098: My Biggest Tips for New Book Editors

 

If you're a new freelance editor or want to start an editing business, it can be overwhelming to think about getting clients, managing editing projects, creating social media content, starting a website, and more--all while doing your day job. Learn my top tips for new freelance editors in this episode to help you build a sustainable business. 

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My biggest tips for new book editors

Hi, Friends, welcome back to the podcast. It is going to be September when this episode comes out, which means I am close to my due date and navigating the last weeks of pregnancy and which is wild. I wanted to do this episode on tips for freelance editors. Because over the last few months, I've noticed a few more. I've gotten more DMs from people asking for advice who are like, hey, I'm graduating with my degree in English. This is something I want to get into what are your tips or from people who are early in the process of building their business, their editing business and freelancing. And they want you know, some some guidance and wonder they're wondering how I got started.

 

And I do have an earlier episode that you can check out that's like how I got started in freelance editing. It's way back -- it might have been one of the first episodes very first episode that I did at the podcast. So that shares more about my journey and a little bit about how to get started. But I wanted to just do an updated episode and talk about okay, what are what are my biggest tips, if you are either thinking about doing this, this is something that you want to get into or you have started but you're it's slow going and your not quite sure what you're doing -- and you're figuring it out -- either one. And before we get into the tips and really get into the meat of that episode, I just want to clarify that the freelance part of this is important.

 

The word editor in the book world means multiple things. There are editors, book editors who work at traditional publishing houses where you might be an acquiring editor, who buys books and works with an author to polish them. So that's something completely different. I don't have any experience in that. So if that is the direction that you're wanting to go, there are resources online, I'm sure about kind of how to get into this, that world. But this is for freelance meaning. If you want to do this on your own, like you want to strike out, you want to work with clients directly. You don't want to work for someone else doing this. So that freelance part is important. And I was trying to to make sure that people know like I don't have experience working as an editor for someone else. Like for a publishing house for a company. Well, I have a little bit of experience as a proofreader for a company but not in the book world. So that's important.

 

Okay, quick, probably very quick. I'm gonna try to do this in 60 seconds kind of recap of my journey. I was always proofreading and editing things for people, I was helping with resumes with papers in college. As a tutor, I worked just with any family members or friends who needed anything edited, I would help them. This was always a strength of mine, I have a degree in English Lit. And I took an editing class in college that was, you know, we got deep into the Chicago Manual of Style and we marked everything up by paper -- this is back, God this was long enough ago -- that we did all of our -- we had like an exam where we had to edit something and we it was all done on paper. So we had to know the correct marks to make on the paper when something was --when an edit it was made, which is funny because I don't remember, I hardly remember any of those marks now because I don't use them all. I'm doing all my editing on you know in Microsoft Word with track changes.

 

But anyways, then started thinking about editing a number of years later after I'd started writing already, and got on Fiverr, which is a freelance platform and started working with Fiverr or with clients on Fiverr just to see if I liked it -- to see if it was something I wanted to pursue. And then after we were worked with some clients on Fiverr I stopped I left the platform because you don't get paid very much and there's not a ton of work at least when you're starting out it takes a while to build that up. And I started out on my own and I started posting content I developed you know my editing packages, I created a website etc. and just started doing the thing and building my business and here we are today.

 

Okay, so my biggest tips for you freelance editors, it is so essential to niche down as an editor. I don't think it's a good idea, especially as a new editor to say that you will do all types of editing and work with absolutely anyone who needs anything edited ever. Even if you limit it to books, and you say, I'm just a book editor, that is a massive umbrella. So if you're just saying I work with any type of writer, any type of author for any type of book, you could be working with fiction, any type of genre, you could be working with nonfiction with memoir, with children's books. There's just so much that you could do and you could also be doing all different types of editing, you could be doing copy editing, which is focused on the grammar and the punctuation, you could be doing line editing, which is focusing on sentence flow and structure, word choice, syntax, etc. You could be doing developmental editing, which is giving feedback on the story itself, like plot, characters, etc. You could be doing proofreading and formatting.

 

I mean, there's so much that you could do and it's way too much, do not try to do everything, you are not a one stop shop and you should not be. It's harder to market your services, when you are speaking to everyone. I recommend picking a lane wherever you feel most comfortable, wherever you feel like you have the most knowledge and can help people. And that is where you're starting. That's it, you can always broaden later on. Like if you get to a point where let's say you decide that you're just going to do developmental editing, which is where you give feedback to novelists on their their books, and you give them feedback on characters and plot and conflict and pacing and dialogue, etc. If you decide that that's what you want to do, and you were only working with a few genres, perfect, you can always broaden that later. If you want to work with different genres. Maybe you want to add in copy editing down the road. Yeah, there's, there's no reason why you can't do that down the road.

 

But I think in the beginning, don't try to work with everyone and market yourself as someone who can do it all because especially when you're new, I think it can be hard for potential clients to look and say and see that you don't have a lot of experience and be like, well, how can I trust that this person knows how to edit all of these different types of books, and all of these different genres, in fiction, in nonfiction, in memoir in self help in children's books, like how is that how can they have that much knowledge and experience. So definitely recommend niching down. Number two freelancing platforms like Fiverr, or Upwork, or whatever, are great, and you can definitely get on there. I think it can be helpful to get on there and get some experience working with clients. But it's important. When you do something like Fiverr, that you have a plan, there are two roads to go down with something like Fiverr.

 

Number one is you do it the way I did, I think I was on there for maybe four months worked with maybe six or seven clients, I can't remember how many. You do it as a temporary stepping stone, you're going to get some experience. There's a built in audience, a built in client base, people are going onto Fiverr looking for book editors. So you don't have to go out and find those people they come to you. So it makes it a lot easier in the beginning. Of course the huge downside? Well, two huge downsides are that number one, Fiverr takes a cut of not just what you make, but also any tips that you get. And then also you make almost nothing when you're getting started on Fiverr, which is fine. If you're again, if you're viewing it as a stepping stone like I did, then I think it's fine. I was still working my nine to five at that point, of course, like I wasn't, I wasn't viewing it as like, Oh, I'm gonna make a ton of money on Fiverr. I just did it to again, get some experience working with people.

 

The other option to take with Fiverr is to to play the long game. There are people who have been on Fiverr for years, there are editors who have been on there who are professionals who do this for a living, they've done it for years. And they charge high rates. They charge like actual market rates for editing projects, and they find clients because they've built up a client base. They built up a reputation, they have a lot of reviews, they've worked with a lot of clients. And when people go onto their profile, they can see that they've worked with a crap ton of clients. So if you're playing the long game with Fiverr you start out making almost nothing but eventually if you play the game long game and start working with a lot of clients, you can build up to actually making decent money from it. But again, the the first problem is still there. And that Fiverr takes a cut of everything that you make, which is kind of a bummer.

 

So just think about, you know, okay, how if I go on a freelancing platform like Fiverr, how am I doing it? What is my intention, and my fine, do, I just want this to be like a side gig where I'm just working with a few clients here and there, and it doesn't really matter how much I'm making, and I'm fine waiting a few years to really start making some good money. In that case, if you don't want to do the work of marketing and putting yourself out there on social media, and online to get clients then just doing Fiverr might be enough for you, that might be great. If you are someone who wants to do this full time, you want to get to a point where this is how you make your living, then it's going to take a while, it's going to take a while to get there with Fiverr. So maybe then for you, maybe it makes more sense to view it as a first step before you are launched out into the world on your own as an editor. So just think about that.

 

The next tip is I think it's important to have a website, right from the get go. I have worked with a lot of business coaches. Over the years, I had earlier iterations of this business before I really shifted to working exclusively with writers and I took a lot of classes about how to build an online business, I worked with coaches, etc, blah, blah. And there were some coaches who were like, websites don't matter. Like, as long as you have a social media presence, that's all you need. And I completely disagree. I think maybe that's true in certain industries. But in the book editing world, in the editor world, you need to have a website. And it doesn't have to be anything complicated. It can be a super simple Squarespace, one page website, with your packages and your offers a little bit about you some testimonials, once those start to come in, and that's it a way away from people to contact you. And that's it.

 

So again, doesn't have to be anything complicated, it can be super simple. But it shows a level of professionalism. When people Google you, let's say they come across, maybe you post something on Instagram for the first time, they're like, oh, let me Google this person. If you don't have a website that they can find, or if you don't link to it in your profile, or whatever, it's gonna make you seem a little bit less legit. So again, I just think it's a good thing to do right off the bat, it signals a level of professionalism, that you are legit, that you are a real established, you know, business the that people can work with you in this capacity and that they can trust you. So definitely, definitely have a website. Um, I want to include a little sidebar here. I recently was became aware of someone who copied large portions of my website onto --there's a newer editor -- and copied, I don't know how to, I don't want to, like get to tell you too much about this. And I'm not gonna tell you who it was because it doesn't matter. But this person yeah, just essentially lifted large parts of my website and copied and pasted it onto their website. And I was notified about this, this from someone else who was like, this looks like yours. And so don't do that. It's fine to look at websites of other editors who have been doing this a while, or even who haven't, you know, just look at any book editors website -- like it's fine to do that to get inspiration. But it's essential that you come up with your own way of describing what it is that you do, who you work with, and how people can work with you what your packages are, what your offers are, et cetera. It's just lazy. And it's, it's setting off your business on the wrong foot. Like it's putting bad energy out there if you simply just copy and paste what someone else is doing and then pass it off as your own. So please don't do that.

 

Okay, so that's all I'll say about websites. Next. Another huge tip for freelance editors is to be thinking about content marketing early. So let's say you have started on Fiverr -- you've decided who you're going to work with and what types of editing you're going to offer -- you've brushed up on your skills -- you've had some, maybe even had a few clients, you're feeling good, you got the website up. You cannot expect clients to come flooding in because you put a website up. And because you've worked with a few clients, referrals are great. And maybe you'll start getting some referrals, maybe you'll start getting some repeat clients, which is fantastic. But especially if you are someone who wants to do this full time, you have to do content marketing.

 

Content marketing is essentially you creating content and putting it out into the world. In order to attract clients to your business. This can look like a lot of different things. There's long form content, like a blog, a podcast, and then there's shorter, longer YouTube video. And then they're short form content, like a Tik Tok video, an Instagram post, an Instagram reel, et cetera. Twitter threads, you know, those are short form content. It's important to do this because it's going to take you a while to kind of find your footing and to know what to talk about what to pose what to create, in a way that's going to attract clients. So I think the earlier you start to do this, the better. This is not an overnight growth thing. It's not an overnight guarantee that you're going to start have, you know, have clients flooding in. But you are laying the foundation for a successful business. And again, the sooner you start doing that, the better. You do not have to be everywhere, you do not have to be on all of the platforms, doing all of the things start your own podcast, start blogging, like definitely not, especially if you're still working a nine to five, or even if you're working part time, like it's a lot.

 

It's a lot to be doing all of this marketing, in addition to your job, in addition to everything else you have going on in your life, in addition to client work. If you started working with clients, you know, like that has to be priority, you have to work on your editing. So think about one, maybe two, definitely no more, no more than two platforms where you are going to be present. For me. It's always been Tik Tok. As soon as I really got serious about my business, and thought really strategically about my content, I decided that Tik Tok was going to be my main platform, I do post a little bit of original content on Instagram, and I show up in my stories. And I talk about things that and I create content that's unique to Instagram. But a lot of it is just repurposing Tik Toks to reels. And same with YouTube.

 

So I have the podcast and Tik Tok as my main content that I create, and then I just kind of spread it out. And I also have an assistant to help me and I've, you know, been doing this for a while and it builds up workflows and systems and all of that, like when you're just starting, think about one platform, again, maybe to where you could be present and creating content that's going to attract in your ideal client. So is your ideal client, someone who is writing nonfiction, someone who is writing self help, maybe they're a business owner who wants to have a book as part of their marketing strategy, the content that you create is going to be very different from the content the that you create, if you want to work with fantasy authors, for example, so be thinking about be thinking about a content strategy. And this is, this is such an overview. This is such a high level, I know we can't really get into the weeds on a podcast episode.

 

But yeah, just be thinking about content and what you're going to create. And where it's easy for you to show up. Some people don't like doing video content, and that's fine. You don't have to be creating videos every day on Tik Tok in order to have a successful editing business. Maybe for you, it's Instagram, and you post on Instagram, or Threads or Twitter or you have a blog. I mean, there's so many ways to do this. So that if you don't like creating one type of content, you don't have to do it. There are a lot of paths to success in this. So it's also about taking your own preferences into account because if you force yourself to do something content related and you absolutely hate it, people are going to be able to tell people are going to pick up on your energy. And it's just going to be that much harder for to get yourself to sit down and do it to market your business. So yeah. And really, this is a bonus tip under that last tip, which is yes, the content marketing is important. Yes, the website is important, all of that.

 

But you really want to focus on giving your clients a great experience. I mean, that should go without saying but I just want to mention it because especially in the beginning, where you don't have testimonials, you don't have a lot of experience yet working with clients and that like social proof, it's important that you give a really good experience to those early clients. So that you can hopefully, ideally get some testimonials and say, hey, I've worked with writers who write this type of book I, you know, worked with this author who published this thing, etcetera, that's going to that's going to really help. So the focus needs to be on doing a great job editing, in addition to all of the marketing and starting to think about how you're going to continue to get clients in the future.

 

So there's a lot again, we covered a lot in this episode. And I know it's not really possible to get too in depth and nitty gritty with all of this. I don't advertise this on my website or on my social media, but I'm happy to create customized coaching packages. If you're listening to this, and you are an editor who's just getting started or you're someone who wants to start an editing business, reach out to me, I'm happy to do -- I can do like a one month coaching package, or create maybe like a three month coaching package to help you with all of this so that you get personalized support and can do all of this because it's a lot, it's a lot to do when you're getting started. I'm going on maternity leave at the beginning of October. So if you reach out to me now, I might not have availability. But I'm coming back like end of November, early December 2023. Still not sure exactly what date. But feel free to reach out now. And I can let you know about availability then.

 

Or if you just want to wait until I'm back in it. That's totally fine too. But just reach out to me, you can email me at hello at thekatiewolf.com Or you can send me a DM on Instagram @thekatiewolf. I'm also going to put a link in the description of this episode to my store, my digital shop, I have 30 minute coaching calls that are available that are like laser focus coaching calls where you can basically ask me anything, we can talk about anything you want related to writing, related to content, querying or editing. So if you want to start an editing business, and you just want like a 30 minute session with me to talk about your specific business and get some tips or whatever, you can do that as well. So yeah, that link will be in the description of the episode.

 

All right. Last piece of encouragement for you, before we end, building a business is difficult. I think it's very easy to look at things from the outside and think, Oh, it's so easy for them, or oh, they just overnight like exploded or they're all of these people doing this successfully? Why can't I and it can be a lot to navigate when like I've shared about earlier, you're doing all these other things in your life, and you have a nine to five and you're there's a lot that goes into this. It's it's hard building a business is hard. So I just want to encourage you to give yourself grace. If you're feeling frustrated, or you're feeling overwhelmed, however you're feeling about this, in addition to hopefully being really excited and motivated to do this. It's okay, if it's hard, isn't it? It's okay, if you're feeling frustrated, this is not an overnight thing. It certainly wasn't for me. It's gonna take some time to lay a foundation and a groundwork. But doing this intentionally and really thinking through all of the things that we talked about in this episode is going to set you up for success in the long term.

 

Right. And that's what you want. You don't want to just have a successful business and work with clients for six months, and then burnout and crash and be done. So it's worth taking some time to do this intentionally, even if it feels slow while you're in it. Okay, well, thank you for listening to this episode. I hope it was helpful for you as you're getting started in your journey. I'm really excited for you if you are in this position. It's an exciting place to be. And you know, I've said this before, I'll say it again, like we live in 2023. It's so cool that we can have this type of online business. And this just wasn't possible 1520 years ago to do this at this scale on this level to be working with this many clients. It simply wasn't possible for freelancers. So we live in a really exciting time. It's not too late to get started. The market is not too saturated with editors. Please don't ever feel that way. So. All right. Thank you for listening again. And I will see you all next week. Thank you so much for tuning in.

Katie Wolf