thank you! That means the world to us.
SUPPORT THE EDITING PODCAST


​Music credit

​‘Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

  • Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader
  • Connect: Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn
  • Learn: Books and courses
  • Discover: Resources for authors and editors​
0 Comments

Proofreading: 12 things you need to know, Part 1

20/7/2022

1 Comment

 
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Summary of Episode 94

Want to become a professional proofreader? Discover 6 key pieces of information you must know before you embark on your new career.

  • ​Getting work even if you don’t have contacts in the publishing industry
  • The market for proofreading
  • Why training courses are a worthy and essential investment
  • Why training in itself isn't enough to get work
  • Why you can still build a proofreading career without former editorial experience
  • What you might earn


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​Music credit

​‘Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

  • Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader
  • Connect: Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn
  • Learn: Books and courses
  • Discover: Resources for authors and editors​
1 Comment

Making time for editorial marketing

30/11/2021

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A common stumbling block for editorial business owners is making time for marketing. Here’s why we must make time, and some resources to help you organize your business-promotion schedule.
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​What’s in this post …

Read on to find out more about:
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  • Why running a business means finding clients
  • Working for others – being an employee
  • Working on your business and in your business
  • Setting up a business and marketing: The order of play
  • Shifting from a no-time mindset to an all-the-time mindset
  • Taking a strategic approach to marketing


​Why running a business means finding clients

Every time an editor or proofreader says they don’t have time to build and implement a marketing strategy, they’re saying they don’t have time to find work.

None of us can run a business if there’s no business to run. Editing and proofreading work is essential. Otherwise we’re nothing more than a fancy title on a business card.

​If marketing isn’t a part of your business model, it’s time either to work for someone else or shift your mindset.


​​Working for others – being an employee

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There’s nothing wrong with being an employee. For some it’s a more suitable career choice. Unless you apply for a job in the marketing department, it will be someone else’s responsibility to do the company’s promotional work, to pull in the clients.
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If you want to do your own thing, however, a commitment to business marketing must be part of the mix. That’s the difference between being self-employed and self-unemployed.


Working on your business and in your business

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Every independent editorial business owner has two jobs:

  • The work they do
  • And the work they do to get the work they do

There’s no way around this. The approach we use to find work will depend on who our target clients are. Think social media, content marketing, advertising, directory listings, professional membership, a visible website, letters, emails, networking, phone calls, and SEO. All or some of these will be in play.

If a no-time mindset is tripping you up, ask yourself whether you can imagine saying any of the following:

  • I don’t have time to do editing.
  • I don’t have time to send invoices.
  • I don’t have time to check the spelling of a word in a dictionary.

Those statements sound daft, don’t they? Of course we’d make time for editing, invoicing and checking spelling! We’re professionals and we’re business owners – those things are essential.

Finding work is just as important. If we don’t, there’s no editing to do, no invoices to send, no spellings to check.
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Since we’re employers (of ourselves), not employees, we must do our own marketing, right from the get-go, and continue to do it for as long as we’re in business.


Setting up a business and marketing: The order of play

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Marketing doesn’t come after we’ve set up our business. That’s a misfire. It views marketing as if it’s a separate entity.

If we spend 12 months training to be a professional editor but dedicate no time to our marketing strategy, all we’ll have at the end is a skillset that’s invisible to everyone but us.

I know how to make lasagne, change a tyre, and remove a thorn from a Labrador’s paw, but those skills in themselves don’t mean people are offering me work as a chef, a mechanic or a veterinary nurse. Why would they? No one but me, my husband, my kid and my dog know I can do that stuff. I’ve not promoted those skills or set up a business around them (nor do I plan to, just in case you’re wondering!).
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If you’re serious about becoming a professional editor, so much so that you’ve invested your hard-earned cash in a high-quality training course, start working on your marketing strategy at the same time so that you don’t end up as a professional thumb-twiddler! 


Shifting from a no-time mindset to an all-the-time mindset

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Whatever marketing approach(es) you choose, do them regularly so that they’re a normal part of editorial business ownership.

Invoicing and tax returns are my least favourite aspects of running a business but I do them anyway. I have to. We all do.

Same thing with marketing. You don’t have to love marketing. You don’t even have to like it. Just do it anyway, all the time. Dedicate time in your business week to the task.

​Every time you’re tempted to use that slot in your schedule to do something else, remind yourself that you don’t want to be self-unemployed, that you do want to earn a living from your editing business, and that when the client cupboard is bare it makes you feel miserable and stressed.

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Taking a strategic approach to marketing

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Here are three things every editor needs to recognize about strategy:

  • ‘I'd better do a bit of marketing because I’ve got no work lined up next month’ is not a strategy. It’s an emergency.
  • ‘Great! I just got some work for next month so I don’t have to do any marketing for a while’ is not a strategy. It’s a recipe for a future emergency.
  • ‘I’ll accept that horrible low-paid job because it’s better than nothing’ is not a strategy. It’s a business model that puts others in control.

A long-term marketing strategy is planned, targeted, and implemented continuously. That’s what keeps the cupboard full of good-fit clients, and what gives us the power to decide a project’s not a good fit, the price isn’t right, or the scheduling’s too tight.


​Summing up

If you’re already marketing your editing business, fantastic. If you’re not, start now and don’t stop!

You don’t have to do your marketing the way I do my marketing. The foundation of my strategy is content marketing, but that’s because I work exclusively with independent authors in a specialist genre, and want those authors to find me via Google.

Your marketing strategy should reflect the best method of being visible to your ideal clients. That might mean sending emails, making phones calls, engaging in a group or forum, or advertising in a particular space.

And even if you don’t like marketing, make it part of your business practice anyway. Place it alongside the other aspects of your business that you’re obliged to do but would rather not. Why? Because marketing can mean the difference between working and walking away. If you’ve already invested your energy and money in training, that’s a waste of your valuable skills. You deserve more than that.

And who knows? You might even enjoy promoting your business once you start reaping the fruits of your labour! 


More marketing resources

Check out these additional resources about building a sustainable editorial business:
​
  • Blogging for Business Growth (course)
  • Branding for Business Growth (course)
  • Business Skills Collection (6 ebooks)
  • Marketing resource library (books, booklets and blogs and podcasts)
  • Marketing Toolbox for Editors (multimedia course)
  • Marketing Your Editing and Proofreading Business​ (book)
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

  • Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader
  • Connect: Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn
  • Learn: Books and courses
  • Discover: Resources for authors and editors
0 Comments

Becoming a non-fiction editor: 4 things you need to know

30/8/2021

0 Comments

 
Find out about 4 key things you need to know if you want to become a non-fiction editor. Louise Harnby interviews Denise Cowle!
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​Listen to find out more about

  • The main types of non-fiction editing and the kinds of things a non-fic editor needs to look out for   
  • Working on complex materials     
  • The move to digital content and the role of the editor·     
  • Ethical issues the editor or proofreader needs to be aware of
  • How to Mark Up PDF Page Proofs (course)
  • How to become a fiction editor (podcast episode)


​Music credit

‘Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

  • Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader
  • Connect: Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn
  • Learn: Books and courses
  • Discover: Resources for authors and editors
0 Comments

Becoming a fiction editor: 4 things you need to know

18/8/2021

0 Comments

 
Find out about 4 key things you need to know if you want to become a fiction editor. Denise Cowle puts Louise Harnby under the microscope!
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​Listen to find out more about

  • The main types of fiction editing and the kinds of things a fiction editor needs to look out for
  • What additional training you might need
  • The market and client expectations
  • The need for a flexible hand
  • Becoming a fiction editor (free booklet)
  • Switching to Fiction (course)


Music credit

‘Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/


More fiction-skills resources

​Check out these additional resources that will help you develop your fiction-editing business.
  • ​Conscious language resources (free booklet for editors)
  • ​​Fiction editing learning centre
  • How to Start a Fiction Editing Business (free webinar for editors)
  • Blog post: How to spell in a novel – wherever your characters are from
  • Blog post: 3 ways to reduce word count and write a leaner thriller
  • Book: Editing Fiction at Sentence Level
  • Book: ​Making Sense of 'Show, Don't Tell'
  • Business Skills Collection (6 ebooks)
  • Switching to Fiction (course for editors)
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Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

  • Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader
  • Connect: Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn
  • Learn: Books and courses
  • Discover: Resources for authors and editors
0 Comments

How to choose a name for your editing or proofreading business

14/7/2021

0 Comments

 
Find out how to choose a name for your editing or proofreading business with Louise Harnby and Denise Cowle.
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Listen to find out more about

  • Brainstorming a list of possible business names
  • Considering your target clients
  • Identifying your core brand values
  • Using a business name to tell the client what's on offer
  • Checking the name is available
  • Does the name reflect your brand identity?
  • How findable and SEO-friendly is the name?
  • Will the name stand the test of time?


Music credit

‘Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/


More business-tips resources

Check out these additional resources that will help you make good decisions for your editorial business.
​
  • Learn how to build an editing and proofreading business with this topic-based resource library
  • Business Planning and Marketing Collection (2 ebooks)
  • Business Skills Collection (6 ebooks)
  • Marketing Toolbox for Editors (course)
  • Editor Website Essentials (course)
  • Branding for Business Growth (course)
  • What should I call my editing or proofreading business? (blog)
    ​
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Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

  • Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader
  • Connect: Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn
  • Learn: Books and courses
  • Discover: Resources for authors and editors
0 Comments

Accountability groups for editors and proofreaders

14/12/2020

0 Comments

 
In this episode of The Editing Podcast, Louise Harnby and Denise Cowle talk about accountability groups, and how they can help editors and other freelance editorial professionals emotionally and practically.
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Listen to find out more about
  • Taking plans beyond the planning stage
  • How an accountability group can help you
  • How you set one up.
  • How many people to include in a group
  • How often an accountability group meets
  • Online or in-person works
  • How long a meeting should be
  • What tools are useful
  • What you might contribute
  • Accountability and what can go wrong​
​
Music Credit
'Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, connect via Facebook and LinkedIn, and check out her books and courses.
0 Comments

2 business mindset tips for new editors

19/10/2020

4 Comments

 
Is your editing or proofreading business new? Here are two mindset tips that will help you frame every action you take in terms of multiple goals, and stay positive while you’re waiting for the fruits of your labour to ripen.
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Linear vs holistic thinking: Beyond the to-do list
I love a list! Recording the stuff I need to do helps me organize my thoughts. It also steers me away from procrastination and towards action.

What follows is therefore by no means a call for the abandonment of the to-do list. New starters and old hands alike can benefit from a list of actionable points.

Caution is required though. The to-do list does have the potential to encourage linear thinking, and this can be a hindrance when it comes to the business of editing and proofreading.

Linear thinking can lead us down a road of focusing too heavily on one part of our business in the belief that if we get X just right, everything else will fall into place, or that X is more important than Y and therefore must be completed in full before Y is considered.

Holistic thinking, however, recognizes that X impacts on Y, which impacts on Z, and that – together – X, Y and Z drive success.

Let’s look at what this means for our business practices.
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A simplified example
Shami is in the process of setting up an editing business. She’s completed a comprehensive training course followed by mentoring. She’s confident in her skills and believes she’s fit for purpose. And she is – from a technical point of view.

However, there’s a potential problem. She’s been so focused on her training that she’s not spent any time considering how she’ll make herself visible to paying clients.

Training was at the top of her list – and while this is certainly no bad thing to be at the top of any freelance business owner’s list, focusing on it alone won’t bring in paying work.

Shami's business to-do list
Shami’s to-do list looks like this:
  1. Training – take courses and follow up with mentoring
  2. Equipment – buy relevant hardware and software
  3. Networking – join an editing society, set up social media accounts, attend conferences
  4. Brand awareness – choose a business name, develop a brand identity, create appropriate visuals etc.
  5. Launch – register business, inform tax authorities, set up bank account, take out relevant insurance policies
  6. Visibility – create website, business cards, leaflets; advertise in directories; buy a custom domain name and email address
  7. Pricing – create a fee matrix for different client types
  8. Templates – design letterhead, invoices, email signature, postage labels, reports, etc.
  9. Schedule – create work schedule to track jobs, payments, time, etc.
  10. Business resources – create business-critical resources such as terms and conditions, process documents, contract of services
  11. Client acquisition – approach potential clients and pitch for work
  12. Learning centre – develop additional resources that solve clients’ problems
​Shami could do one thing at a time, and tick all those jobs off as she goes. But might she benefit from looking at her editing business in a different way?
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An alternative view: The business wheel
What if, instead, Shami visualized her business as a wheel rather than a list?
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The list and the wheel address the same issues, but the wheel helps Shami to visualize her business holistically; it shows her the interconnectedness of the various elements.

Let’s consider her training in relation to other aspects of business development.
Training and visibility
  • Training provides her with skills. But it’s also a valuable message that she could use in her promotion materials to certain types of clients (publishers, for example) and that will make her more interesting to them.
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Training and the learning centre
  • Shami should certainly include her qualifications on her website, but an even more effective way to show rather than tell her knowledge is to use what she’s learned via her training to create content that solves problems for her potential clients.
  • Solution-based webpages – ones that could only have been written by someone who’s made time for professional training – have powerful SEO benefits that will enhance her visibility. She can also expand her learning centre with this content.

Training and client acquisition
  • Her training programme has also instilled in her a desire to provide editing work of the highest quality, and these high standards mean those new clients who discover her will be more likely to retain her and recommend her.
  • In the longer term, this means a more consistent work flow and income stream that will give her greater choice as to the work she accepts and the prices she can charge.
  • Training is therefore assisting her with client acquisition and retention.

Training and membership upgrades
  • Training contributes heavily towards Shami’s application for a higher-level tier of membership in her national editorial society.
  • This membership tier will provide her with the right to take an entry in its online directory. She can link her new website to this directory.
  • That helps her with professional credibility, brand awareness and visibility.

Training and credibility
  • The training organization she worked with might be interested in her contributing to their blog. She could share her experiences of starting her business.
  • This will add to her professional credibility, and provide her with an opportunity to create inbound and outbound links between her website and the training organization’s website.
  • That helps her with professional credibility, brand awareness and visibility. If she repurposes the blog content as a booklet, she can add it to the bank of content in her learning centre.

​Training and network-building
  • The organization has a large following on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. It will share her guest article with its followers. Some of them will link with Shami, thus expanding her professional community.
  • That ticks her training, brand awareness, networking and visibility boxes.

Other ways to use the business-wheel mindset
I could go on, but you get the point. Training isn’t something you do before marketing. Rather, it’s connected to marketing. They are but two spokes on a wheel, and they link the hub (the business) to the rim (clients and colleagues).

Training gives substance to the marketing message. Marketing generates visibility and, therefore, new clients. New clients become regular clients because of the standards embedded by training. And up and down the spokes and round the rim we go.
​
We might carry out a similar exercise when considering the links between pricing, an accounting schedule and stationery; or resource creation and business promotion; or brand awareness, accounting and stationery.
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Taking the long view
Developing a successful editing business doesn’t happen overnight. No matter how good our skills, how creative our marketing, how professional our practice, it takes time.
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  • Time to rank in the search engines
  • Time to become so discoverable that we’re never without work offers
  • Time to build a wait-list
  • Time to fill that wait-list with people who trust our skills and judgment, return to us time and again, and pay our price

And, even then, we can’t sit on our heels because our industry, broad as it is, is always changing.

  • The technical skills our clients wanted five years ago might not be what they want next year
  • The fees our clients were paying five years ago may not be what they’re paying this year (we might even be worse off in real terms).
  • The types of clients hiring us five years ago might have become more varied (consider the expansion of the self-publishing market over the years).
  • The software or hardware we used five years ago might no longer be fit for the purpose or compatible with what our current potential clients are using and expect us to use.
  • Two companies we worked for five years ago might merge tomorrow; or one might acquire the another. This could reduce the number of editorial freelancers hired, and we could end up on the cut list.
  • The publisher we work with directly today might outsource its proofreading and editing to a packager in two years’ time. That could affect the rate we’re paid and the security of our freelancing relationship.

Moving from entitlement to investment
This means that, as business owners, we need to be keeping our ear to the ground so that change is something we embrace, not resent, and something we view as providing opportunity, not marginalization.

When we own our own businesses, we don’t have the luxury of spending time on blaming a lack of success on others who are now doing things in ways that don’t suit us.

When we own our own businesses, we’re not entitled to be paid X by a publisher whose profit margins are being squeezed its own customers. Nor are we entitled to work on paper because that’s the way we prefer it. For example, most independent authors want us to work in Word or on PDF.

Instead, we have to invest in what makes us interesting and discoverable to those we want to work for and who will pay us what we want/need to earn if our businesses are to be profitable.

Whether that means acquiring new skills, learning how to use new tools, changing the way we do our tax returns, targeting new client types, replacing old equipment, or testing and evaluating new and innovative marketing activities that increase customer engagement, the responsibility lies with us, and us alone.
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Time and hard work are part of the deal
We might not see the fruits of our labour for months. None of us can say how long it will take for an individual’s marketing strategy to put them on pages 1–3 of Google. And that’s okay. It’s normal for it not to happen overnight.

None of us can predict whether a favourite publisher client will merge with another press and freeze its freelance rates.

None of us can know whether the skill we learned in 2008 will still be relevant in 2025. When I first started proofreading back in 2006, I was working almost exclusively on paper. At the time of writing in 2020, I edit exclusively in Word.

What we can be sure of is that there are no shortcuts – building an editorial business takes time, effort, and not a little courage because there will be times when we’re pushed out of our comfort zone.

Taking the short view leads to disappointment, frustration and stagnancy:

  • Disappointment that the creation of a website alone didn’t generate fifty new leads a month
  • Frustration because the client we’ve worked for solidly for six years is now squeezing 200 additional words on a page but still paying us for the same page rate
  • Stagnancy because we didn’t keep up to date with new developments and are no longer able to compete with colleagues who are providing a service that we consider unusual but that they consider run-of-the-mill

Embracing that longer timeframe means we’re less likely to feel deflated when our hard work doesn’t give us immediate results. Instead we could do the following:
  • Commit to tracking our webpage metrics and thinking of ways to more ideal clients to our site
  • Work regularly on finding new clients so we feel comfortable with ditching the word-count squeezer
  • Make technical skills development a part of normal business practice

Summing up
If you’re the type of person who’s capable of looking at a list without feeling compelled to move through it only from top to bottom, go for it. List away!

However, if you think that your to-do list is leading you into a mode of thinking that ignores the connections between the various aspects of running your business, try redrawing it as a wheel.

It may be just the ticket to seeing your editing or proofreading business in a whole new interconnected light – and focusing your energy accordingly.

And it's okay to set a realistic time frame for getting your editorial business to where you want it to be. The hard work we put in at the beginning doesn’t necessarily generate immediate results. Taking the long view means we give our efforts space to breathe.
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[An older version of this article first appeared on An American Editor.]
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
​
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, connect via Facebook and LinkedIn, and check out her books and courses.
4 Comments

What should I call my editing or proofreading business?

3/12/2018

3 Comments

 
If you’re struggling to decide what to call your new editing or proofreading business, here’s a 6-step framework to set you on the right path.
What should I call my editing business?
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Deciding what to call your editing or proofreading business is part of the BRANDING process and needs careful consideration. Follow these steps to work out what’s right for you.

Step 1: Brainstorm a list of possible business names
Let your imagination fly. Put your silly hat on. Then your serious one. Then your smarty-pants one. Anything goes at this point. This is all about you and what floats your boat. There’s no wrong or right – just ideas.

For demonstration, let’s imagine a new proofreader called Basil Rhoueny. Basil is trying to decide on a business name and comes up with the following ideas:

1. Basil Rhoueny | Academic Proofreading Services
2. Basil Rhoueny Editorial
3. Bulletproof Editorial
4. Comma Sutra
5. Full-proof Editorial Services
6. Norfolk Editorial
7. Perfect Prose
​8. Responsible Editing
Identify target clients
Step 2: Identify target clients
The next step is for Basil to identify his target clients. If he doesn’t know who he wants to work for, he can’t create a message that compels them – via his business name, his mission statement, his elevator pitch, his web copy, or any other marketing materials.

And if he doesn’t have a compelling message, why would anyone choose him over any one of the tens of thousands of colleagues who are also offer editing services? ‘I’ll edit and proofread anything for anyone’ isn’t a standout proposition. Basil needs to do better.

Even if an editor is prepared to be something of a generalist, I recommend talking like a specialist when communicating with different client groups. On our websites, that means giving visitors signals so that they can navigate to specialist messaging on different pages that focus on solving group-specific problems.
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Some people know who they want to work for right from the get-go. Some have no clue. Some think they do, but seven years ahead find that they’ve completely shifted their client base. We’ll deal with that issue in Step 6.

For now, let’s imagine that Basil thinks his editorial training, educational background and former career make him best suited to the following client groups:

  • academic publishers
  • students
  • independent academics

Identifying these groups will help him with Steps 3 and 4.
Your brand values
Step 3: Identify core brand values
A brand can be loosely defined as what others think about us – external perceptions. A brand identity is the distinctive business persona we present that nudges target clients to notice the things that we want them to notice. It’s what allows us to influence those external perceptions.

Brand values are the essence of our brand identity. They represent the kind of editorial pro we want to be seen as – the things we stand for, what we’re passionate about, what makes us tick, why we’re different.

Our business name, photographs, colour palette, web copy and marketing materials should reflect our brand values so that the clients we’d most love to work with will most love to work with us.

It’s no small thing to develop a brand identity. If you need help, I have an online course called Branding for Business Growth that can help you develop an emotion-based business brand identity.

Let’s imagine that Basil has identified the following brand values that he wishes to convey at every touchpoint of his business:

  • The Editorial Professor – this reflects his desire to proofread knowledgeably and respectfully
  • The Green Editor – this reflects his commitment to environmental sustainability and socially responsible, ethical business practice
  • The Globalist – this reflects his passion for working with people whose first language isn’t English

Identifying these brand values will help him with Step 5.
Serving the client
Step 4: Serving the client
In this step, Basil revisits his list of business-name ideas and considers whether they’re appropriate for his target client groups: academic publishers, students and independent academics.

1. Basil Rhoueny | Academic Proofreading Services
2. Basil Rhoueny Editorial
3. Bulletproof Editorial
4. Comma Sutra
5. Full-proof Editorial Services
6. Norfolk Editorial
7. Perfect Prose
8. Responsible Editing

He asks himself the following questions:

  • Do the business names tell the target client what he’s offering? If people find him online, they’ll likely be deciding in seconds whether he can solve their problems, and therefore whether he’s worth investigating further.
  • Is the name available? If existing services exist, clients might become confused about who’s who. Basil’s competitors will be less confused than furious that this newbie is diluting their carefully developed brand identity.
  • Will the name be findable by clients who are searching online for someone who can solve their problems?

Names (1) , (2) and (8) best reflect exactly what he’s offering.

Names (3), (5) and (6) are next in line, though they’re less specific.

Name (4) alludes to sentence-level editing work, and some will think it amusing.
However, Basil wonders whether some of his non-fluent English-speaking clients will get the joke and bypass him.

Name (5) is a problem – there’s an existing established business called Full Proof | Professional Proofreading Solutions.

Names (4) and (7) give him cause for concern regarding their searchability. It’s likely that the words ‘proofreading’ or ‘editing’ or ‘editorial’ will be searched for by potential clients. It’s far less likely that someone will search for ‘comma sutra’ or ‘perfect prose’ if they need proofreading assistance, though they are distinctive.

Name (6), however, might be great for being found in the search engines by local clients.

Basil decides to remove Comma Sutra, Full-proof Editorial Services, and Perfect Prose from the list of contenders.
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Now he turns to the branding issue.
The brand position
Step 5: Serving the brand
In this step, Basil revisits his list of business-name ideas and considers whether they’re good brand practice. His remaining names are:

1. Basil Rhoueny | Academic Proofreading Services
2. Basil Rhoueny Editorial
3. Bulletproof Editorial
6. Norfolk Editorial
​8. Responsible Editing

He asks himself the following questions:

  • Are the remaining business names distinctive? After all, branding is about showing potential clients those things that set us apart from other editors, not what will make us look like every other editor.
  • Do they reflect his brand values (BVs): Editorial Professor, Green Editor, and Globalist?

Basil has an unusual name. If he’d been called John Smith, he might have been easy to confuse with other editors called John Smith, at least in the West. However, either of his remaining business names would work.

There is, however, a good chance that his name might be misspelled. Is this something he needs to worry about if people are searching for him by name? This could be an issue if he’s referring someone to his website by phone, or if a word-of-mouth lead is trying to find him.

Here’s a test. Type ‘louise harby editor’ or ‘louis hornby proofreader’ into the search engines. Can you find me? I can find me! I’m not convinced that tricky-to-spell names are as problematic as we might think.

Back to Basil. Name (3) is at odds with the sentiment of BV-Green Editor. This brand value seeks to nudge potential clients towards thinking of Basil as compassionate, respectful, broad-minded, ethical, warm … someone who can see the bigger picture. The word ‘bullet’ might bring to mind thoughts of violence, death, harm and brutality.
It’s potentially a negative nudge rather than one that evokes positivity.

Name (6), while potentially clickbaity for local searches, doesn’t sit so well with BV-Globalist. Basil would be happy to work with local clients, but he’s not sure he can build a sustainable business on this alone.

Name (8) has a definite though subtle nod to BV-Green Editor.
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He elects to remove Bulletproof Editorial and Norfolk Editorial from the list of contenders.
Step 6: Think ahead but don’t get bogged down
Can any of us be absolutely sure that what we want to do now is what we will want to do in the years ahead? Choosing a business name requires us to think ahead, but also to be true to who we are and what we’re offering in the present time.

In case you didn’t spot it, Basil’s name is an anagram of mine. When I set up my business in 2005, I was a dedicated proofreader who specialized in working for social-science publishers. If you’d told me back then that by 2016 I’d be specializing in line- and copyediting for indie fiction authors, I’d have been a tad surprised.

But that’s exactly what happened. My original business name was Louise Harnby | Proofreader. My URL was and still is: www.louiseharnbyproofreader.com. My business name now is Louise Harnby | Proofreader & Copyeditor.

It wasn’t actually a big deal to add an ampersand and the word ‘copyeditor’ into my business name and didn’t affect my findability in the search engines. Would it have if I’d changed it to Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor, or Fabulous Fiction Editing, or something else?

Possibly, but Google Search is a tricky beast to master and shifts the goalposts often in a bid to thwart those who’d use black-hat SEO techniques rather than genuine attempts to be interesting and discoverable online.
​
Basil is left with choosing between the following:

  • Basil Rhoueny | Academic Proofreading Services
  • Basil Rhoueny Editorial
  • Responsible Editing

​There are good arguments for the SEO-friendliness of the first two, and the flexibility of the third. My view is that any would work because they are true to his business’s brand identity in different ways.
What’s right for you?
Basil’s brand identity and your brand identity will not be the same because you and Basil are individuals, each with your own businesses, ideal clients, goals, hopes, dreams and passions. The decisions you make will therefore be different to the one Basil makes. That’s fine.

Will there be a perfect solution? Unlikely. There will be choices to be made.

  • You might decide it would be to your advantage to have a short name rather than a long one.
  • You might choose a little SEO clickbait over humour.
  • You might choose a punny name over a more straightforward business name.
  • You might opt for flexibility over specificity.
  • You might choose memorability at the expense of spellability.
  • You might elect to incorporate the essence of your political or social values.

What’s important is that you choose a business name that you feel comfortable with: one that reflects your brand identity and nudges your ideal clients towards an awareness of the kind of editor you are and why you’ll be a great fit with them; one that alludes to what you do.

Here are just a few of my favourites:

  • A Novel Edit: Beth Hill specializes in helping authors prepare for submission to agents and publishers. The gentle and humorous play on words in her business name evokes a sense of freshness and vision.
  • Enigma Editorial: Cally Worden specializes in editing mystery, crime and thrillers. Her business name tells us what she's passionate about. It's also short and snappy, and avoids cliche.
  • Denise Cowle Editorial: Denise specializes in editing non-fiction for businesses and publishers. Her surname is unusual, and her business name capitalizes on this. We know immediately who we're dealing with, and that makes it personal.
  • Le Mot Juste: Sarah Patey specializes in non-fiction editing and translation. The business name reflects her language skills and her commitment to detail and accuracy.
  • Liminal Pages: Sophie Playle specializes in editing speculative fiction. Her business name reflects the pushing of boundaries that exists within the novels she works on. It's also sounds elegant to my ear.
  • Radical Copyediting: Alex Kapitan specializes in helping authors and publishers use equitable and inclusive language. The business name reflects Alex's values and includes some SEO functionality.
  • Wordstitch Editorial: Hazel Bird specializes in non-fiction editing and editorial project management. Her business name embodies a sense of editing as a craft, and evokes a strong sense of her commitment to detail and precision.

It’s likely your choice will not be clear cut. Try not to get bogged down by that. Business names alone will not make you visible or discoverable. The compromises you make can be offset by other business-promotion activities that strengthen your online presence.

Happy naming!
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, connect via Facebook and LinkedIn, and check out her books and courses.
3 Comments

Looking for free stuff? The costs of building an editing and proofreading business

23/4/2018

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If we’re serious about setting up an editing and proofreading business, free resources will get us so far, but only so far.
The costs of building an editing and proofreading business
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What free is good for
Free is brilliant when we’re starting out, particularly in the following circumstances:
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  • We’re not yet sure whether an editing career suits us.
  • We’ve yet to establish where our skills gaps are.
  • We need time to explore the lie of the land – what’s available, from where and whom, and how we’ll access it.
  • We need time to get our finances in order but don’t want that to hold us back.

Free is equally great when we’re experienced but looking to shift the goalposts:
  • We’re thinking about offering a new editing service but want to learn whether it’s a good fit for us.
  • We’ve identified skills gaps but need to plan a staged approach to filling them – no one can do everything at once.
  • We want to stick with the same editing services but focus on niche subject(s) or genre(s). That means exploring how we might expand our knowledge base such that we’re a more attractive proposition to potential clients.

Free stuff is about discovery, so that when the time comes to reach into the coffers we’re spending money in the right place.

​Free helps us to turn expense into investment.

What free is not good for
Free isn’t great in the long term because the offering usually comes with limitations. It will give us a glimpse, enough to help us on the journey. But that’s all.

The reason free has its limitations is because even creating free stuff and offering free help takes time, and time is money.
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Imagine the following scenarios:
CASE STUDY 1
Jane wants to offer developmental editing but has no experience. She does some research and finds the following:
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  • Ten free blog articles about the different levels of editing, all of which offer a brief overview of developmental work.
  • Five free blog articles that offer a more in-depth look at what developmental editing entails.
  • Twenty free blog articles each focusing in even more depth on one particular aspect of story craft, including narrative point of view, conflict, story arc, and so on.
  • A free 20-minute taster webinar on developmental editing on her national editorial society’s website.
  • A YouTube channel run by an experienced developmental editor offering 12 videos that guide authors on how to do some structural work themselves.
CASE STUDY 2
Jack has identified a skills gap. He’s a great editor but a poor marketer and is dissatisfied with the rates he’s earning from his existing client base.

Currently, he works with project-management agencies who find publisher work for him. And those publishers find authors for the agency. There’s a cost to that author-acquisition work – those agencies and publishers take a cut of the fee at each stage because they have to invest their own time and expertise in making themselves visible. It's that visibility that puts the editing work on Jack's desk.

He starts a discussion in a large editorial Facebook group about his concerns and is offered the following:
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  • Links to two free booklets about content marketing that will help him to increase his online visibility.
  • A link to a free online freelance directory.
  • The names of five publishers whom he’s currently not working for but who might offer better rates than he’s currently earning.
  • Links to 20 blogs hosted by fellow editors who are interested in marketing and frequently write about it.
  • Links to two free resource hubs curated by editors who are interested in business development and work hard to keep their libraries up to date.
  • Links to three free 30-minute webinars on SEO, building a knockout home page, and an overview of social media marketing.

What tasters teach us ... and what they don't
In both cases, the freebies are of exceptionally high quality and Jane and Jack learn a ton from them. Creating that content must have taken time and effort.

However, free articles, blog posts and webinars are tasters. Those kinds of things help us understand the lie of the land, and give us a deeper sense of what more we need to learn.

What they won’t do is teach us everything we need to know.

We can’t learn how to become professional developmental editors from those resources alone ... any more than we could learn to cut hair or wire a house to acceptable standards without proper training and guidance.

Same goes for marketing. Take me, for example. It’s not luck and Google that made me a strong marketer. I pay a monthly sub to learn how to do it well from professional marketers, and invest time in implementing the strategies I’m learning.

If Jane wants to become a professional developmental editor and Jack wants to become a strong editorial marketer, both need to take all those freebies and use them to make informed decisions about the money they will invest to turn their investigations into reality.

Examples might include:

  • A good-fit training course
  • Recommended books written by experts
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Free will help Jane and Jack make decisions. Investment will make them fit for professional purpose.
Investment and being fit for purpose
A better money mindset
It’s perfectly okay to decide that you can’t afford to run a professional editorial business ... but only as long as you decide not to run a professional editorial business.

No one on the planet owns a business that doesn’t have operating costs. Business owners have to take responsibility for training, equipment, invoicing, money transfer, software, marketing, client acquisition, office space, pension provision, taxation responsibilities, and more.

It’s true that the international editorial community is incredibly generous, which means that free resources and guidance abound on multiple platforms.

However, those who are serious about running an editorial business know they have to avoid hobbyist and employee mindsets.
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  • The professional editor doesn’t say, ‘I can’t afford it.’ They say, ‘I’ll work out a budget, take it step by step, and save up for it.’
  • The professional editor doesn’t say, ‘I don’t know how to do it. I need someone to do it for me for free.’ They say, ‘Can someone recommend the best ways of learning how to do it?’
  • The professional editor doesn’t say, ‘How do I get out of paying for X?’ They say, ‘Is that a reasonable cost of business and will it enable me to remain in profit and increase my income in the longer term?’
  • The professional editor doesn’t say, ‘I’m only looking for free stuff.’ They say, ‘Can anyone guide me towards some useful resources that will help me plan how to invest wisely?’
Does being asked for freebies frustrate you?
The shoe on the other foot – when you’re asked for a freebie
We can’t have everything we want when we want it. We have to make choices. Freebies help us make the right choices so that the money we spend actually increases our prospects and income in the longer term.

And imagine yourself on the other side of the fence for a moment.

A potential client calls you. They have a book that needs copyediting. ‘The thing is,’ they say, ‘I can’t afford professional editing. How can I get out of paying you? To be honest, I’m just looking for free stuff.’

How fast would you hang up?

Now imagine another writer calls you. ‘I’m in the middle of doing as much self-editing as I can using some free tutorials I found online and some advice from my writing group. There’s a fair way to go,’ they say, ‘but I figured I’d start saving now. Can you give me a rough idea of how much it might cost and how much notice you’d need? That way I can start planning my book budget.’

That’s the kind of client I’m excited about working with.

The editor with the same mindset will be rewarded with guidance and help because they deserve it. The editor who wants it all for nothing won’t and doesn’t.

By all means, grab all the freebies. The creators of those resources want you to have them. Making free stuff that’s invisible and unused is a waste of time and effort.

​Just don’t forget that free is the starting blocks. Investment is what gets us to the finish line!

Further reading
  • “I want to be an editor – when will I start earning $?” and other unanswerable questions
  • The cost of editorial training – are you hitting the mark or missing the point?
  • The highs and lows of editorial fees (or how not to trip up during rate talk)
  • Why you MUST market your editorial business. Part I
  • Increasing editing income – raising fees and declining lower-paid work
  • Who finds your editing and proofreading clients for you?
  • PayPal fees and your right to profits (Erin Brenner, Copyediting)
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, connect via Facebook and LinkedIn, and check out her books and courses.
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Q&A with Louise: ‘I have no experience, no training, no degree and no time. How do I become a proofreader?’

9/10/2017

14 Comments

 
Lisa got in touch to ask for help with getting her proofreading career off the ground. She’s feels as if she’s between a rock and a hard place because of a lack of academic qualifications, career experience and time. 
Proofreading Career Problems
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Lisa asks:

Hello, Louise! It seems that a lot of future editors have great educational experience. They can build on that to start with as a marketing tool. What can I do if I have spent 25 years raising children, and I don't have more than an associate's degree in General Studies, no experience, and not a lot of time to spend on learning marketing? I am a dog-walker and pet-sitter during the day, and I want to start marketing myself as a proofreader. Help!

Hi, Lisa! Thanks so much for your question.

I can appreciate that you probably feel like you’re banging your head against a brick wall at the moment. I do have two books that take you through the steps of editorial marketing, and one free booklet.

I’ve posted links to those at the bottom of the article. They’ll give you the detail; here on the blog, I’m going to focus on the basics and try to get you in the right mindset.

Time constraints
Time management is a tough one, but it’s something that everyone who’s set up their own freelancing business has experienced. The challenges don’t go away once we’re established either.

Take me for example. I have to find time to work on my business, too – time for marketing, time for administration, time for advanced training, time to train others! I, too, have a family and a business to run (my fiction editing work) during the day. Time for the business of running my business has to be found, and it’s tough.

That’s why I’m writing a blog post now, at 9.30 p.m. on a Monday evening on my laptop in front of the TV. The dog’s to my left, the girl’s in her room, the hubbie’s on the other sofa! My life is all about multitasking and there’s no way around it.

I know a lot of people who do their marketing out of hours, or chunks of it at least. We all have the same 24 hours in a day and we all juggle our backsides off to make it work. It’s just the way it goes. There’s no way of cheating it, no shortcut for any of us!
So, MINDSET TIP #1: Instead of thinking about how much time you don’t have, think instead of where you might borrow time from. 

Here are some ideas:
  • When you’re dog walking, could you listen to some audio masterclasses? Copyediting.com has a bunch of recorded classes that you could listen to while you pitter-patter with the pooches. That way you get to build your training portfolio and marketing skills, do some exercise and get paid at the same time! Yes, some of those courses will have complementary slides and written materials, but you could review those when you’re pet-sitting (rather than walking).
  • When you’re at home in the evening, what are you doing? If you’re cleaning, ironing, washing or vacuuming, could you do some of these things a little less often? I’m not saying give them up completely, just cut down a little so you can devote time to your professional development and marketing.
  • How about cooking? If you’re the person who takes responsibility for feeding your family, can you delegate the task to others so that they’re at least sharing the burden? You could redirect that time towards an hour of business-building. Explain to your family that they’re supporting your career. If you live on your own, might you go down the ready-meal route a few times a week? Better yet, get a cheap slow cooker. Chuck everything in first thing in the morning, go to work, come back and lift the lid. Dinner! I luuuuurve my slow cooker – healthy food for no effort!
  • Do you spend time in front of the TV and take baths? I did an entire 7-hour content marketing programme in front of the TV over the course of several weeks (earphones plugged in, tablet on my lap). The course required some deep thought and self-brainstorming exercises; I did some of them while taking a long soak in the bath. In fact, I came up with some of my core brand values while in the bath! (See the resources for info on that programme).

​Do you work 7 days a week, 365 days a year? For some people in the world, that’s a reality not a horror story, and if that’s you, you have my genuine sympathy. But if you do take weekends off (or one or two other days during the week), and if you do take some annual leave, might you consider using it as a busman’s holiday – devoting it to your business (marketing, training, etc.)?

This isn’t most people’s idea of fun; it’s certainly a sacrifice. But if it gave you that 50 hours of professional training that you need to get off the starting blocks, it would be a sacrifice worth making, an investment for your future.

Training
Once you’ve borrowed some time, you need to decide what to do with it. I mentioned training briefly above but let’s dig a little deeper. You didn’t tell me what pro training you’ve completed, so for safety’s sake I’m going to assume it’s limited.

Professional training is, I think, a requirement for anyone wanting to be taken seriously in today’s editorial freelancing market. It gives you confidence, ensures you’re fit for purpose and puts you on a par with the thousands of trained colleagues with whom you’ll be competing.
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Having pro training is no longer stand-out, it’s stand-ard. You might be worried that you don’t have time to do in-depth professional classes – you’re at work all day so can’t attend on-site training.
So, MINDSET TIP #2: Think online. This is the way to go because you can train at your convenience in your own borrowed time.

Above, I talked about Laura Poole and Erin Brenner’s online classes via Copyediting. The Society for Editors and Proofreaders and the Publishing Training Centre in the UK both offer outstanding distance-learning courses for copyediting and proofreading, too.

Those are just a few examples, but nailing the classes means you can demonstrate on your website that you’re a professional – with pro training, a pro attitude and pro commitment.

I believe that our marketing messages should focus on our clients’ problems first and foremost, but backing that up with training is a no-brainer. So let’s talk about marketing.

Marketing
The thing about marketing is that you can get right on it – start doing it while you’re learning it.

Perhaps there are some editorial freelancers who have client lists as long as their arms and can rely completely on word of mouth. Or they have lots of publisher clients who offer repeat work (I’ll talk about that below). But the new starter in today’s market has to think bigger.
So, MINDSET TIP #3: Be visible. The invisible proofreader (or editor) is an unemployed proofreader (or editor). Even pro proofreaders and editors need to market themselves consistently.

Some types of marketing are slow burn; some can have a much quicker impact. Here are some ideas that fit into both categories:
  • Get yourself a website now so that you can start building it into your shop front (just like you’re already doing for your pet-sitting/walking business).
  • Create a professional editorial Facebook page to complement your existing timeline. You won’t have much to put on it right now so use it as a curation resource – useful stuff for colleagues and clients that shows you’re committed and engaged with the editorial profession and the problems your clients face.
  • Use social media purposefully! I’m a great one for messing around on social media – I love seeing what people are up to on Facebook and Twitter – but I’ve learned to use it with intention, too.
    The chattering aspect is great for building relationships with editorial friends (especially as a large percentage of my edi-pals don’t live nearby), but I use it to build trust and engagement too – it’s a place where I share the resources that I and my colleagues have created to help each other (and our clients). If you’re interested, I’m presenting a masterclass on purposeful social media marketing via Copyediting.com in December (see below).
  • Join a professional editorial society. I think you’re in the US, but if I’m wrong, no matter. There’s a list of worldwide pro editorial societies at the bottom of this post. If your national society’s directory has a directory of editorial pros for hire, make sure you’re in it. If you don’t qualify, use your borrowed time (or your busman’s holiday) to do what’s required to get in it. My CIEP and Reedsy profiles are valuable lead drivers, second and third only to Google.
  • Once you’ve got your initial training sorted, follow the instructions in my SOS Marketing Strategy booklet (see below) and start contacting publishers. If you focus on the arts and humanities, you’ll likely not need a higher degree. Publishers are great clients, especially while you’re developing your visibility. They already know what we do and why we’re valuable, so we don’t have to persuade them; they already have their hands raised.

​And that final point leads us onto something else worth considering …

Client focus
When it comes to marketing, every editorial business owner needs to think about which clients they’re going to target. For you, this may feel trickier because you don’t have a career background that lends itself to a particular subject specialism.
So, MINDSET TIP #4: Instead of thinking about what you don’t have in terms of education and career experience, think about what clients want and what their problems are. 

Here are just a few examples that will help you develop your marketing message:
  • Publishers – professional industry-recognized training: We’ve already talked about how you might secure that.
  • Publishers – readiness to take a test: Publishers increasingly use tests to evaluate their freelancers. That’s because each press works differently and they want to make their own assessments of a candidate, not rely solely on a piece of paper. This could play to your advantage. Though I came into the professional with a politics degree, during my days working exclusively for publishers I proofread books in law, philosophy, economics, research methods, education … you name it! The publishers didn’t want a scholar; they wanted a pro proofreader.
  • Students – many students are looking for help with language polishing. If they're not fluent in English, that you are is a selling point.
  • Students – citation and reference styling. Being able to say you know, for example, The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed., like the back of your hand will be a great selling point because getting citations wrong can be a grade-breaker. That’s something you can learn in your borrowed time online or by grabbing yourself a second-hand copy of the manual. The same could apply to any of the industry-recognized style guides.

Focusing your message on solutions to your clients’ problems means they see you concentrating on them rather than on you.

Imagine this … you walk into two shops, intent on buying a new pair of shoes from one or other. In store A, the assistant spends half an hour telling you about her feet. In store B, the assistant asks you about your own. Where do you want to buy your Jimmy Choos – A or B?

All of us need to make our clients want to buy editorial services from us, so we need to focus our message on their problems and their needs, not how brilliant we are. And in fact, though, we can demonstrate our brilliance precisely by being focused on them. It comes down to good old-fashioned customer service.

Hope that helps. I wish you well on your editorial business-building journey, Lisa!

Resources
  • Business Planning for Editorial Freelancers (book)
  • Content Mavericks with Andrew and Pete (book)
  • How to Do Content Marketing (book)
  • Marketing Your Editing and Proofreading Business (book)
  • Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP)​ (courses)
  • SOS Marketing Strategy (free booklet)
  • The Publishing Training Centre (courses)
  • Worldwide list of editorial societies
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, connect via Facebook and LinkedIn, and check out her books and courses.
14 Comments

Proofreading checklist: How to check page proofs like a professional

4/9/2017

31 Comments

 
If you're proofreading final designed page proofs, there's more to look out for than the odd typo or double space. Professional proofreaders identify and find solutions to a range of layout problems too.
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This post featured in Joel Friedlander's Carnival of the Indies #84
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Who's this checklist for?
This is for anyone checking final designed page proofs. For example:
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  • self-publishing authors preparing for print-on-demand. Use this when working through the PDF generated by the likes of CreateSpace or Bookbaby.
  • business owners producing PDF or printed reports, booklets, manuals or ebooks. Use this to check your file before it's distributed to your clients or uploaded to your website.
  • professional proofreaders. Use this to check page proofs for your publisher clients and independent authors.

​I've proofread over 500 books for the mainstream publishing industry. The checklist below is based on the house guidelines provided by the publishers I've worked for.

The titles I've proofread include social science textbooks, handbooks and monographs, and works of fiction and narrative non-fiction. And while the subject matter has varied, the requirements for checking final page proofs hasn't. 

Note my use of the term 'final designed page proofs'. This checklist is not for those doing a final quality-control check in a Word document. Rather, we're dealing with a typeset PDF or hardcopy of the book as it will appear when printed or published online.

For that reason, the proofreader is tasked with ensuring that the appearance of the book is consistent and correct according to client preference. This PDF provides a summary of the required checks.

To get a free copy, sign up to The Editorial Letter, monthly news about fiction editing and editorial business growth.
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Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

  • Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader
  • Connect: Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn
  • Learn: Books and courses
  • Discover: Resources for authors and editors
31 Comments

Are free online proofreading and editing training courses reliable?

3/9/2017

15 Comments

 
Should you invest several hundred pounds in professional proofreading and editing training when there are free online courses available? A reader asked me whether the freebies are worth their salt …
Free online proofreading training
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Malika asked:
 
Hello Louise. Your blog has helped me with a lot of things. However, I am currently doing a BA. I want to learn editing and proofreading side by side. I wanted to ask whether the websites providing free online courses on editing and proofreading are reliable.
 
Thanks for your question, Malika!
 
Foundational English-language skills
First, I always recommend that those considering a career in this field focus on their language skills before they embark on professional editorial training.
 
Professional proofreading and editing courses teach the practice of how and when to amend or annotate. They assume an existing above-average knowledge of spelling, punctuation and grammar that accords with English-language convention.
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Proofreading and copyediting – what do those terms mean?
Before I get into the nuts and bolts of your question, I’d like to talk about what’s meant by the terms ‘proofreading’ and ‘editing’. The terminology is often tangled. I define the various stages of editing as follows:
​
  • Structural, developmental, or substantive editing – big-picture, shaping work
  • Line editing – sentence-level smoothing work that focuses on structure, flow and sense
  • Copyediting – sentence-level correcting work that looks at spelling, punctuation, grammar, consistency and logic
  • Proofreading – prepublication quality control for spelling, punctuation, grammar, consistency and professional layout (often working with designed page proofs)
 
The training we do (whether it’s free or charged for) needs to reflect the skills needed to carry out these levels of editing.
 
At the end of this post I've provided a PDF that offers more detail about the problems proofreaders and editors aim to solve at each stage.
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Reliability, promises and intention
Now to your query. I think that an evaluation of a course’s reliability needs to ask two questions:
​
  • What is the course offering or promising?
  • What do you intend to do with the training when you’ve completed it?
 
EXAMPLE
The course:
  • Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL): Proofreading
  • Advertised on Study.com as a ‘free online non-credited editing course’
  • Offering: ‘Focuses on strategies for detecting typos and grammatical errors that slip by grammar and spell checkers. Some common grammatical errors covered are faulty parallel structure, comma splices and run-on sentences. Practice exercises in areas such as grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and paraphrasing are also available.’
 
Your intentions:
  • If your intention is to improve your language skills so you can attend to the quality of your own written BA course work, great! Sign up and get learning. It looks like a winner to me.
  • If your intention is to secure work from exacting clients such as publishers, self-publishers and businesses, this course is completely unsuitable. It’s teaching written-language skills, not how to mark up designed page proofs or carry out a professional developmental, line or copyedit.
 
The course has been designed to help Purdue students with the thesis-writing process, not train proofreaders to professional standards. The course is reliable in the context of its intention. It’s just not a good match for you or anyone else seeking to set up an editorial business.
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Client perceptions and expectations
There’s a marketing issue at stake, too. However ‘reliable’ the free course is, it’s worth asking yourself whether it has the potential to enhance or damage your trustworthiness.
 
Here’s the problem – there are thousands and thousands of editors and proofreaders online. The market is global, too, thanks to the internet. If a client finds you and five others, how will they decide who’s worth getting a quote from?
 
Imagine your home needs rewiring. You’ve already had one small electrical fire and want to avoid a future catastrophe. Who do you hire? The professionally accredited electrician or the spark who did a free tutorial on YouTube?
 
People searching for editorial services are just as discerning. They’re handing over hundreds, even thousands of pounds to a stranger. They want a professional who’s passionate about their business, takes it seriously enough to invest in high-quality training, and knows how to fix what’s wrong to industry-recognized standards. If you can’t demonstrate that you’re that person, you won’t be able to compete effectively.
 
Some client types, publishers for example, expect an editorial pro to have completed courses from specific training providers. Others will focus on your successful completion of a test. To pass the test, you’ll need to know your stuff. If your free course doesn’t provide you with the required knowledge, you’ll come unstuck.
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Ask colleagues, clients and professional organizations
Some years ago, I asked a group of UK publishers about professional training. You can read what they said in ‘Does training matter?’ (see ‘Further reading’ below). If you’re based outside the UK, call a few publishers and find out what professional training they recommend.
 
Your national editorial society will also have guidance. There’s a list of worldwide national editorial societies in the ‘Further reading’ section, too.
 
Practising editors and proofreaders will also have opinions. Ask in online forums about any free course you’re considering, and how it stacks up against paid-for options.
 
Here’s one editor’s opinion: I recommend the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and the Publishing Training Centre (PTC) for UK editorial training. That recommendation is based on my experience (I’ve not done any free editorial training) but it’s an opinion, not the law! My colleagues will have their own preferences, some of which will be based on where they live.
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Pro training courses – what’s on offer
Compare any free course’s syllabus with that of an industry-recognized course.
 
Let’s take a look at the CIEP's proofreading training:
 
Proofreading 1: Introduction (online £103)
Time: 10 hours
‘This course is suitable for beginners contemplating a career as a proofreader and for those who need to proofread as part of their job but have had little formal training. [It] teaches the very basics of proofreading; on its own it does not provide the thorough grounding needed to work as a professional proofreader. Apart from introducing the basics of proofreading, the course is designed as a taster to answer the question “Is proofreading for me?”’
 
You can see the full syllabus here: Proofreading 1: Introduction; it includes:
  • what a proofreader is looking for
  • how much a proofreader should intervene
  • proofreading PDFs:
  • BSI proofreading marks and proofreading on paper
  • how much to change
  • proof-editing in Word
 
Proofreading 2: Headway (online £156)
Time: 20–25 hours
‘This course is for people who have some knowledge and experience of proofreading and would like to learn more. It […] builds on the basic skills you already have to improve your concentration, focus and judgement.’
 
You can see the full syllabus here: Proofreading 2: Headway; it includes:
  • tutor-assessed assignments
  • editorial conventions
  • house styles
  • developing good judgement
  • layout issues including handling illustrations, tables and notes
 
Proofreading 3: Progress (online £156)
Time: 20–25 hours
‘This course guides you through more complex general and specialised material, including texts with illustrations, tables, notes and references.’
 
You can see the full syllabus here: Proofreading 3: Progress; it includes:
  • tutor-assessed assignments
  • proofreading publications with illustrations
  • tables, notes and references
  • proof-editing
  • proof collation
 
This is staged professional industry-recognized training that aims to make you fit for purpose and ready for market. It’s not cheap, nor should it be given that it’ll take a minimum of 50 hours to complete. No one gives away 50 hours of anything for free!
 
If you find a free online proofreading course and it doesn’t include the content covered by the full staged CIEP syllabus outlined above (or an equivalent professional association’s course in your own country), ask yourself whether the material is sufficient for your learning requirements.
 
When free is great – the springboard
That’s not to say that freebies aren’t valuable. However, we need to recognize that, usually, what’s on offer is a glimpse, a taster. That taster might well offer insights, knowledge, tips and tools to start us on our journey.
 
Freebies are a springboard. I use them to gauge my fit with what’s on offer. I chose to invest in professional marketing coaching earlier this year. But first I signed up for some free stuff to see whether I liked the hosts and their training methods.
 
I provide my own freebies – my website is packed with them … PDFs, ideas, advice, booklets. These are snippets; people have to pay for my substantive books. Many editors offer free sample edits to give clients a taster; the full editorial service costs.
 
And so it is with editorial training. The PTC offers a free taster programme for its flagship distance-learning proofreading course. The CIEP offers a free proofreading test. Will either make you ready to offer proofreading services to clients in the open market? No. Will they act as signposts for what kinds of issues you need to look out for and whether a proofreading career is for you? Definitely. But you get what you pay for!
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Being a professional
Editorial work is no different to accountancy, social work, teaching, graphic design, building, or electrical engineering … you can do it well and to professional standards, or you can do it badly.
 
If you do it well, you’ll be able to give your clients excellent customer service. They’ll use you repeatedly and refer others to you. They’ll give you testimonials that will build your social proof.
 
If you do it badly, you’ll let your clients down. If you’re lucky they’ll only complain and ask for their money back. If you’re not, they’ll tell others how awful your work is – a PR disaster.
 
Any courses that promise miracles for very little to no money and time need to be viewed with caution. Use them to evaluate whether a professional editorial career is right for you. Beyond that, financial investment will be necessary.
 
I hope that helps you, Malika!
 
Further reading
  • Does training matter? What publishers say about proofreading & editing courses
  • List of national editorial societies
  • Not all proofreading is the same: Part I – working with page proofs
  • Not all proofreading is the same: Part II – working directly in Word
  • Proofreading: How to choose the right training course
  • Q&A with Louise: Which online proofreading and copyediting courses do you recommend?
  • CIEP: Proofreading – Test yourself
  • The cost of editorial training – are you hitting the mark or missing the point?
Levels of editing
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, connect via Facebook and LinkedIn, and check out her books and courses.
15 Comments

What makes a good fiction editor?

28/8/2017

19 Comments

 
What's different about fiction editing, and is it for you? This post explores emotional responsiveness, mindfulness and artistry. 
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To keep things tidy, I'm talking in the main about line editing and copyediting because I specialize in sentence-level work, but some of the key principles will apply to developmental fiction editing too.

​Why fiction editing is a different kind of artistry
​​Have you ever tried something for the first time and found it difficult? 

Did someone review your initial effort? 

Did they outline problems before celebrating your achievement?

If so, how did you feel?

I suspect most of us have encountered this scenario at some time or other. I have, and it feels just awful. A review of anything that focuses only on the negatives – however kindly those negatives are offered – is a poor review.

​It matters not whether you’re an editor, a business executive, a marketer, or a parent; if you can’t find a single good thing to celebrate in the work in front of your nose, then you’ve not done the job properly.

When editing fiction, the ability to celebrate first is critical – more so, I think, than with non-fiction. Note that by non-fiction I’m referring to academic, technical and journalistic works, not narrative non-fiction (sometimes called creative or literary non-fiction) such as memoir or biography, where I think the editing challenges are similar to the fiction specialist’s.

In a nutshell, editing criminology requires a different touch to editing crime fiction.
Artistry
It’s personal
Every writer’s book is their baby, and most writers will infuse their tomes with their own experiences. But when those experiences concern matters of love, grief, sex or despair, the process of writing – and of being edited – takes on a whole new level of intimacy.

I’ve lost count of the number of authors who’ve told me they felt physically sick at the thought of contacting an editor, never mind emailing me the file. Many feel vulnerable, exposed, embarrassed.

And why wouldn’t they? Imagine handing over hundreds, even thousands of pounds to a stranger to look at an image of you and suggest how to make it better – not just any image, mind. You’re naked in this one. For many, that’s what it feels like to be edited.

​And so the fiction editor is charged with a responsibility. And it’s huge. 
Editing shoes that fit
Best versus best fit
Put 10 fiction editors in a room and ask them to work on the same 2,000 words. You’ll likely come back with 10 very different samples. That’s because fiction editing is subjective. 

It’s not that the rules of grammar, spelling and punctuation don’t apply. It’s not even that they apply less rigidly. It’s rather that they apply differently.

Just a single change to a punctuation mark can affect tension, pace, mood.

One of my regular authors has a mantra: ‘Louise, as always, keep it lean and mean.’ He’s a crime writer. It’s high-octane stuff. Low on adverbs. Low on conjunctions. Short, choppy sentences. The protagonist looks over his shoulder a lot. And if the punctuation is sympathetic, the reader looks with him. 

Compare this with another recent project. It’s essentially a love story – a woman’s search for her exiled family. The tale is one of heartbreak, abandonment, reconciliation and redemption. The author’s style is more fluid, prosaic. The protagonist isn’t looking over her shoulder but searching her soul. Every change needs to reflect this.

How I go about reflecting these authors’ intentions will not necessarily be the same as one of my colleagues. It’s not that one of us is better at editing than the other. Rather, it’s how we interpret those intentions –  and seek to mimic them – that’s different.

We’re not talking about who’s the best, but who’s the best fit.

That’s something the author must decide. And it’s tricky. How does a writer search for best fit on Google, or in an editorial directory, or on social media? How do they find that elusive emotional responsiveness to their writing?
​
Gauging emotional responsiveness – the sample edit
Fiction editors don’t have a monopoly on sample edits, but there is, I believe, an added dimension here in which samples really come into their own.

Physically working on a piece of text helps every editor get a sense of the writing style, where the problems are and whether they’re capable of solving them, how long the job will take and how it should be priced.

For the fiction editor, there’s something else, though – the feel of it. It’s our first opportunity to find out whether we can get under the skin of the author. And if we can’t, it might mean walking away.

If we can’t respond emotionally to the author’s intentions – feel our way through the words and into the characters and the world they inhabit – the edit could be impaired. You can’t mimic an author seamlessly if you’re unmoved by what you’re reading.

There’s a lot of talk about authorial voice in the editing world. In fiction editing, the concept can be a tad limiting. 
  • If I write a book about the business of editorial freelancing, it’ll be written in my voice. The editor has only to worry about retaining the me-ness in the text. 
  • If I write a speculative fiction novel, the editor will have to consider who the narrator is. There might be multiple voices – those of the protagonist, the antagonist, a host of supporting characters. None of those voices will be identical. 

A sample edit has its limitations, of course, by virtue of size. But it gives the author and the editor a glimpse of whether that emotional responsiveness is present and how it’ll be managed on the page such that the fit feels right.

Ultimately, fiction editing is as much about the heart as the head.
Emotional responsiveness
The mindful rules of fiction editing
Once the author and editor have found each other, the mindful rules of fiction editing will come into play ... during the edit, and in the post-edit summary or report. Here are mine:
  1. Every query or note should be offered as if talking to someone you care about – firmly, clearly, kindly, and with respect.
  2. Word’s comments function should be used to tell the author what moved you as well as what needs attending to.
  3. Every report should follow this structure: celebration > problem + solution > celebration.
  4. Every problem should have a solution attached to it if at all possible.
  5. Edit with elegance and mimic like a chameleon. 
  6. Be an advocate for the author’s right to write, whatever stage of the journey they’re on.
The author should leave the editing studio feeling empowered to move forward, not reaching for a mop because their self-confidence has leaked all over the floor.
Mindfulness trumps the mop
Fiction is a specialism
Fiction editing isn’t for everyone. If you’re keen to specialize in this kind of work, ask yourself where you lie on the empathy scale.

Many specialist fiction editors I know describe themselves as being a little on the oversensitive side. Terms such as introspective or contemplative are never far away. I cry at some adverts, so it’s no surprise to me that I ended up in this line of work! This emotionality can serve the fiction editor well, but it’s not something that can be learned on a training course.

That’s not to say that specialist fiction editorial training isn’t worth doing – far from it. But mindfulness is your friend, too – don’t be afraid to embrace it in your editorial practice!
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Want to switch to fiction editing for indie authors? This course teaches you what else you need to know at line level to make the move with confidence.
LEARN MORE
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, connect via Facebook and LinkedIn, and check out her books and courses.
19 Comments

Q&A with Louise: How do I become a freelance proofreader?

30/5/2017

24 Comments

 
In this Q&A, I look at how to set up a proofreading business, how to acquire clients and how to handle payments.
Editorial business advice for proofreaders-to-be
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One of the blog's readers, Charlie, got in touch with several questions:
​
  • How will clients pay me?
  • How do I register with HMRC?
  • How do I keep track of the hours I spend working?
  • How much should I charge?
  • How do I acquire assignments?
  • Can I use prior career experience?
  • Do you accept volunteers or offer apprenticeships?

​Phew! That’s a lot of questions so I’ll only be able to scratch the surface, but I’m confident I can point you in the right direction, Charlie.

First things – going deeper
Here are four resources that dig deeper into all your queries , though you’ll have to cough up a few quid for them!

  • Going Solo: Creating your freelance editorial business (Sue Littleford).
  • Pricing a Project: How to prepare a professional quotation (Melanie Thompson).
  • Business Planning for Editorial Freelancers (Louise Harnby)
  • Marketing Your Editing & Proofreading Business (Louise Harnby)
 
​They’ll tell you pretty much everything you need to know about starting out and keeping going.

Might I also suggest you join the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), the UK’s national editorial society? The forums provide a warm and supportive environment for old hands and newbies alike.

How will clients pay me?
A better question might be how would you like to be paid? For example, I accept cheques (reluctantly!), PayPal (convenient for international clients), and direct bank transfer (easy-peasy). Other options include Stripe, TransferWise and CurrencyFair.

I send an invoice as soon as a project’s complete, but some of my colleagues prefer to do all their invoicing for the month in one fell swoop. It’s a matter of personal choice and what works for each business owner in terms of efficiency. You can download an invoice template from my Other Resources page.

How do I register with HMRC and what do I need to tell them?
Quite honestly, the easiest way to deal with HMRC is to give them a call. I found them incredibly helpful when I first started my editorial business. Believe me, they’ll put your mind at rest.

Sue’s book (mentioned above) has lots of information about dealing with HMRC. My primary piece of advice is to keep a record of what you spend and what you earn in relation to your business. There’s an accounting template on the Editor Resources page that shows you what I record for each project.

How do I keep track of the hours I spend working?
I record my hours in the accounting template. That way, everything’s in one place. I keep track of time the old-fashioned way – with a pen and a piece of paper! Other colleagues use various time-tracking tools and widgets, e.g. Toggl.

Keeping track of how much time you spend on a project is important for gauging how efficient you are. Bear in mind, though, that not all clients will be prepared to pay you for the hours you work. Rather, they’ll pay you for the hours they think the job should take you. This is often the case with publishers and packagers.

When you’re in control of the setting the price of a project (e.g. with independent writers, students, businesses etc.), you’ll need to assess how long the project will take and how much you want to earn from it. This comes with experience; it’s likely you won’t hit the mark in the start-up phase of your proofreading business.
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Don’t fret about this, though. You’ll get better at estimating over time. And by tracking how long each project takes to complete, and what you earned, you’ll get a sense of what’s possible in an hour or per 1,000 words.

How much should I charge?
Take a look at the following articles here on The Editing Blog:
​
  • The highs and lows of editorial fees (or how not to trip up during rate talk)
  • The rates debate: Looking at the value beyond the fee
  • Increasing editing income – raising fees and declining lower-paid work

What you charge will be determined by your particular needs, your ability to access clients who’ll meet those needs, whom you’re working for, and what you’re doing.

If you work for publishers and packagers, they’ll control the price – you’ll be a price-accepter.

If you work for businesses, independent authors, academics, and students, you’ll offer a price in the hope that they’ll accept – you’ll be a price-setter.

If the second option sounds a better financial option, bear in mind that, even if it is, it’s harder work! Publishers and packagers do all the client-acquisition work on your behalf, while acquiring clients for whom you’re a price setter means you need to actively promote your business on a regular basis so that you’re interesting and discoverable to clients across the platforms they’re using to find people like us (e.g. Google).

How do I acquire assignments?
My line on this is: when you set up your own business you’ll have two jobs:
​
  • The work you do – proofreading in your case.
  • And the work you do to get the work you do – marketing your proofreading business.

​​I’ve shared all my experience of editorial business promotion in these resources:
  • Books
  • Online marketing training courses
  • The marketing section of my editor resources page
What I’ll say here is that there’s no single way to go about it, not least because different client types use different platforms to find their proofreaders and editors.

For example, content marketing is not the most efficient way to go about acquiring publisher clients – honestly, just get on the phone or write a letter/email instead. If you want to work for independent authors, though, it’s one of the most powerful methods of being discoverable.

Conversely, phone calls to publishers will reap results (if you make enough of them), but for indie authors this method will take you into Ghostbusters territory – who you gonna call?!

My advice is to put yourself in your customer’s shoes and ask:
​
  • Who are your target clients?
  • What are their problems?
  • How will you solve those problems?
  • How will you demonstrate your ability to solve them?
  • How will you find the clients?
  • Or, if they need to find you, where will they look, and how will you make yourself visible in those places?

Can I use my prior career experience?
Absolutely – it will be one of your unique selling points. For example, I’d worked for a social science publisher for many years prior to starting my business, This, along with my politics degree, helped to make me an interesting prospect for social science publishers with politics lists.

Wordsmith Janet MacMillan is a former lawyer – now her client base includes legal publishers, legal students, academics and law firms.
​
Both of us understand the language our respective disciplines, and that means we’re more likely to spot errors in related texts than someone with, say, a nursing background.

My advice to new starters is: always specialize first in what you know. Later, if you wish, you can diversify, or transition to another specialism (I’m now a  fiction copyeditor and proofreader).

So, in the start-up phase, use your career experience to help you determine which core clients you’re going to target. Then think about how you'll communicate with them in a way that makes them want to consider you as their proofreader.

Here are two resources to help you think about how to create a stand-out brand identity using a client-centric approach:
 
  • Pen portraits (free article by technical editor and writer John Espirian)
  • The Hippo Campus (book by content marketing pros Andrew and Pete)

​Do you accept volunteers or offer apprenticeships?
I don’t, Charlie – sorry. I’m a one-woman show. That’s critical to my business model. My clients hire me and only me to work on their books.

That doesn’t mean that mentoring programs aren’t a superb option. Time to think about training!

I’d strongly recommend you do some professional proofreading training to prepare yourself for market. It’ll show you where your strengths are, and help you fix your weaknesses.

Training has three core benefits:
​
  • It instils trust in your clients – you’re demonstrating professionalism. Trust is critical in an unregulated market where anyone can set up as a proofreader.
  • It instils confidence in you when you take the initial client-acquisition steps, e.g. calling publishers, creating directory listings, publishing blog posts, etc.
  • It increases client-retention rates – you’re more likely to do a fantastic job if you approach it like a professional.

TheChartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and The Publishing Training Centre are my recommendations … purely because I have personal experience of their courses on which to base an opinion. There are other options available, though. 

The CIEP runs a mentoring programme, too, though you must have completed some initial training beforehand.

Last things
That’s it, Charlie – a whirlwind tour of how to set up a proofreading business! I hope you find the guidance useful. I realize there’s a lot to think about.

If you decide to join the club, you’ll find a supportive community awaiting you, one that stretches well beyond the geographical boundaries of the UK.

Good luck!
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, connect via Facebook and LinkedIn, and check out her books and courses.
24 Comments

Freelance editors aren't entitled to work

1/3/2017

4 Comments

 
Just becoming editors doesn’t bestow special privileges upon us that are not available to other types of working people. Being editors doesn’t mean we’re entitled to be commissioned. Nor does it mean that we’re entitled to earn what we’d like to earn.
Editorial freelancing business tips
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Why entitlement won't work for the self-employed
​Entitlements are the domain of employees. Freelance editorial pros aren't employees of businesses; they're the owners of those businesses.

​Work has to be found, which means clients have to be found. We don't live in command economies where the State hands out jobs and you take what you get. We've chosen to run businesses so we have to find a way to make them function successfully. The alternative is unpalatable.
 
In a global market, where clients come from all over, and have different budgets, requirements and expectations, what those clients will be able or prepared to pay will vary enormously.
 
Consequently, of all the clients we find via our extensive marketing efforts, only some will be a price match for us. For that reason, we need to be visible to as many as possible, because the bigger the pot the greater the chance of a conversion.
 
To recap, just being an editor in itself will provide us with neither work nor the money we expect to be paid for the value we believe we bring to the table. Doing visibility is the key to cracking the problem.
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Imagine being a teacher ...
Do you know a teacher? Does that person have a paying teaching job? How did they get that teaching job? Are they happy with their salary? If not, ask them what they would have to do to solve the problem.
 
I know a teacher. She trained for the role. After her training was complete, she didn't have a job. So she had to find a job. She didn't sit there and say, ‘I'm a teacher. Where's the work?’ She went and searched for the work.
 
She did loads of research, applied for tons of jobs, reviewed the packages on offer, prepared for a stack of interviews, attended them (which was stressful), filled in her spare time with voluntary work in the education sector to make her CV sing, and finally found a school who wanted her and for whom she wanted to work.
 
For a few years the package worked for her, and then it didn't. She didn't say, ‘This school is predatory.’ She said, ‘I need to find a new job.’
 
So she did a lot more work. Now that she was more experienced and had higher expectations, it was tricky to find a good match. It took a lot of time, a lot of hard graft, a lot of research, but I never heard her moan. I'd ask how the job search was going. ‘Ticking along. No news yet but I'll know when I find it. The current post isn't perfect but it's better than being unemployed. You hear about Si? He’s been made redundant. Nightmare. He's really down in the dumps.’
 
My friend did secure a better teaching post. She worked her backside off to find that job. It would've been nice if it had landed in her lap, but that’s not how the teaching sector works.
 
And it's not how the freelance editing sector works either. We have to work our backsides off to find the work we want to do and that pays the fees we want to earn.
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Feeling ripped off?
If you're feeling ripped off, that's okay. We’ve all done work that made us feel undervalued and underpaid. That's kind of how my teacher friend was feeling. Time to replace that rip-off work with a better package.

Be aware, though – this won't happen overnight. If you're not visible to those offering better-paying work, you'll have to make yourself visible, which takes a lot of hard graft. It took my teacher pal a couple of years to replace her employer with one offering the package she wanted.

​It might take you a couple of years to make yourself visible to the clients you want to work with. This could mean you have to stick with the current client while you're working your backside off to find a new and better-paying replacement.
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The client under the microscope
In the meantime, take a good hard look at the client. If you're feeling ripped off, it can be useful to examine not just the deficiencies but also the benefits. This kind of exercise can shine a light on some of the value you might have overlooked, value that you may not have costed into your analysis.
 
Turnover
So the work isn't paying you what you'd like to earn, but is there a lot of it on offer? Every time you receive an email that offers you work on a plate, you get to fill your schedule with absolutely no effort on your part whatsoever.

Some people have a few regular clients who provide 90% of their work. Others have a few regular clients who provide only 20% of their work; the other 80% is new business.

New business needs to be found and converted into a working relationship. Which leads us to marketing …
 
Marketing
If you fill your schedule with a lot of work from one agency (or publisher or packager), and you think said agency is ripping you off, ask yourself how come they've got so much work that they can fill 80% of your schedule and the same percentage of many of your colleagues’ schedules. Is it because they’re marketing their backsides off?

Then ask yourself whether you're prepared to make the same investment, because that's what you'll have to do. You'll have to do all the hard graft yourself. Marketing an editorial business isn't just a cute little hobby you dip your toes into a couple of times a year. Well, actually, it can be if you get someone else, like the agency, to do the graft for you (and there’s nothing wrong with that), but there'll be a cost to it because they'll take a cut of every penny you earn.

And that's fair enough because there is a cost to finding clients. Marketing takes time, and time is money. So if you don't want to lose a cut, you have to fork out for the marketing investment.
 
In other words, we don't get to have it both ways. We can't expect someone else to find our clients for us and expect to earn as much as if those clients were coming direct. If we did expect that, who'd be ripping off whom?
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Still want an exit?
Fair enough. Start actively promoting so that you can phase out the lower-paying client(s) and replace them with new customers who'll pay what you want to earn. Plan for this to take time and a lot of work.

If you don't fancy the transitional approach, you can wave goodbye to the work immediately. If that's the case, you either live with someone who can pay all your bills (quite possible, and good for you), you have a trust fund (less likely, but wow), or you're happy to be partially unemployed for a while.
 
As you can probably tell, I favour the transition method! That's because my family situation means my income, although the secondary one in our family, is essential. When I was starting out, I couldn't afford to turn down work on principle while I was finding better-paying alternatives. I had to use a phasing-out approach (if negotiation wasn't on the table).
 
Of course, it may be that you already have enough higher-paying clients to cover the lost income from the existing customer, but if that's the case you probably nailed your marketing strategy years ago!
We're responsible
No one else is responsible for the rates we earn, the clients we find (or whom we enable to find us), the tools we use to make ourselves visible, the equipment we buy, the tax returns we file, the colleagues we talk to, the meetings we attend. It's all down to us.
 
We're not entitled to have anything land in our lap. As business owners, we reap all the benefits, but we have to do all the work. Every time we hand over some of that graft to another entity (finance to the accountant; client-finding to an agency; fee-handling to a money-transfer organisation), we see a cut in profits. That's not being ripped off; it's a cost of business. If you don't want to bear the cost, you have to do it yourself.
 
Being an editor isn't enough when we're freelance. If we're not wearing the many hats required for business ownership (or we resent bearing the cost of someone else wearing them for us), we need to take a step back and consider whether it’s time to make some changes.
 
What we are entitled to
What we are entitled to do is to make our own decisions. We’re entitled to choose the clients, the rates, and the types of work that suit our needs.
 
So if you want to work for a packager or an agency that pays less than a colleague thinks is acceptable, but there’s value in it for you and your business, that’s fine. If you want to decline the work and source your own clients direct, that’s fine too. Me? I’ve done both in my time because it was right for me. You’re entitled to the same choice. Good luck!
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, connect via Facebook and LinkedIn, and check out her books and courses.
4 Comments

7 things you should know about starting a proofreading or copyediting business

5/1/2017

14 Comments

 
Are you thinking of switching careers and becoming a proofreader or copyeditor? I have 7 tips to help you decide whether it's right for you.
7 tips for starting a proofreading career
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At the time of writing, I’ve had 5 requests in 5 days for advice on transitioning to a proofreading/copyediting career.

​Self-reflection isn’t uncommon at the turn of a new year – we use the time to think about what the future might bring and what changes we can make to achieve our life goals and business objectives. Here's a summary of the advice I offered my five enquirers based on the questions they asked.
​
This brief article only scratches the surface, but I hope it gives those who are considering a new career some food for thought.
​

​1. Do I have the right background?


​Probably! See how I answered that without knowing a thing about your educational and career experience?

​Here’s the thing – if you want to specialize in medical editing for publishers and you have a degree in economics, a rethink’s in order. Social science publishers, though? That’s more like it.

Ultimately, it’s about aligning your experience and skills with those who speak the same language.
​
  • My background education and work experience is in the social sciences. I don’t know medicine like my doctor pal, Jon. So if I’m proofreading a file that mentions both inulin and insulin (which Wikipedia tells me are both connected to sugar in some way or another!), I’m unlikely to have a clue about whether the mentions of either are correct. At best, I’ll be querying my heart out; at worst, I’ll fail to spot an error.
  • Give me a book on politics or social theory and it’s a different story. I know when those two little dots in Jürgen Habermas’s and Loïc Wacquant’s names have been omitted – I don’t have to look ’em up!

​So, yes, you do probably have the right background to enable you to transition to a proofreading or copyediting career.

​Just make sure you focus (initially) on targeting clients to whom you have the best chance of offering an exemplary service – clients who’ll think you’re interesting and hireable because you’re comfortable with the language of their subject.

That doesn’t mean you have to specialize forever, or stay with the same specialization over the course of your career.

When I launched my editorial business, I worked almost exclusively for social science publishers. These days, I work mostly on fiction, specializing in proofreading and copyediting for indie authors. A lot can change in a decade.
​

​2. Is training necessary and worthwhile?


​In a nutshell, yes. Why?
​
  • Professional training provides a confidence boost when you’re on track … and plugs the gaps when you aren’t.
  • Training is one way of helping potential clients to identify your professionalism. It’s therefore a great USP (unique selling point). I like knowing that my electrician learned how to do the job. I don’t let unqualified dentists near my teeth. My kid’s taught by people with an appropriate educational qualification. I think clients are more likely to think I’m a catch because I can demonstrate that I’ve invested in industry-recognized editorial training.
  • Training focuses your mind on the technical aspects of following a brief, marking up according to industry-recognized standards, and knowing when to change, query or leave well enough alone.
  • There’s more than one way to mark up. Paper markup isn’t yet dead, but it’s not far off – some clients will want you to work in Word; others will prefer PDF; yet others specify another digital platform. Being able to work in the way that the client prefers is essential, otherwise you’re limiting your customer base. Furthermore, if you want to work as efficiently and effectively as possible, you’re advised to embrace a range of tech tools that combine traditional and contemporary skills. Training will help you prepare for these demands.

​Take advice from your national editorial society on the most appropriate training course. The list I’ve linked to includes organizations in Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
​

​3. Where’s my market?


​Perhaps a better question is: Where isn’t my market? Most proofreading and copyediting is done onscreen these days. Even traditional page-proof markup, using proof-correction symbols, is increasingly taking place in a digital environment. That means geography is not the barrier it once was.

Thirty years ago, an author from Colorado wouldn’t have hired me to proofread his crime thrillers – not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t find me. Now, thanks to Tim Berners-Lee, he can and he has.
​
  • If you live in Dublin, your market isn’t just Dublin.
  • If you live in Tromsø, your market isn’t just Tromsø.
  • I live in Panxworth (it’s a hamlet in Norfolk, England – even the satnav struggles to find me). If my market were limited to Panxworth, I’d be unemployed before breakfast.​

​If you live in Dublin, your market is people who want to work with someone who lives in Dublin, and people who want to work with someone who lives in Ireland, and people who don’t care where you live but believe you have the skills to solve their problems. Same kind of thing applies to the Tromsønian and the Panxwegian.

It’s not always about where you live or where your clients live, but whether you can find each other, and whether, once you have, you can instil a belief in those clients that you’re the right person for the job.
​

​4. Will the pay be enough to earn a living wage?


​This question gets rehashed over and over. There’s no quick answer. Here are some thoughts:
​
  • What do you need to earn? You can’t work out whether your freelance editorial business will be viable unless you know what your baseline is.
  • Rates vary within and between client sectors, and within and between countries. There isn’t a market rate, whatever anyone tells you. Instead, there’s what you need to earn, what you want to earn, how much time you have available to work for those earnings, and what the clients who can find you are prepared to pay. Somewhere in the midst of that is a little bit of paradise where all four align. Don’t expect paradise to land in your lap – it takes time.
  • Some editorial societies offer suggested minimum rates. These are guidelines not facts. They reflect neither the maximum that some clients will be prepared to pay, nor the minimum that some clients will hope to pay.
  • In the start-up phase of your business, you might decide to accept lower rates than you want because of other benefits – glowing testimonials, a strong portfolio and superb experience. All of those things can be used as USPs that can make you more attractive to better-paying clients further down the road – future leverage. 
  • A client’s value cannot be measured purely by the fee they pay, especially when the editorial pro is starting out. I used to work with a publisher who put a shed load of work my way. I considered their rates low but the experience, volume of work, references and full schedule were worth every hour I spent on their books. I no longer work for them because I’m now visible enough that I get better-paying offers. I’m not critical of their fee structure (they have a business to run, too); instead, I’m immensely grateful for the opportunity they afforded me.​
​

​5. Do you think I’ll be able to find clients?


​Yes, if you’re prepared to be an active marketer.

Don’t wait – start thinking about your marketing strategy as soon as you can. Marketing is about being interesting and discoverable.

If you’re not interesting, it won’t matter who finds you because they won’t feel compelled to hire you. If you’re invisible, it won’t matter if you have a wardrobe full of USPs because no one will know you exist.
​
  • A good marketing strategy uses multiple promotional tools across multiple channels. That’s because different clients use different platforms to source us.
  • Those tools and channels are interconnected. The website you build, the useful content you share, the social media platforms you engage with, the directories you advertise in, the networking meetings you attend, the business cards you hand out, the CV you publish, the portfolio you build, the testimonials you acquire, the emails and letters you post, and more, should all be branded consistently so that clients and colleagues can recognize you and your editorial business.

​If you’re not ready to do what’s necessary to make yourself visible to good-fit clients, you’re probably not yet ready to run your own editorial business. There's nothing wrong with that. Some people are best suited to employment rather than self-employment.

If you think that word of mouth will be enough at the start of your editorial career, think again. I do have a few colleagues who’ve relied, successfully, on that but they’re few and far between, and they have a lot of experience (and clients to spread the word).

Being active puts you in a position where, over time, you acquire choice. Choice is the road to alignment – where what you need to earn, what you want to earn, how much time you have available to work for those earnings, and what the clients who can find you are prepared to pay all come together in a way that works for you and your business.
​

​6. What kind of information is relevant?


​It’s always about the client. When you’re creating content, put yourself in your client’s shoes and ask, ‘If I were searching for a proofreader, what would I want to know and what problems might I have?’

Some experts would say that my website has too many words and too many pages, that the portfolio is too cluttered, that there’s too much information below the fold, that my blog titles are too long ...

I do break some of the ‘rules’ of online promotion; I also follow many of them. I’ve tried and tested different ways of doing things and found what works for me. Next year, I might be doing things differently. Nothing’s set in stone.

If you’re struggling to organize your message, ask yourself the following questions. If the content you create answers them, you’re on the right track.
​
  • Who are you?
  • Who is the client?
  • What are their problems?
  • How can you solve them?
  • How can they contact you?
​

7. But will it be lonely?


​If you’re still excited about building a freelance editorial business, then there’s an international community of colleagues waiting to welcome you.

​Thirty years ago, freelancing could be a lonely business. In 2017, independent proofreaders and copyeditors chat, ask for advice, share knowledge and expertise, and learn … together. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and editorial-society forums provide just some of the online spaces that editorial pros use to connect with each other.

We work solo but the digital watercooler has never been busier. See you there!
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, connect via Facebook and LinkedIn, and check out her books and courses.
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