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

FOR EDITORS, PROOFREADERS AND WRITERS

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.
​
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
Sally Asnicar link
9/10/2017 12:31:31 pm

You make some valid points, Louise. Bottom line, freelancing is not a 9-5, Monday to Friday job. My husband and I both run our own businesses and we basically live them 24/7 (well, okay, not while we're asleep - but I do dream about work). I try to keep the billable work to weekdays (although I do some marketing for half an hour first thing in the morning and last thing at night), and the non-billable work such as invoicing, quoting and blogging to weekends. And out of every four weekends, I might take a weekend off - well, a Sunday. At the end of the day, if you want to make it work, you find time, put in the hours, and make hay while the sun shines.

Reply
Louise Harnby
9/10/2017 01:44:45 pm

Interesting, Sally. I do a lot of my marketing work out of office hours, but all my editing and admin is pretty much 10-4, Monday-Friday. I don't work weekends unless it's an emergency. I think what this shows is that there are many ways to make it work. If an editor wants to do it 9-5, 24/7 they can. If they want to take of school hols, that's an option (depending on their circumstances). There's no one-size-fits-all, which is why, for many of us, it's so appealing!

Reply
MARIA D'MARCO link
9/10/2017 04:55:34 pm

Thank you for a very thorough response to your reader's query about how to compete with editors who have already put many years and much effort into becoming a professional proofreader.

I applaud all your suggestions and resources -- all great, encouragement toward the reader's goal.

However, after reading the question, I had a question: What have you done yourself toward closing that gap between someone who has no education or experience and those who have worked very hard to reach their current status? Excuses are already being given for how difficult it will be, and how the goal seems so impossible. The desire is there, but someone else needs to provide the answers and lay out the path.

I know I sound harsh, and I'm glad the question came up, as your responses will be supportive of many, many people pursuing their proofreading business, whether aspiring or fledgling.

I just wondered why this person had chosen proofreading -- does she love books, English, the subtle rules that define perfection in written material? The pro proofreaders I know and work with are people with exceptional drive and a love of detail that can be maddening to those without that same love of detail. I hold these people in tremendous regard, because their dedication to perfection and clarity push the manuscript my authors have written, and I have edited, into their highest iteration.

So, being a professional proofreader carries some staggering values and tremendous commitment. And this is before the person approaches the separate actions, values, and commitment to building a rewarding business.

I'm hoping anyone who wants to know 'how to be a proofreader' gives this path the respect it's due, and understands that it isn't 'easy' or something that's a 'gimme' achievement. Authors hang their careers on the excellence of their proofreader's eagle eye and deep education and experience.

My hat's always off to you and other pro proofreaders. Your generous, supportive post is just the beginning of the commitment required to join the ranks.
Thanks again, Louise!

Reply
Louise Harnby
10/10/2017 09:13:06 pm

Hi, Maria! Thanks for your comment. I suspect that Lisa's feeling a little overwhelmed and can't see the wood for the trees. In a situation like that, the answers don't always seem as obvious. Then, when someone lays out the path, the head clears! That's what I hope will happen for Lisa; she'll be able to take those first steps of managing her thought processes, and she'll move forward and make informed decisions.

I know that when I feel overwhelmed by a problem I don't think as straight as I should, and a stressed mind can make me focus on the wrong things - the negatives. Then, when a friend or my partner sits with me and breaks things down into sensible, manageable chunks, I relax and see the opportunities rather than the obstacles.

I suspect there are many people who feel like Lisa, and just want a helping hand, someone with whom to talk through the problem. Perhaps they don't have access to a support network and feel isolated. The support is one of the best things about joining the international editorial community!

Reply
Kathie York link
10/10/2017 02:13:20 pm

Great job, Louise! If Lisa is checking in, I say to her:

Lisa, what caught my eye on this post was the “… no experience, no training, no degree…” part.

You just described everyone who proofreads for me!

You’re missing an important point, though: you DO have experience. You see the errors in books, magazines, on billboards, etc., right? You see ’em everywhere, and you jerk to a halt in the book you’re reading when a gaffe rears its ugly head. And you know how to fix those errors.

I’m a firm believer in proofreaders are born, not made. It’s a gift to see those problems. You either have the talent, or you don’t. Yes, you can improve with training, but the gift is the ‘basics.’

Please use the ideas in my fourth paragraph as you try to ‘sell’ your proofreading to someone. Fess up. Tell them all the ‘no degree’ stuff. Just make sure you say, “But I see …” and give them a couple of examples.

Reply
Louise Harnby
10/10/2017 09:22:42 pm

Thanks for your comment, Kathie. I slightly disagree with you (sorry!). I think it's best not to fess up negatives, and instead concentrate on the positives.

Clients want to know what we CAN do, not what we can't. And that's what I think she should focus on. No client is going to be searching specifically for an editor with no degree, so why even mention it? That would only draw attention to it, and could even be off-putting to those who think it IS important, but didn't realize they thought it until the lack of it was mentioned!

Fessing aside, we're on the same page.

Reply
Kathie York link
10/10/2017 09:33:15 pm

Louise,

Yep, agree 100%. I should have said 'if it comes up.' I lost out on a lucrative thing, years ago, because they thought the only person who could possibly do a good job would need a degree in English.

I explained I did not, but ...

Unfortunately, they were hell bent on the degree. However, I did notice their degreed wunderkind did a lousy job for them. God is in the details :->

Lisa
11/10/2017 01:38:00 am

Louise,

Thank you so much for all of this great information! I am happy to see that a few of the things I've been doing are on this list. I am halfway through the UCSD Copy-editing courses now, and spend most of my free time taking classes related to language. I study my style guides and I am a big sponge these days. Words are my life, and always have been. I've proofread for many of my jobs since my children grew up, and I know this is my path. I will keep reading your books, asking for advice from wonderful people like you, and learning all I can. Thank you for this post!
Lisa

Reply
Louise Harnby
11/10/2017 04:24:04 pm

Lisa, that's wonderful to hear - you're doing brilliantly! Keep up the training and crack on with the marketing stuff. When you've finished the UCSD course you'll be on fire! I suspect you simply needed some reassurance that it was possible and that you were on the right track. Well, you are, so congratulations. And best of luck!

Reply
Lorna
16/10/2017 11:05:38 am

That was really a thoughtful and thorough reply, Louise. One other option I'd like to propose is that she practises proof reading for her friends first. Somebody will have a website or blog or even produce leaflets and notices for local events. If she offers to check these for free, she'll build up experience and confidence. It's important to keep doing this while training. In my experience, about half of the proof readers I know have a degree The other half come mainly from print/publishing where in-work training has always been more highly valued. I've rarely been asked if I have a degree. I don't think it's as necessary as varied experience.

Reply
Louise Harnby
16/10/2017 11:39:09 am

Great idea! In fact, Lorna, I think they can be considered part of the training process - the practice of editorial work is as beneficial as the acquisition of technical and theoretical knowledge. Thank you!

Reply
Louise Harnby
16/10/2017 11:41:04 am

Great idea! In fact, Lorna, I that approach could be considered part of the training process - the practice of editorial work is as beneficial as the acquisition of technical and theoretical knowledge. Thank you!

Reply
Michele
27/11/2017 01:33:45 pm

Thanks for this, Louise. Really helpful post.

Reply
Louise Harnby
27/11/2017 04:19:32 pm

Glad you found it useful, Michelle!

Reply



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