011: How to Start Freelance Editing

If you've ever thought about starting to edit as a side hustle or start a full-fledged editing business, this episode is for you. Learn how to get started, common mistakes to avoid, and how to set yourself up for success as a new freelancer. 

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how to start freelance editing

Right off the bat, let me just say, I know this episode's not going to be for everyone. We're talking about freelance editing how to get started. So the reason that I'm recording this episode is I do get a fair amount of questions from people who want to do this, who want to start editing. And I thought it would be a good idea to just record a podcast and give you some suggestions if you are new to this and you want to get started but you haven't started yet. Just like with writing advice that I give on this podcast or on social media anywhere, there's no one right way to do this, there's no one right way to get started with editing, I'm just going to give you some tips and some recommendations, and then kind of share a bit about my own experience and how I got started. And things that I would recommend both things to do and things to not do. Because I've learned a lot along the way. Alright.

So when you are thinking about getting started, you're thinking about editing, it's a good idea to take stock of your knowledge. Meaning do you have a good grasp of grammar? Do you have a good grasp of how to give feedback to people. Now this is going to depend somewhat on what type of editing you want to do if you want to do copy editing, line editing, proofreading, if you want to do something like paid beta reading, or manuscript evaluation or developmental editing. So really take stock of your knowledge of these different services. And I'm going to link in the description, the Editorial Freelancers Association, they have a lot of good information if you're just getting started about not only what these different types of editing mean, but they also have classes and webinars and they have rate information. So when you get to the point that you're setting up your website, setting up packages and services, they have good information about the industry average for how much you should charge. So they're a good resource if you want to get clear on these different types of editing.

But so I have always been someone who has a really good grasp of reading and editing and grammar and all those things. But I still had to do some some additional work. I read a lot of books on on editing, I took a class like a workshop, I got a copy of the Chicago Manual of Style and just sort of, I mean, I didn't sit down and read it. But I went through it just to make sure I understood like basic the basics of like semicolons and colons, and just all those things that maybe you haven't really had to dive into since high school grammar, you know, English class, or college or whatever. So kind of take stock of your knowledge of these different things. One thing I think is really, really important to do before you get started is to define your niche. And your niche just means the portion of the market that you want to be, you know, working with. You can edit a lot of different things, you can be an editor who works with fiction, you can be an editor who works with nonfiction, you can be an editor who works with companies like businesses, who proofreads like technical manuals, there are all sorts of different ways that you can do this. If you want to be someone who does writing related editing, like creative writing, if you want to be working with writers on their novels and that kind of thing. It's still a good idea to get even more specific than that.

So me for example, I only work with fiction right now, this could change down the road. But as of right now, I only work with fiction writers and I don't work with children's books, or picture books or middle grade books, because I just don't feel like I have enough knowledge. I mean, I can copy edit, if someone wants like a copy editing, you know, of their middle grade manuscript, I can do that. But for manuscript assessments or for coaching, I don't feel like I have enough knowledge and expertise in those areas. So that's why I don't do those. So it's going to help inform your services. It's going to help inform your marketing that you do because if you're marketing to everyone and say, hey, I'll edit anything under the sun. It's going to be hard for your ideal client that you want to work with, to really see themselves to really see you as the expert. As someone that can help them, if you're saying, If one day you're saying, Yeah, I can proofread your technical manual, that you know, a computer, technical manual, let's say that a company puts out, a creative writer is going to look at that and say, well, that's not going to help me. So it's a good idea to pick a specific niche that you want to be editing in.

Something that you can do, this is sort of an optional step, this isn't going to be, it's not going to work for everyone, you might not be comfortable doing this. But an optional step is to just kind of let your family and friends and people that you know, let them know that this is something you want to start doing. You never know who's going to need something proof read or something edited. It might not be a full length novel. If you want to be working with writers, it might not be something that's exactly in your niche, but it's going to give you some experience. I even before I started doing this really seriously, I was always editing things for people, I was always helping family and friends with their resumes, with their college essays with their med school applications, like their personal statements, with essays that they had to do for school. I was always helping people edit things, because it's just something that comes naturally to me, it's something I'm very skilled at. And a lot of people aren't, they just don't have that, that I. So I was always doing that for people. And you never know who's going to need something edited. Again, it might not be exactly like a full length novel or something that is really in the niche that you want to be working in. But it's experience. And that can also be a good baseline for you if you haven't done anything like this before. And someone says hey, a family member says hey, I've got this like college application personal statement, can you help me going in and copy editing that or proofreading that can be a good experience for you to kind of check in and get honest about you know where your skills are at.

Okay, another suggestion I have is, if you're starting from scratch, as in like no website, no social media, no one knows that you're doing this. I do suggest getting on a freelancing site like Fiverr or Upwork, or people per hour, but only doing it for a short time. I went on Fiverr for a few months, because well, I did it for a few reasons. I was pivoting my business I had been working with creatives generally. And I was switching over to work with writers specifically. And I wanted to make sure that I could do this, I wanted to make sure that I enjoyed editing. And I wanted to get some experience working on actual like full length novels and experience working with clients to sort of build up my confidence as an editor, I went into it knowing I was not going to make much money, I went into it knowing it was going to be short term. And I did it for maybe three months, something like that worked on a handful of projects, maybe like seven projects, six projects, something like that. And it was good experience, again, and all those things I just mentioned, as a new seller on Fiverr, you have to set your rates very low to be competitive, because you're a new seller, you don't have any reviews, you don't have any testimonials, people are taking a chance when they hire you and to be competitive.

Starting out unfortunately, your rates are going to have to be really low. But if you go into it thinking it's just for experience just to get your feet wet, then that helps adjust your expectations. Now you can play the long game with fiver. I mean, there are sellers who make a lot of money on Fiverr, but they've been doing it for a long time. So if you go into this thinking, Okay, I just want to work on Fiverr. Set aside, it might take a year or two, maybe two years. I don't know exactly. It depends how many projects you get. But it's going to take some time for you to work up to where you can actually charge like industry standards for editing. So those are the two approaches you can take with fiver. The last project that I worked on on fiver. I did the math for how long it took me to edit this manuscript and the amount I got paid and it was like, and the manuscript was it wasn't there was a lot of work that had to be done from an editing perspective. So it took me a long time. And it worked out to be like $3 an hour or something. I mean, it was just insane. And at that point, I was so fed up. I'm like, I'm done with Fiverr I'm not I can't do this anymore.

So then I transitioned, I created my own website, you know, started social media, like I was just like, okay, I'm done. When you're getting started, though, like I said, it can be a really good experience for you to figure out what kinds of services you want to offer, who you want to be working with, how long it takes you to work on different projects. So I do recommend it is just like a stepping stone. Now once you get off of Fiverr you do need a system to bring in clients. And that's where stuff like social media comes in. That's where stuff like a blog or a podcast or some other content marketing strategy comes in. Because you can't just put up a website and say, okay, I'm available to edit and then just expect clients to come like flooding in. That's not unfortunately, I mean, that'd be nice. But unfortunately, that's just not how it works. You have to give people a chance to find you online. And you have to also showcase your expertise that yes, you know, what you're talking about, you have worked with clients, and you're going to provide a good experience for the people who work with you.

Now, the last thing, I'll say, there's a little bit of a mindset piece that comes in with this too, a lot of times people, just from comments I get on Tik Tok, a lot of times people will want like, an advanced degree, they'll consider like a certificate program, and, you know, maybe even going back to school, and look, that's an individual decision, I can't tell you what's right for you. You know, like I said, I invested in a lot of writing workshops, I took a class on editing, you know, I really made sure that I have the knowledge to back up my, the services that I was offering. But at some point, if you feel confident in the skills that you have, if you feel like you have the knowledge that you'd be able to do this, at some point, you do have to stop waiting for permission to do this. No one is going to say, okay, yes, you gain enough experience, you have enough knowledge, I'll give you the rubber stamp of approval, you can go freelance edit. Like that's not going to happen.

At some point, you have to do make the decision even if you feel a little bit scared, even if you feel some impostor syndrome coming in, that's normal, you have to just make the decision to do it to start, I mean, clients are going to look to you to be the expert. And if you're not confident in what you're saying, if if you don't make clients feel confident that you can deliver, you probably are going to have a hard time getting clients. So as much as you can try to come across with an air of confidence. Like, I started talking about writing related stuff and editing related stuff when I did not feel 100% confident about it. But I tried to just say, You know what, I'm not an expert. I haven't been doing this for very long, but I have a lot of knowledge to share with people, I have a lot of skills, and I'm a damn good editor. So there is there is something to be said for just jumping in and doing it. Assuming that you feel good about, you know, being able to deliver on the promises that you're making to people about being able to edit their manuscripts, like, just do it, you're never going to get permission, there's never going to be a right moment to do it, you just got to jump in and do it.

So if you would like some more support with editing, if you are in the process of getting started and you're feeling very lost, or if you're someone who has started, maybe you've gotten a few clients, but you're not really sure how to keep this going. If you're transitioning off of Fiverr and you're like how the heck do I find clients online coaching is a really good opportunity for us to work together one on one to come up with kind of a plan for you as far as like how to get clients, how to set up your business, a content marketing strategy, all of those things that are going to and even like the systems and tech that you have to have in place. So if coaching is something that you're interested in, whether that's like a month of coaching one on one, where we get things set up, maybe you're looking for some longer term support, maybe like three months to really get your freelancing business off the ground. I do offer customized coaching packages. I work with writers and I also work with editors so I can customize a package to meet your needs.

Katie Wolf