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In this episode of The Editing Podcast, Denise and Louise discuss how to find an editor if you decide you want professional help.
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Summary of Episode 10
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'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 independent authors of commercial fiction, particularly crime, thriller and mystery writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and an Associate Member of the Crime Writers' Association (CWA).
Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader & Copyeditor, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.
Does standing up in front of a room full of editors terrify you? I know that feeling. Still, I learned how to love it, which rather took me by surprise. In this post I show you how I did it.
Let's talk about nerves
I haven't conquered my nerves about speaking at editing conferences, but that's okay. Nerves are normal, even for presentations experts like my friend Simon Raybould.
More on him later, but for now it's enough to say that feeling nervous is not the same as suffering from a level of anxiety that renders you unable to step out of your comfort zone and try something that could push your editing business forward.
Pushing your business forward
Speaking at editing conferences will push your business forward. You'll get yourself seen and heard. People will understand more about who you are, what you specialize in, and what you stand for (your brand).
That will lead to opportunities: work referrals, awareness about courses or books that you offer, discounts on the conference registration price (even payment for some gigs), and invitations to speak at other conferences taking place in cities that require a little more effort to get to.
Take me. I live in Norfolk (the UK one). On 7 November, I'll be speaking at the Society for Editors and Proofreader's mini-conference in Toronto (register here if you want to join me – it's now open to non-SfEP members). It's a massive honour to be invited. I get to talk about my two editorial passions – fiction and marketing!
In 2016, I'd probably have shied away from doing this, despite the opportunity to hang out with my favourite Canadians (and a few of my favourite Americans). The words 'I'm busy' would have flown from my mouth just in time to curb the nausea.
In 2017, I might have agreed to do it as long as I was sharing the spotlight with a pal, though the thought would still have made me queasy.
But it's 2018 and, to my surprise, I'm more than happy to fly solo.
One way to learn to love it
Loathing turned to love because I changed one thing: I dumped the script.
This is where I get to talk about Simon again, because he's the person responsible for making me love speaking at editing conferences. In May 2018, he wrote a blog post for me called 6 tips to help you speak in public with confidence. Tip 4 asks us not to use a script.
I was gobsmacked. There was no way in hell I'd dare stand up in front of a group of my peers without having every word of my presentation memorized!
We had a long chat about it over Skype, and by the end of that conversation he'd convinced me it was worth testing.
And so when the SfEP's conference director, Beth Hamer, asked me to do a two-hour session, on my own, at the annual conference in Lancaster, I promised her I would. And I promised myself I'd do it without a script.
3 snags with scripts
Scripts are inherently problematic.
Snag 1: They take time to learn, especially if you're going to be talking for an hour. Unless you have a brilliant memory. Which I don't.
Snag 2: They're hard to remember. If they were easy to remember, more of us would be on the stage. Which I'm not.
Snag 3: They're difficult to deliver well. If they were easy to deliver well, more of us would have Oscars and BAFTAs. Which I don't.
No wonder so many of us cringe at the thought of speaking at editing conferences.
Even if we manage to learn the damn script, what are the chances that we'll remember it, given how nervous we are? And if we're uptight about remembering, what are the chances that we're going to deliver our script in a way that's engaging and informative?
This is the kind of stuff that's always been in my head when I think about presenting. All of which can be summed up as follows: at what point will I fail?
Going scriptless
You can't fluff a script that doesn't exist. That in itself gets rid of snags (1) and (2). All you can do is talk about the thing you've agreed to talk about.
We're not in the pub or having lunch with our mates, so we still need a structure.
I am not a perfect presenter, not by any stretch. But I have embraced an approach that means I will present, and I will enjoy it.
This is how I do it:
Because you're talking rather than delivering a script, you'll sound more natural. And because you can't forget any of the key learning points, you'll feel more relaxed. That's snag (3) dealt with.
There are caveats, of course. You must know your stuff. And you should rehearse. Each rehearsal will be different because you don't have a script, but you will prove to yourself that you can talk through every one of the key learning points.
Being imperfect – audience expectations
Will you stumble if you're scriptless? Maybe. Probably. I stumbled several times in Lancaster. But I loved every minute of that workshop. I felt relaxed, and as I talked I was in the moment, not tuned into the next thing I needed to remember.
And the delegates gave me some amazing feedback. That they enjoyed it is the most important thing of all. I'm sold on scriptlessness!
Plus, having a script doesn't mean you won't stumble. You're human, after all. The difference is that when you're scriptless, you get to stumble just because you stumbled, not because you forgot anything important or because you were distracted by the pressure of having to remember what's up next.
Here's something Simon told me during our Skype chat:
Your audience will forgive you if you trip up over a word.
Your audience will forgive you if you stammer.
Your audience will forgive you if you fluff a line and have to restart the sentence and explain something in a different way.
Your audience will forgive you for just being an editor rather than a TED Talk speaker.
What your audience will not forgive is your failing to deliver the key learning points that you promised you would ... for wasting their time.
At the larger editing conferences, delegates have to choose which sessions to attend. So I know that when someone chooses to come to mine, they're probably missing at least two workshops they'd have learned something valuable from. That I don't teach them what I promised is unacceptable. And that is the only way I can fail.
When will I see you again?
If you can get to Toronto on 7 November 2018, please come and listen to me talking about how to build a knockout home page, getting fiction editing work, and marketing an editing business.
Will I fluff my words? More than likely. Will I fail? No. I've already created slides for my key learning points and rehearsed what I'll chat about.
I might well stumble and stammer, but I will smile at you as I do so, and I will deliver what I've promised!
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with independent authors of commercial fiction, particularly crime, thriller and mystery writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and an Associate Member of the Crime Writers' Association (CWA).
Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader & Copyeditor, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.
If speaking in public gives you the heebie-jeebies, professional presenter Simon Raybould has some advice that will improve your performance and calm your nerves.
Over to Simon …
You edit words for a living, right? It's a cool job, I admit, and not one I could conceivably aspire to.
As someone once put it, 'Simon, being your proofreader must be like being Seán McGowan's dentist.'
And yes, it's true. She once sent me an email with the words '… first paragraph alone! Are you doing it on purpose? Are you trying to annoy me?'
But I think I have an even more cool option for you. Instead of editing words, why not edit minds? I'm not talking about some sci-fi concept – it's what I do for a living.
A good presentation will change someone's mind ... and with it, their world. A good presentation is a form of telepathy – sending ideas from your mind to someone else's.
The upsides are awesome, but the downsides are pretty serious too:
But all is not lost – there are cures … or at least things that will help.
Here are a few quick-to-master ideas and tools that will help you to present at conferences (or anywhere else) with confidence.
Some are easy, some are harder, but all of them work.
1. The least popular tool – just doing it
Let's start with the least popular option.
When I ask people why they want to be confident, I often receive answers such as 'If I were confident I'd be able to XYZ.'
And that's great – they have a specific thing in mind.
What's not so great is that they seem to think that confidence alone will mean they don't have to invest time in doing XYZ.
I'm going to be blunt … you can't shortcut your way to confidence. Don't try to get confident before you do something. You can only get confident by doing that thing.
Think about how you learned to ride a bike. Did you look at it, thinking, Cool! What an awesome bike. As soon as I'm a confident cyclist I'll hop right on and go for rides in the hills? Nope. What you did was sit on it, fall off, get back on, fall off, get back on … and so on.
Presenting is like that.
Of course, with bikes you have stabilizers (and parents) holding you up. Stick with the analogy for a moment and figure out how you can make presentations in safer ways and places – stabilizers, as it were.
How about making presentations under the following conditions:
I'm sure you get the idea.
To mix my movement metaphors … don't run before you can walk.
2. Know what success looks like
We all know what could go wrong, right? People might laugh at us; we could fall off the stage; cold sweat might drip down our backs or melt our mascara.
And that's the thing… we know what the bad things look like. But what about success? Not fainting on stage doesn't count. Things like this count:
Define it.
After all, if all you can identify is failure, that's what you'll concentrate on. But if you can define success, you stand a chance of concentrating on that instead.
(Defining success also helps you to design your conference presentation more effectively. If you don't know what you want to achieve, you're more likely to omit core material.)
3. Sentence zero ... the breathing tool
When we're scared, we breathe from the top of our lungs. Air comes out in a rush, making our voices sound thinner, breathier and – frankly – less authoritative.
Hold that thought in your head for a moment and think about this: Lots of people tell me that once they get going in a presentation, things get better. So the important thing is to start well, right? Right.
If you can control your breathing at the start, things are going to go better. Sentence zero is a handy tool for doing just that.
Get the very first sentence of your presentation straight in your head. Be specific. For now, let's pretend that Sentence One is 'Hello, my name is Simon.'
Now think of a sentence that could go before it, finishing with the word 'and'.
For now, let's pretend it's 'Goodness, what a hideous lime green that back wall is, and …' We'll call this Sentence Zero.
Now, as you start your presentation, say Sentence Zero+Sentence One in one breath, but only use your voice for Sentence One.
What that means is that your audience only hears Sentence One but you've already used the high-pressure, anxiety-sounding breath from the top of your lungs on the silent Sentence Zero.
4. Ditch the script
Writing is difficult. That's why authors need you, right? So what on earth makes you think you can write a script for your presentation?
If it was that easy, we'd all be writing massively successful West End and Broadway plays. Don't try.
Instead, define your structure.
Then, when you stand up to present, use the keywords as markers around which you improvise.
Trust me, you'll sound more natural and be much, much more interesting.
Plus, you won't spend time worrying about the massive confidence-drainer that is 'Did I get the wording absolutely right according to the script?'
As an aside, the answer is no. No one does unless they're RSC-grade actors.
What you'll lose in the occasional fumble you'll more than gain in sounding more relaxed and natural.
Plus, you won't commit the ultimate presenter's sin of using Latin words. It's an over-simplification but we're more likely write using the Latin-orientated words ('commence' rather than 'start') and speak using the Saxon versions ('guts' rather than 'intestines').
Ditching the script means you don't speak like a textbook.
5. Wasp-swatting: The power of the list
A while ago, my team and I sat down for a meeting. Pizza and wine might have been involved. One of the things we asked each other was what made us nervous.
It turned out that about one-third of our conference nerves came not from the presentation but from the logistics that went with it.
Logisitical/trivial problems are like wasps. One seems manageable. A swarm's a different matter. Each issue might be negligible on its own, but all of them together have a noticeable impact.
Similarly, each on its own is easily dealt with, but taken together the problem loses its perspective.
The solution is simple: a list.
At least two weeks in advance of the conference, create a simple checklist – one line for every issue. For example, I don't have a 'cables' tick box on my list; I have entry for the power cable, another for the VGA adaptor, and another for the HDMI adaptor, and so on.
Before you go live, check the list. That way, when it's time to perform, you can do so confident that you've not forgotten anything. It also frees up the parts of your brain you'd otherwise have wasted on trying to remember things.
6. Practice and rehearsal
This is so fundamental it probably shouldn't come last. It also needs the fewest words.
You will perform better if you go over your presentation and practise improvising using your keywords.
Wrapping up
There's a lot more you can do to conquer your nerves – ideas range from breathing techniques to standing in certain positions – but these are good starting points. So go change the world and edit people's heads!
Want to know more?
Simon's a presentations expert and productivity guru. He's running a session at the SfEP annual conference in Lancaster in 2018 so you can meet him there.
If you want to get in touch beforehand, here's what you need:
Louise Harnby is a fiction copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in helping self-publishing writers prepare their novels for market.
She is the author of several books on business planning and marketing for editors, and runs online courses from within the Craft Your Editorial Fingerprint series. She is also an Advanced Professional Member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders. Louise loves books, coffee and craft gin, though not always in that order.
Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader & Copyeditor, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.
If you're an author, take a look at Louise's Writing Library and access her latest self-publishing resources, all of which are free and available instantly.
The Association of Independent Publishing Professionals (AIPP) – an online home for fiction and creative nonfiction specialists
If you're looking for an online network of fiction and creative nonfiction specialists, the Association of Independent Publishing Professionals (AIPP) is worth checking out. I became a member earlier this year after being drawn to the organization's global outlook and creative niche.
My guest today is AIPP co-founder Crystal Watanabe. Here's what she has to say ...
The power of private networking
Being a freelancer can be an amazing experience. You get to work at home, you have no commute, you can work in whatever clothing you like, and if you're an introvert, you really don't have to talk to anyone.
That said, with those wonderful benefits usually comes the inevitable problem. Or worse, an irate client. Ask any editor who has been in business for longer than a year whether they have a Client from Hell, and the likely answer is yes. After all, we're in the business of pointing out other people's flaws. It's a touchy subject for many.
Usually when something like this occurs, the foremost thing on a freelancer's mind is to feel lost. Like you're alone, and no one but you has been through such a terribly stressful ordeal.
This is where networking becomes an invaluable resource.
There are many networking options open to people working from home: Twitter, Facebook, Facebook groups, LinkedIn, and forums. But oftentimes these methods of communication are open to the public, and if there's one thing to learn about airing frustrations online, it's that you never know who is silently reading your negativity and judging you for it.
This is where more private modes of communication come in handy, and to find the most relevant and helpful discussion and advice on any problems that come up, a professional organization is more often than not the best place to go.
When I had my first problem client, I'll admit, I was sobbing on my couch, feeling awful and alone. After I wiped my tears away, I went searching for people like me, and I ended up at the Editorial Freelancers Association. I joined, began interacting, and learned a lot from other members. But at the same time, I wasn't sure the EFA was exactly what I needed.
The AIPP – focusing on fiction and creative nonfiction
I work primarily in fiction, and I found myself skipping over a number of discussions pertaining to a variety of other editing fields. In the end, I helped cofound the Association of Independent Publishing Professionals (AIPP) with fellow editors Anne Victory and Nikki Busch in 2016.
Starting an organization is no easy feat, but nearly two years later, we're still growing.
The AIPP is dedicated to freelancers who work primarily in fiction and creative nonfiction, including both self-published authors and authors hoping to submit their manuscripts to traditional publishers.
Our membership includes but is not limited to:
Membership benefits and fees
In addition to a wealth of wonderful benefits (discounts on Merriam-Webster, PerfectIt, Deposit Photos, 17Hats, FreshBooks, and more), the AIPP has introduced a new lower membership fee in 2018. Applying to the AIPP is just $45, including a nonrefundable $10 application fee. Renewal is just $35 per year.
Whether you've recently opened your business or have worked on more books than you can remember, the AIPP may be the right organization for you. Our members praise the sound advice given when problems arise and in general enjoy the feeling that they're not alone.
Click on the button below to find out more about the AIPP.
Louise Harnby is a fiction copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in helping self-publishing writers prepare their novels for market.
She is the author of several books on business planning and marketing for editors, and runs online courses from within the Craft Your Editorial Fingerprint series. She is also an Advanced Professional Member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders. Louise loves books, coffee and craft gin, though not always in that order.
Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader & Copyeditor, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.
If you're an author, take a look at Louise's Writing Library and access her latest self-publishing resources, all of which are free and available instantly.
How do I turn my literature and creative-writing teaching background into an editorial business?
This week's reader question is from a teacher of English language, literature and creative writing. She's looking for a new direction – something beyond the school environment that will allow her to use her educational experience and existing knowledge base.
Here's what Noella had to say:
Dear Louise,
I'm a UK-based secondary-school English teacher of language, literature and creative writing, and am looking to move into editing or publishing.
I feel that I already have some of the skills required but I'm also on a budget and would like to know how someone like me could perhaps sneak into this area of work via a recognized route that isn't too costly.
Essentially, I want a better work/life balance and to feel more in control of my career. Hope you can advise me.
Hi, Noella! Thanks so much for your question.
Work/life balance
Given that flexibility is important, I'm inclined to recommend the path of independent editor (freelancer), rather than working in-house. Running your own business will give you control.
Setting up on your own will require a lot of hard graft at the outset (as I'm sure you realize). However, it will provide you with the freedom to choose your own hours, set your own rates, and decide which projects you wish to take on.
The different levels of editing
I think it's worth summarizing the different levels of editing as this will show you where your current skills might slot in.
There's more information in the following articles:
What would suit you?
Given that you're already immersed in teaching creative writing – albeit to a younger audience – you might do well to focus your training on big-picture work because you could utilize an already-developed skill set.
Another route to consider is offering private writing tuition. Many first-time authors want to develop their craft, and if you enhance your existing knowledge base with specialist professional training and professional society membership, you'd have a powerful key selling point not only to local writers but those searching online too.
And if you enjoy working with secondary-school students, there's nothing to stop you offering private tuition to them too. You've already proven yourself within the school sector, but this option would allow you to continue teaching while achieving control and flexibility over your working hours.
I've covered the issue of training in previous Q&As so take a look at the following articles for information about high-quality courses that focus on the broader practice of editorial work:
If you do decide to focus on big-picture editing, I'd recommend specialist training. Perhaps you'll discover nothing new, but that will be a huge confidence booster. And if there are gaps in your skill set, you'll find out where they are and be able to rectify the problem before you begin working with clients.
Sophie Playle of Liminal Pages is an experienced developmental editor who runs two relevant courses: Introduction to Fiction Editing. Note that the SfEP assumes basic copyediting knowledge for this course.
Getting noticed
One of the biggest challenges for any new editorial business owner is getting noticed. Again, I've discussed marketing in previous Q&As, so you might like to review the following:
If you were to go down the route of offering creative writing courses for beginners, consider researching local writing groups; and talk to local bookshops to see if you might publicize the courses through them.
How about your local chamber of commerce? Is there support there – perhaps local contacts who are involved in self-publishing? You might collaborate with the chamber to provide a beta course or seminar series that would help you learn what works and what doesn't. This would enable you to mine your existing teaching skill set while expanding your local network.
And, of course, self-publishers aren't the only market. Mainstream publishers are a superb client base with whom to build your portfolio once you've completed your training because they already understand the value that professional editors bring to the table.
It's worth bearing in mind, too, that there are fewer specialist developmental editors than copyeditors and proofreaders. Moving in this direction would mean you have less competition once you begin actively marketing your new business.
One thing I can't advise on is whether my suggestions are 'too costly'! Price is always relative in any case. My recommendations are based on quality rather than affordability because I see no sense in suggesting training that won't help you achieve career independence and fitness for purpose.
Your career background will offer you a strong foundation on which to build your editorial business, and if you're prepared to combine those skills with additional professional development and a commitment to marketing, I believe you could do very well indeed.
Good luck, Noella!
Louise Harnby is a fiction copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in helping self-publishing writers prepare their novels for market.
She is the author of several books on business planning and marketing for editors, and runs online courses from within the Craft Your Editorial Fingerprint series. She is also an Advanced Professional Member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders. Louise loves books, coffee and craft gin, though not always in that order.
Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader & Copyeditor, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.
If you're an author, take a look at Louise's Writing Library and access her latest self-publishing resources, all of which are free and available instantly.
How to use social media with intention
If you're an editor, proofreader, translator or indexer, you're probably already using social media. If that's the case, but you feel like you're struggling to keep it under control, this training course could be just what you need.
Social media is great for chattering – updates about our kid's first day at school, little notes about how badly we need coffee, pics of our cats sitting on our keyboards. It's all great fun and long may it continue.
But when it comes to using social media for business, we need to think about intention. Otherwise the dreaded rabbit hole will beckon.
Laura Poole and Erin Brenner of Copyeditng kindly invited me to present an online masterclass for editors and proofreaders on social media marketing and engagement. I'll be your instructor for Social Media with Purpose on Tuesday, December 19, 2017, 11 am–12:30 pm Eastern Time.
Key learning points
In this 90-minute masterclass, we'll cover the following:
Registrants will also receive a free 53-page, 10,700-word ebook that addresses all the learning points, plus a list of links to recommended resources to help make your social media engagement persuasive, emotive and productive.
I do hope you'll join me for the class. Details of registration fees and how to sign up are available on the Copyediting training page.
Louise Harnby is a fiction copyeditor and proofreader. She curates The Proofreader's Parlour and is the author of several books on business planning and marketing for editors and proofreaders.
Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader & Copyeditor, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.
If you're an author, you might like to join Louise's Writing Library. Members receive monthly updates featuring self-publishing news and resources.
Q&A with Louise: 'How do I build a written-communications business even though I have no testimonials or portfolio?'
How does one go about building a written-communications business from scratch? The person who got in touch is looking to break into a sector that I have almost no experience of, so I wondered whether it might stump me.
However, it soon became clear that the problem is not the sector itself but the challenge of being visible in that sector.
Those of us who started out by targeting the publishing industry know that there's an advantage – that sector knows who we are, what we do, and why it needs us. But what do you do if your target clients are corporates?
Jo says:
Firstly, thank you so much for your extremely helpful articles. They're all I seem to read at the moment.
Secondly, a question! You kindly offer to help people solve their business problems, so here's mine.
I recently set up a communications business offering copywriting, proofreading, editing and social media services. I have a professional background in science, business and education, but not specifically within the communication arena. My last role, as a communications manager, was my first within this sector.
I've spent 15 years helping my partner with his communication requirements, from proofreading and editing to copywriting, so I feel as experienced as I can in this field without having any 'official' training. Now comes the hard bit! I am spending each and every day at the computer, emailing companies that I hope will be able to utilize my services, and the one question I keep hearing, time after time is 'Can you please send me examples of your work?'
Herein lies the problem. Even though I have worked for many years with my other half, I haven't built a portfolio of any kind, let alone kept any of the work I contributed to. I'm stuck in that cycle of no provable experience so no work, but no work so no way of demonstrating what I can do! Tricky!
How would you suggest I get around this?
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and for your insightful advice!
Hi, Jo, and thanks so much for your question!
Your problem is essentially one of visibility, competition, and the lack of a stand-out brand identity. Your website looks lovely, but that's no longer enough to get you found or noticed.
Written-communications businesses are ten a penny, so you're operating in a marketplace that's highly competitive. You're also up against specialist editors (like me) and specialist copywriters (like my pal John Espirian), and a ton of big-brand agencies who offer service packages to corporates (your target market).
Currently, despite your pretty website, you're basically an unknown supplier writing to companies who've never heard of you and have no way of working out why you're special, why you're different, why they should pick you over anyone else.
And none of that is a reflection of your capability. It's simply a reflection of the fact that you can't prove it.
The consequence is that, at the moment, your message is all about you.
You're not the first supplier to be in the position of having a small or non-existent portfolio. Many of my colleagues have to sign non-disclosure agreements that preclude them from advertising the fact that they've worked for corporates. And while my fiction writers are more than happy to make it known that they've hired me, I'd never send another author a sample of the work I've done on behalf of a former client. It would be a breach of confidentiality.
Becoming visible and standing out
So what to do? My view is that you need to commit to a content marketing strategy that will build trust and get attention.
The briefest definition of content marketing I can give you is this:
Creating useful stuff that solves problems … and giving it away.
That's because when you help people, you get noticed. You know this is true because that's why you contacted me! Let me quote you; 'Thank you so much for your extremely helpful articles. They're all I seem to read at the moment.'
Think about it … you've never met me or seen a sample of my editing work, and yet you devoured my blog and sent me a long email outlining your problem in the hope that I could help you. Then you agreed to let me publish your name, your question and my response in a public place. Somewhere along the line, I made you trust me.
And that, Jo, is what you need to mimic with your own business. You found me, which means my clients can find me. Now you need to enable people to find you and make them want to engage with you and your written-communications business.
We're already 690 words in and I haven't even got started on the nuts and bolts of content marketing, and there isn't room to do it justice here. But here are the basic principles.
My basic principles of content marketing
When you create solutions to people's problems – based around these principles – you begin a journey that puts you top of mind and top of the search engines.
Changing the focus of the message
Remember above how I talked about your message being all about you? When you start content marketing, the message becomes all about the client – their problems, their challenges, their business.
And when you offer solutions to those problems via your content marketing strategy, you present yourself as the expert you are – someone with 15 years' experience of working with a corporate. No one will be looking at your sparse testimonials page if they're too busy drooling over the free resources you've offered them.
Then, when it comes to the stuff they can't do themselves, you'll be ready to help with paying work.
It's hard graft, make no mistake. There are no quick fixes or overnight solutions. The strategy requires commitment.
The principles I outlined above are from my Content Marketing Primer for Editors & Proofreaders, which I wrote at the end of 2016 and published in January 2017. I stand by everything I wrote in that ebook, but I've learned a whole lot more since, because I decided to get help from the pros. After all, I'm a professional editor not a professional marketer!
And if you want to get serious and make inroads as quickly as possible, you might decide to go for the pro option, too.
An example of how content marketing worked … on me
The story of the pros I chose provides an example of great content marketing in action.
I was looking for free online help with branding and design. I came across a couple of guys on Twitter who were creating video tutorials about how to do just that. They were fun, young (younger than me, for sure!), seemed friendly … and their stuff was brilliant … and free. I watched one vlog after another, and signed up for their mailing list so I'd know when something new was out. For about three months, I took all that free guidance and implemented it.
And then I bought from them. Just a book at first. It cost about a tenner. And all the time, I kept thinking: if the free stuff is this good, and this cheap book is this good, what must their membership group be like?
By the time April had come around, resistance was futile.
Like the Borg.
And I joined.
So, you see what happened? They gave away a load of stuff that I found useful, and it got my attention and persuaded me to trust them. And then I became a client because when it came to making the big decision about whom to choose, they were top of mind. They'd blown everyone else out of the water.
So who are they? Regular readers of my blog will be bored rigid of hearing me talk about Andrew and Pete, and their group Atomic, but I won't apologize because they've made a difference to me. What they teach works. If you decide to go down this route though, do your own research first and make your own decisions. Find what's right for you.
An example of a colleague's content strategy
My colleague Natalie Hailey owns a digital marketing agency called Hot Content. And she uses content to drive her marketing strategy, just like I do, just like you can.
Natalie has a blog, a vlog and a newsletter through which she's building an audience of business owners who are interested in her services – her solutions.
But she's not just creating visual and written online content. She's also delivering those solutions face to face – by speaking at regional events (via her local chamber of commerce) – and by hosting live training sessions and workshops in her area that focus on helping, educating, building relationships and engaging with local businesswomen.
She focuses on a core audience and makes sure that the content she creates and delivers speaks to that audience at every touchpoint of her business – from the font she uses for her logo to the colours she chooses for her blog images; from the way she dresses at speaking engagements to the gentle warmth of her voice when she vlogs; from the tone of her blog posts to the way she engages in forums.
Those are the things her potential clients focus on. And, ultimately, they choose to engage with her because she makes them want to. And why on earth wouldn't they? She's nothing but helpful.
Back to you ...
I think you can do what I do, what Natalie does, what John does, and what Andrew and Pete do, so that you and your written-communications business stand out.
By focusing on your target clients, what their problems are, and how you can solve them, and in a way that's based purely on being helpful, by making them 'feel smarter or happier', as Andrew and Pete put it, you can move out of the catch-22 you find yourself in.
That's because this type of marketing is about relationships rather than résumés, about problem-solving rather than portfolios, about answering with solutions rather than asking for work.
It's not that testimonials, portfolios and experience aren't great. They are. They're wonderful. But, as you know only too well, they're what you get at the arrivals gate. Content marketing is the departure point.
Do it yourself, do it with books, or do it with pros. But do it. (Gawd, I sound like a Nike advert!). Then you'll be irresistible too. Like the Borg.
Good luck!
Louise Harnby is a fiction copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in helping self-publishing writers prepare their novels for market.
She is the author of several books on business planning and marketing for editors, and runs online courses from within the Craft Your Editorial Fingerprint series. She is also an Advanced Professional Member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders. Louise loves books, coffee and craft gin, though not always in that order.
Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader & Copyeditor, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.
If you're an author, take a look at Louise's Writing Library and access her latest self-publishing resources, all of which are free and available instantly.
Word-of-mouth marketing for editorial freelancers ... and why it won't work if you're a passive marketer
In 'When one client isn't enough – emergency marketing for editors and proofreaders', I offered an emergency marketing plan for proofreaders and editors who'd either lost their sole source of income or ended up in a situation where they were reliant on one client.
The first stage of the marketing plan asked for a commitment to active marketing.
If you're simply waiting for a solution to present itself, you're merely involved. And that's a very different proposition from being committed.
I love this quotation from Martina Navratilova:
The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs. The chicken is involved; the pig is committed.
Editorial freelancers, especially new starters, need to be the ham. Committing to marketing as soon as we set up our businesses ensures that we'll never be client-reliant or, worse, lose our sole source of income.
Acquiring work: commitment versus involvement
Involved: being passive
Most experienced editorial freelancers take advantage of passively acquired work. I have a number of repeat clients who fill some of my schedule.
If you're highly visible, experienced, trusted and respected, this strategy could well be effective for you. For the new entrant to the field, though, it's a non-starter.
That's because these opportunities are a consequence of active marketing.
Passively acquired work might come through a variety of channels. Here, for simplicity, I've focused on three:
Committed: being active
Active marketing is the work you do to generate these passive opportunities. Here, again, I've focused on three:
A. Networking with colleagues and clients (e.g. on editing forums, at conferences, professional society meetings, social media platforms). This kind of marketing leads to an awareness of what your specialist skills are. If a colleague needs to direct a client or prospect to someone with skills or availability that he or she doesn't have, you'll be in the running (see 1, above).
B. Cold-calling and writing letters/emails to target clients (e.g. publishers, packagers, businesses, marketing agencies). This is direct marketing and if you do it extensively you can quickly build a solid list of similar client types. If the clients are satisfied with the work, they'll rehire you, which leads to repeat work (see 2, above).
C. Just creating online profiles in itself is not enough to make you discoverable. Action that maximizes the visibility of those profiles in the search engines is key. This is where content marketing comes to the fore – creating and distributing (via your online platforms) advice, knowledge, tools and resources that your colleagues and clients will find useful, valuable. Examples include blogs, booklets, video tutorials, checklists and cheat sheets. High-quality content offers solutions to problems and makes your online profiles more findable (see 3, above).
In a nutshell, being active enables you to reap passive rewards later (if your office buddy will give you the space, that is).
Why word of mouth (WOM) is often misunderstood
'But my colleague said that all her work is via word of mouth.'
I don't doubt it. But if she's been running her business for 20 years and has a portfolio and client list as long as your arm, she's not in the same position as the new entrant to the field.
She's benefiting from 1, 2 and 3 because she invested in A, B and C.
New starters should indeed commit to WOM marketing. What they shouldn't do is assume that it's a passive approach that requires no effort. Nor will there be short-term results. Top-notch WOM marketing requires an intense level of commitment to action and an acceptance of slow-burn impact.
Awareness and trust aren't built overnight, especially in our field. Editorial freelancers aren't selling a product that promises something that swathes of people have wanted forever – an anti-aging cream, a painless leg-waxing treatment, a broadband connection that never, ever buffers even if you live out in the sticks and there's more chance of getting a wi-fi signal on Mars. Our services have to prove their worth.
For the editorial business owner, WOM marketing is like creating a garden from scratch. If you're proactive, it will take many months to knock it into shape. If you hold back, it'll take years. If you're passive, the garden will remain barren.
WOM and colleagues
There are a lot of us, and many have already developed niche networks of friends and colleagues to whom we refer work.
When an editor or proofreader ends up on my radar, it's because they've instilled trust in me.
WOM and clients
As for client A telling client B about you, you'll need a lot of mouths to share the good news if you want to have a full schedule! That's not where you'll be if you're a new entrant to the field, not because you're not an effective editor or proofreader but because you don't yet have a large enough bank of clients.
Effective WOM
Find out which networks (online and offline) your clients and colleagues recommend and join in the discussion. There's nothing wrong with asking questions but be prepared to offer solutions too. Even new editorial freelancers have specialist skills and background experience that are relevant and valuable to the debate.
In 'Why word of mouth marketing is the most important social media', Kimberly A. Whitler, Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business, breaks down WOM marketing into the three Es:
Action first, passivity later
Clients can come via active and passive marketing strategies. It's not a case of the right strategy but the right order.
If you're a new starter, make active editorial business promotion a standard part of your working life, just like copyediting or proofreading, invoicing and updating your software. Assign space for it every week so that it becomes commonplace rather than a chore or, worse, something to be feared.
Be active. Be committed. Be the ham!
Once your business is established, you'll be able to take advantage of the passive benefits that result from your effort. Just take care not to hand over the chill space to your Labrador!
Louise Harnby is a fiction copyeditor and proofreader. She curates The Proofreader's Parlour and is the author of several books on business planning and marketing for editors and proofreaders.
Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader & Copyeditor, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.
If you're an author, you might like to join Louise's Writing Library. Members receive monthly updates featuring self-publishing news and resources.
What's the point of networking? Editorial colleagues and what they can teach us
This article is for editorial folk who currently choose to operate their businesses in isolation. There's nothing wrong with that at all if that's your bag, but I hope this will show you just some of the benefits of networking.
In 'The rates debate' and 'The highs and lows of editorial fees', I argued that colleagues shouldn't be the primary determiners of the price we set or accept for editorial work.
They are, however, our go-tos for much else, and the professional editor and proofreader would be bonkers not to take the opportunity to exploit the myriad learning opportunities on offer from those with different skills, levels of experience, subject specialisms and environments!
Rather than just writing a list, I thought it might be more interesting to give you a few examples of how some of my colleagues have helped me to develop my editorial business. The list isn't exhaustive – it would be a book if it was – but it should give you a flavour of what's on offer.
Learning a new macro
I like to consider myself pretty strong on the editorial tech-tool front. And yet I'd lost count of the number of times I'd forgotten to switch Track Changes back on after I'd toggled it off. I needed a solution – some sort of visual or audio reminder.
My pal Gordon Hooper came to the rescue. Gordon's a fellow member of the Norfolk SfEP local group. Turns out that my other colleague Paul Beverley had already tackled the problem with a macro: if you fancy trying it for yourself, you can read about how it works and how to install it at 'How to never forget you've switched off Track Changes!'.
Tightening up my marketing message
Last year, I spent some time thinking about how I could better present my services so that they reflected the reality of what I spend most of my time doing – proofreading and copyediting for indie authors.
I understand perfectly well the traditional definitions of these skills but in the real world they're rather tangled (see, for example, 'The proofreader's corner: Untangling proofreading'). Again, it was my professional network that came to the rescue.
Understanding another skill
Development editing isn't a service I offer. That doesn't mean I'm not interested in learning about it, though. I've started to expand my knowledge via colleagues who have experience in this macro level of editing.
Using Word more efficiently
In the past 18 months, two editorial colleagues have written blogs that have had a significant impact on how I use Word.
Using a gadget
One of my bugbears has always been having to use hyphens for en dashes on my iPad and iPhone. A discussion on the SfEP forum, started by Lisa Robinson, showed me that Apple has provided en and em dashes – I just hadn't realized that if you hold down the hyphen button a small window opens and you can slide your finger to your preferred dash. I was delighted, and I wasn't alone! That thread was full of useful tips. If you're an SfEP member, you can access it via 'Dashes'.
Discovering new tools
I love any editorial tool that can increase my productivity or enhance my professionalism. Colleagues alerted me to two particular favourites.
Maxing out an existing tool
I hadn't been getting the best out of PerfectIt, even though I'm a long-time user. At another SfEP Norfolk meeting, Mary Sheridan and Sarah Patey taught me how to use the wildcard function more effectively.
This, combined with Jack Lyon's Wildcard Cookbook for Microsoft Word, has been a real productivity enhancer. PerfectIt tends to handle wildcards a lot better than Word when Track Changes is switched on, something else Sarah taught me via Facebook!
Quoting mechanisms and publicizing rates
Pricing issues affect every editorial freelancer, and although fee setting needs to be done using a deeper level of analysis than just following what colleagues are doing, there's still a lot a colleague can bring to the table.
These two examples proved to be excellent reminders that testing is essential for the editorial freelancer who wants to learn whether a colleague's way of doing things is appropriate for their own business.
Making friends
My colleagues can do something a book or a course can't. They can become friends. I've made so many edi-buddies that I can't even begin to list them all.
What I can say is that Kate Haigh's campsite spag bol borders on legendary; the AFEPI crew at last year's SfEP meeting almost made me want to emigrate. I wish Sophie Playle still lived in Norwich because I miss having coffee with her. I wish Rich Adin lived in the same country so that I could have just one coffee with him. Nick Jones has made me laugh via Facebook Messenger too many times. Janet MacMillan's soup ...
You get the point.
Sourcing professional help
I decided to hire a couple of proofreaders for my blog in 2016. When I'm writing, I don't behave like a proofreader. I have my authorial head on. That means I'm too close to my own words to spot all my errors.
I bit the bullet and decided to work with some fellow professional proofreaders. Whom to pick though? I needed some recommendations. John Espirian, in his capacity as guardian of the SfEP directory, had a couple of names up his sleeve and they haven't disappointed.
Cally Worden and Anna Black are my go-tos. They've done a fantastic job for me and I wish I'd sourced them years ago. Of course, I still have to upload their gently edited work to the Parlour, and, I'll be honest, sometimes I just can't help making a little tweak here and there, post proofreading (I know, I know!). So if a typo has slipped through, it's my fault.
Finding your tribe
There's a tonne of other stuff that colleagues can help with – I've only scratched the surface. If you're reading this and you're not connected, consider the benefits of changing the situation.
Ultimately, editorial freelancing is about running your own business, but there are plenty of people who'll support you in its growth if you find a comfortable space in which to meet them!
Louise Harnby is a fiction copyeditor and proofreader. She curates The Proofreader's Parlour and is the author of several books on business planning and marketing for editors and proofreaders.
Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader & Copyeditor, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.
If you're an author, you might like to join Louise's Writing Library. Members receive monthly updates featuring self-publishing news and resources.
My new Content Marketing Primer for Editors & Proofreaders is now available to order.
The Primer costs only £3.99, so grab yourself a bargain!
Simply click on the button below to go to the book's dedicated page and order form.
I'll email your book within 24 hours (though probably a lot sooner if I'm not asleep!)
Louise Harnby is a professional proofreader and copyeditor. She curates The Proofreader's Parlour and is the author of several books on business planning and marketing for editors and proofreaders.
Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.
I'm delighted to announce the forthcoming launch of a new editorial freelancing tool for February 2017: Content Marketing Primer for Editors & Proofreaders.
The Primer shows you how to create and deliver value-adding content that embraces engagement with colleagues and clients and enhances your editorial business's visibility.
This 40-page book includes guidance on the following:
Louise Harnby is a professional proofreader and copyeditor. She curates The Proofreader's Parlour and is the author of several books on business planning and marketing for editors and proofreaders.
Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.
Freelance pricing, marketing, testing/tracking and terminology
This article is a summary of what I learned along the way: the effects on my own business and how I responded.
For some of you, what follows will chime with your own experiences. If that's not the case, perhaps you'll be inspired to test some of the issues I discuss.
What I learned
1. Prices – to show or not to show
I went public with my pricing structure for one month in November. The results were interesting; my explanation was uncertain; my response, however, was unequivocal.
I've been tracking my new-client contact data for over a year, so I could compare some numbers. In November 2015, I received 25 requests from new clients to quote. In November 2016, it dropped to 14.
Of those who did get in contact, the number who became paying clients increased by 50%.
On the surface, that's good news – lower contact numbers but a higher rate of conversions. Dig a little deeper, though, and there are a couple of problems:
At the end of December 2016, I compared the new-client contact data with that from December 2015. This time, the figures were similar – two more in 2016. At first sight, this might imply that the public prices were an issue. But, again, I only have one year-on-year figure for comparison, which I don't believe is enough to warrant anything more than a 'Hmm, interesting. That's worth keeping an eye on.'
Data from at least five previous years would have given me the confidence to make a statement one way or another. As it is, based on my experiment and limited data, I'm not prepared to conclude that public pricing is either beneficial or damaging.
My response for my business: I removed my prices from my website. This is the approach I feel comfortable with at present, and I'll continue as such until I have enough information to make an informed decision. I'll continue to track my new contacts so that I can better understand the patterns of enquiry throughout the year.
2. Content marketing over gin and pizza
I plan to write more about content marketing (or adding value, as I prefer to call it) this year. There's a section about it in Marketing Your Editing & Proofreading Business if you want to dig deeper. Here's the thing – many of us think of content marketing in terms of blogs, booklets, tutorials and templates. In other words, stuff that can be read, watched and touched. In 2016, I was reminded that great content marketing – great value – is sometimes as simple as a conversation.
At the 2016 Society for Editors and Proofreaders' annual conference in Aston, I made a new friend (Victoria Woodside) and caught up with an old one (Sophie Playle). I'd already spent several months thinking about what it is I actually do (see Section 5 below) and how I present it to potential clients. The language used to define editorial services is tangled. Editorial professionals don't define proofreading, copyediting and line editing similarly, so why should our clients?
I was comfortable blogging about the confusion but I hadn't managed to solve the conundrum for my own business. I was going round in circles. Victoria and Sophie came to my rescue – not in any kind of formal consultative manner, but just by giving me their time and sharing their expertise over gin and Fiorentinas. They told me how they defined their services and helped me to unpick my own. From those conversations, I found a way forward.
I doubt either woman would define her conversation with me as content marketing – yet it was. Both had valuable, useful stuff (knowledge, time and expertise) and shared it with me. Later it would put them both top of my mind when I was in need of people to refer specific clients to. One of those referrals turned into paid work.
And that's really what good content marketing is – sharing useful, valuable stuff so that it puts you top of mind (or top of Google) when there's a client in need of a solution. That client might come via a colleague, which means your fellow editorial pros are your customers too. Meeting and talking to colleagues, online and face-to-face, is great content marketing. Many of us do it without even realizing. And it costs nowt but time and effort. You just need to be a nice human being.
My response for my business: This experience was a great lesson in just how far content marketing stretches. It was also a strong reminder that learning takes place in a range of environments. I already attend my Norfolk SfEP group meeting on a regular basis. I'm now committed to attending the annual meetings too – to speak (if I'm asked) and to listen to others speaking.
Two conversations helped me align my business in action with my business in words. That alone made it worth the registration fee.
3. The hard graft and the full schedule
I've had an active marketing strategy in place since I set up my business back in 2006. It's worked well for me. I have as much work as I can handle and am often booked up several months in advance … And there's the rub.
Some clients will wait, but many won't. To put so much time into marketing – all those booklets and guidelines and other bits and pieces of valuable stuff that I hope my indie authors will find useful – only to hear, 'Sorry, I can't wait that long,' is frustrating. It feels like wasted effort.
I'm all for a referral – I can put a client in touch with the perfect specialist. Legal editor? I know one of those. Fluent French speaker or Italian translator? I'm friends with the former and related to the latter. How about a proofreader who also has experience of scientific indexing? Yep, I have a phone number.
The thing is this – it's a busy week and I'm up to my neck in deadlines. I don't have the capacity to be thinking about who would be the best person in my extensive network of experienced colleagues for this or that bit of proofreading or light editing. That's time I should be using to earn a crust for me, not someone else.
As a result, from early 2015 I'd stopped actively recommending named colleagues for general proofreading or light-editing work. If an enquirer actively asked for a recommendation, I'd point them to a directory. If they asked for specialist help (e.g. legal, medical, scientific), only then would I recommend a named colleague.
All in all, I felt that a lot of hard-graft was generating a lot of missed opportunities and missed income.
My response for my business: A trusted colleague whose company subs to experienced editors and proofreaders offered me a referral deal. I get a cut of any converted leads. This hasn't replaced my specialist referral network; rather, it's a two-pronged approach. Named specialist referrals earn me nothing, whereas more generalist referrals earn me a small passive income. Now I feel like my marketing's working for me again, and for others too.
4. Data, data and more data
I talked above about the problem I encountered with not having enough data to make an informed decision on whether public pricing is good or bad for my business. Data limitations also became apparent when I introduced several contact forms on my website early in 2016. I was interested to learn whether clients preferred contact forms, email, texts or phone, and whether it was necessary to provide all of these options.
My initial observations were as follows:
My response for my business: I committed to continue my monitoring of new-client contact methods. I'm nearly a year down the line now so I have more data. Good job too. Now, my observations are as follows:
5. More than a proofreader
Well into 2016, a couple of things had become blindingly obvious:
My response for my business: I wrote, I pondered, I talked to myself. Then I had a conversation with two friends (see Section 2 above). Clarity emerged from confusion. I redefined (and repriced) my service packages so that they reflect the reality of what I'm providing. I'm confident and clear about how my services are differentiated. More importantly, I'm no longer worrying about what my colleagues are doing, or what definitions they're using. My friends gave me the confidence to carve out my own way of doing things.
Summing up
I hope you've enjoyed this personal review. I'm sure you've had many of your own 'Hmm, that's interesting' moments over the past 12 months. Perhaps you've shared some of the same experiences but responded differently. No matter – there's no one-size-fits-all answer to any of these issues. The important thing is that we use the review process as an opportunity to see not what we've done badly but what we can do better.
Louise Harnby is a professional proofreader and copyeditor. She curates The Proofreader's Parlour and is the author of several books on business planning and marketing for editors and proofreaders.
Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.
A note from Louise: In 2013, I published my first book – an introductory editorial business-planning guide entitled Business Planning for Editorial Freelancers. I wanted to provide readers with a real-world view of what it's like to enter the world of editorial freelancing.
Three of my colleagues were kind enough to act as case studies, sharing insights into their experiences of building an editorial business: Johanna Robinson, Mary McCauley and Grace Wilson. At the time of publication, all three were relatively new to the field (their start-ups were under two years old). Each of them created vibrant, successful editorial businesses, working with a range of clients across the UK and Ireland. Their candid accounts illustrated the challenges of editorial freelancing – but also suggested how the path to success could be achieved through determination, skills acquisition, strategic planning and targeted marketing.
Here we are three years later in 2016. My colleagues left behind their new-starter status a long time ago. They're now established editorial business owners who are not only working for paying clients but also helping less experienced colleagues navigate their way through the world of editorial freelancing via training programmes and conference presentations.
It's therefore with great pleasure that I hand now you over to Mary McCauley of Mary McCauley Proofreading. Below, Mary tells us what's changed and what's stayed the same; how her business has developed; what she's learned; and what her plans are for the future …
It's nearly four years since I first wrote a guest article for The Proofreader's Parlour on how I set up my editorial business, and subsequently appeared as a case study in Louise's debut book Business Planning for Editorial Freelancers. It feels like a lifetime ago; back in December 2012, I never imagined how my editorial journey would continue. Thankfully, it has been a good four years for me.
What has and hasn't changed since I started out in 2012
Business hours
I have moved to full-time hours and my work schedule has been more or less fully booked up for the past two years. However, I no longer regularly work weekends unless I have agreed a premium rate with my client. As for most people setting up a business, the early years involved long hours of work and weeks without a break. This worked for a while, but I learned that I cannot work that way indefinitely; I need regular time away from my desk or I can't do my best work. And as my turnover has increased year on year as my business grows, I'm now able to take proper holidays at Christmas and during the summer.
Services offered
When I started out in 2012, my main service offering was proofreading and a little copy-editing; now copy-editing work has overtaken proofreading. I also offer some project management services (including liaison with typesetters, designers and illustrators; picture research; and artwork coordination), as well as e-book conversion review services.
Additionally, I've become involved in training delivery. In June 2014, I was invited to present an editing masterclass for fiction authors at our local Wexford Literary Festival. Not long after, I presented a Marketing Tools for the Freelance Editor seminar at the 2014 SfEP conference and, while it was a daunting but exhilarating experience, I learned a lot from it. Last year I was approached by Irish writer and lecturer Claire Keegan to teach a two-day course on grammar, punctuation and style to her students. It went well and we ran the course again earlier this year. The Wexford Literary Festival invited me back this summer as a panel member for an Industry Experts Q&A discussion and I'm also a regular guest speaker on my Local Enterprise Office's Start Your Own Business course. More recently, I'm signed up as a speed mentor at this year's SfEP conference. So through contacts and referrals I've slowly gained experience in editorial and editorial-business training, and I'm interested in how I might further develop it as a business offering.
My clients
At the start, I cast my net wide in search of clients – anything to get experience. I have since narrowed down my client base. On the fiction side, the majority of my work is for independent authors. Not all of these wish to self-publish; some are preparing their manuscript for submission to an agent, publisher or competition. On the non-fiction side, while I also work with independent authors, the majority of my clients are businesses, public sector bodies and publishers. Due to schedule constraints and short turnaround times, for the moment I no longer work for students.
Continuing professional development (CPD)
Investing in quality training has been a priority for me over the past four years and my short-term aim is to continue to invest in learning new skills in a bid to expand the range of services I offer. I've completed six editorial courses (SfEP/PTC/Publishing Ireland) since 2012. Each has directly helped pay for itself; for example, the SfEP's On-screen Editing 1 helped me work more efficiently and thus earn a better rate, while the Publishing Training Centre's (PTC) Rewriting and Substantive Editing course gave me the confidence to take on an well-paid editing project I otherwise wouldn't have.
Recently, AFEPI Ireland members have been able to take advantage of the PTC courses now running at the Irish Writers Centre in Dublin. Ireland-based editors can now avail themselves of these without travelling to the UK as many would have done in the past. The courses also have the added benefit of presenting an opportunity for freelance and in-house editors to meet.
I regularly learn new ideas and tips from the AFEPI Ireland/SfEP/EAE forums and save shared links for future reference. I find these forums an invaluable source of CPD.
Professional membership and networking
Though it is one of my larger yearly expenses, I value my membership of both AFEPI Ireland and SfEP. The support of Irish and UK colleagues, and colleagues further afield, has been one of the most warming experiences of setting up my business. Catching up with AFEPI Ireland friends and colleagues at meetings and training courses in Ireland has been wonderful and energising, and I always come away having learned something. Attending the 2014 SfEP conference in London was an unforgettable experience and I finally understood what 'finding your tribe' means.
I joined Twitter in 2012 and continue to find it a useful learning platform that has helped me meet and interact with publishing professionals in Ireland and abroad.
When I receive business enquiries I always ask how the person found me, as I need to know which of my marketing efforts are working. The majority of my enquiries come via my website, which enquirers say they found following a Google search. My website's probably due an overhaul but I'm pleased with how it has worked for me. I also started my own blog, Letters from an Irish Editor, at the start of 2014. I admit I really struggle to find the time to post regularly (it takes me several hours to write a single article!) but as there is always increased traffic to my website when I do, I'll battle on.
When I upgraded to Professional Member status, I took out an entry in the SfEP Directory and I've seen some enquiries and work from this direction. After my website, most enquiries come via my AFEPI Ireland Directory entry and from referrals from colleagues. I think my AFEPI Ireland entry is more successful than my SfEP one due to my location, both in terms of my Irish clients preferring an Ireland-based service, but also from a currency point of view.
I have had a listing on Find A Proofreader since 2012; as well as receiving the regular job postings I've also had direct enquiries and work from it. While a lot of the jobs have too short a turnaround time for my schedule, my entry helps with my website SEO, so at the current advertising rate I find it's worth the cost.
What I've learned since 2012
While I've continued to work extremely hard to grow my business and client base, the most important thing I've learned is to recognise valuable clients and to pursue a client base that offers me the best rates and projects. As I've gained experience and undertaken additional training, I've become more confident in my editorial and business abilities and in the worth of my service offering when quoting to clients. I've come to realise that some clients cannot afford or are unwilling to pay for my services and that if I clog up my schedule with low-paying projects, I won't have the capacity to work on a more desirable project when it presents itself.
Keys to success
The following are key ideas/values that I believed in and tried to pursue from the start and which have proven invaluable to my business during the past four years:
Personal highlights of the past four years
Plans for the future
Mary McCauley runs an editorial business providing project management, copy-editing and proofreading services to authors, publishers, corporate clients and public sector bodies. She is a Full Member of the Association of Freelance Editors, Proofreaders and Indexers (AFEPI Ireland) and a Professional Member of SfEP.
She has taught self-editing courses as part of the Claire Keegan Fiction Clinic series, and has presented seminars at the Wexford Literary Festival and the SfEP's 2014 conference. She is a regular guest speaker on her Local Enterprise Office's Start Your Own Business course.
Mary lives near Wexford in the south-east of Ireland. You can contact Mary at firstname.lastname@example.com, through her website Mary McCauley Proofreading, or via LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
When starting an editing or proofreading business, it's important to ask questions and seek advice about the big picture. The key is to not get stuck in a position where we're incapable of moving forward without seeking validation about the detail.
The thought of taking on all the responsibilities that come with owning and running a proofreading or editing business can be daunting to the new entrant to the field, and to someone who's technically experienced but who lacks confidence. One of two problems can arise:
This article focuses on the second problem. If you're a new editorial business owner and need advice on editorial business planning, a list of valuable starting-out resources is provided at the end of the article.
Why working for yourself is different
Many people come to editorial freelancing after years of successfully working for other businesses.
When we are employees, someone else takes care of actually owning and running the business in which we work. I was like that – I was one cog in a large engine. My cog was an important part of the business's machinery but I only had to worry about me and the bits of my cog that touched the cogs nearby. Someone else owned the engine and worried about how it worked as a whole.
Then I set up my own business and I was in charge. I had to make the whole engine run smoothly. Taking charge of the whole thing meant acknowledging 4 truths about owing my own business.
4 truths about editorial business ownership
Business owners take ownership of their businesses …
It's important to ask questions and seek advice about the big picture. The key is to not get stuck in a position where we're incapable of moving forward without seeking validation about the detail.
If I ask 50 colleagues how many pages a website should have I will end up with 50 personal answers. Some of the information I glean from 50 people will overlap but some of it won't. There won't be consensus.
An inability to make your own decisions, based on your business model and your client's needs, can paralyse you. Paralysis means you're not in a state of mind where you're making the final decisions about your business, but hoping instead that someone else will do it for you.
That's potentially disastrous because other people's decisions are based on their business models, their brand identities, and their clients' needs.
You're the best person to make the detailed decisions about your business precisely because it's your business, and your business serves your clients.
A business owner, by definition, needs to take ownership, and that means finding the courage to act.
Effective advice-seeking vs inertia-inducing thinking …
Here are 2 short case studies that demonstrate the difference between effective advice-seeking and inertia-inducing thinking. These are fictional but are based on conversations that I've had with real new starters.
Effective advice-seeking
Ali has decided to set up a proofreading business. Let's assume that he's completed high-quality training, and followed through with a mentoring program. In the course of his business planning he has recognized the value of having a website that can operate as his shop front.
In the process of building the website he reaches out to editorial colleagues whom he's met via his national editorial society and online editorial forums. He asks them about their experiences of website building and the choices they've made:
Ali's colleagues provide a range of responses.
Overall, the answers to Ali's questions supply him with insights into his colleagues' experiences. And although the decisions he makes are influenced by these experiences, his final choices need to be based on his business requirements.
These might be the same, similar or different to any one of the colleagues who contributed to the discussion.
Inertia-inducing thinking
Josh, too, has set up a proofreading business. Like Ali, he's completed the requisite training and believes he has the technical know-how to provide a high-quality service. Josh is seeking similar guidance to Ali, but he frames his questions differently and in a way that could lead to inertia.
The answers to Josh's questions are just more questions because:
Because Josh's questions focus on the detail of his business requirements, which are known only to him, he doesn't receive any definitive answers. As a result, he is paralysed by indecision.
While Ali's website is now live, and operating as a shop front that he can link to via a number of other online platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Yell.com, and several specialist editorial directories), Josh is still digitally undiscoverable because he's waiting for other people to make the decisions for him, decisions that are based on a business that isn't theirs.
Too many cooks …
Even a well-asked question that generates lots of responses can be problematic for the new entrant to the field because he or she doesn't have enough experience to evaluate the usefulness of the responses.
In Ali's case, 15 colleagues could advise having a separate blog, and 15 could advise attaching a blog to his business website. But how does he work out which is the best approach for his editorial business?
Professional networks are fabulous resources, often rich in content, but we need to recognize that the responses we receive to well-asked questions are still dependent on who's online that day, who bothers to join in the discussion, and what their particular experiences are.
Sometimes there are too many cooks in the kitchen; sometimes the best cooks aren't even in the kitchen. This can lead to confusion rather than clarity.
If you're a new entrant to the field who's asking lots of good questions but feels overwhelmed by the diverse opinions on offer, consider consulting a business coach or mentor who can spend time focusing specifically on your business requirements and help you sift through the all the advice you've received.
There's no one true way to furnish a house …
As the two examples above demonstrate, there's no single way of building and designing an effective website.
When we look at various successful editorial professionals' websites, we see that there are a hundred different ways to do it. None of these is right or wrong; they're just different ways that people choose to express the information they want to communicate to a client base.
We each have to work out what we want to say and decide whether the information looks appealing, is easily navigable for our readers, and communicates a clear message that says we can provide solutions to our clients' problems.
In Josh's case, it's not about what I think or like – it's about what Josh thinks and likes, and what Josh believes his clients will think and like.
My website layout reflects what I think works for me and my clients. Josh's should do the same for him and his clients.
This applies to all aspects of editorial business ownership. The editorial business is like a house. More established editorial pros can give us sensible advice on how to locate a plot, dig the foundations, construct the walls, and lay on a roof to prevent us getting wet during rainy days, but only we can furnish our individual houses in a way that suits our financial requirements, our particular skills, our backgrounds, and our clients.
Seek advice by all means, but don't wait for others to make decisions about the detail of your business.
Research, ask, learn; consult a business coach/mentor if you're struggling to clarify your thinking. Then place information within the framework of your own editorial business needs and act.
Louise Harnby is a fiction line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in supporting self-publishing authors, particularly crime writers. She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP) and an Author Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi).
Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader & Copyeditor, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.
I'm delighted to announce that Marketing Your Editing & Proofreading Business is now available in print.
Full information is available on the book's dedicated page here on my website.
You can buy it direct from CreateSpace and Amazon. (Do check which option suits you best in terms of postage.)
At 300+ pages, it's well over twice the size of its companion volume Business Planning for Editorial Freelancers, so there's plenty for the reluctant or nervous marketer to get their teeth into. Enjoy!
Louise Harnby is a fiction line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in helping self-publishing writers prepare their novels for market.
She is the author of several books on business planning and marketing for editors, and runs online courses from within the Craft Your Editorial Fingerprint series. She is also an Advanced Professional Member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders and an Author Member of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi). Louise loves books, coffee and craft gin, though not always in that order.
Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader & Copyeditor, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.
If you're an author, take a look at her Self-publishers' Writing Library and access her latest self-publishing resources, all of which are free and available instantly.
One second spent on the positive development of our businesses is more effective than one hour spent slagging off our colleagues in public ...
Many of us use a number of social media platforms to engage with the international community of fellow copy-editors and proofreaders. Sometimes we might disagree with each other, which leads to discussion and differences of opinion. All good so far. There's nothing wrong with differences of opinion – it's healthy when other voices show us different ways of looking at things.
Sometimes, though, things can take a nastier turn whereby a person uses social media platforms to try to hurt us. And it's not just that being attacked online is hurtful. There's the additional fear that the aggressor's attacks will damage our reputations. So is it true and how should we defend ourselves?
While I was researching my marketing book, I came across this super article that was written back in 2012 by marketing and small-business commentator Ty Kiisel (@tykiisel). It may not be hot off the press but it's still relevant to any editorial business owner who engages on social media. You can read it here in full: 4 Tips to Manage Your Online Reputation (published on Forbes, 20 November 2012).
A few points really stood out for me in Kiisel's article:
Stepping back before hitting back ...
It's probable that, at one time or another, every one of us has felt that we've been treated unfairly, even monstrously, on a social media platform such as Twitter or Facebook. Certainly I've been involved in LinkedIn discussions where I've wanted to call out someone on their appalling behaviour because I was convinced that if I'd been communicating with them face to face they'd have found some manners. We're not talking about a difference of opinion in these cases. We're talking about people being rude, sarcastic and spiteful.
If you've ever been tempted to engage in an online war with someone who's publicly attacked you, been rude to you, or tried to harm or undermine your professional reputation, then take a few minutes to step back and think about the best response before you hit back. Note that in Kiisel's view the attacker's vicious behaviour is more likely to damage her own business reputation than yours.
Social media engagement is about communication and sharing. When we try to sell ourselves up by knocking others down – by publicly highlighting their apparent weaknesses or mistakes –we make ourselves appear unprofessional and untrustworthy. Given that many customers won't buy from people or organizations that appear unprofessional or untrustworthy, it's not a great game plan. It's more likely to turn into a PR disaster zone.
So if you're being attacked, think of it in Kiisel's terms:
Online aggressors are boring ...
When I was a kid there was a TV series on the BBC called Why Don't You? The theme-tune lyric went something on the lines of "... whyyyyy don't youuuu just switch off your television set and go and do something less boring instead". That's what we need to do with social media attackers – just switch them off and go and do something else less boring.
Attackers are extremely hurtful, unprofessional, untrustworthy and all the rest of it. But they're bores, too. They're the most boring bores in the kingdom of boredom [yawn].
When we join in their war and feed their aggression, it quickly becomes boring for the others in our community who are witnessing the fight. If we hit back in public, and it goes on too long, there's a risk that the aggressor won't be the only kid on the block who's making everyone else's eyelids droop.
Given the volume of "stuff" that we have to trawl through online, and the limited time we have to do it, we're all interested in getting the best bits and ignoring the rubbish. Switching off the online aggressor means we avoid becoming part of the junk.
How aggressors miss a trick ...
Not only are aggressors boring; they're desperate and creatively limited. They're not using their networking time to its best advantage. I'll share a little example.
A lot of the articles on this blog are written late at night so that my blogging doesn't interfere in my family time. I'm a proofreader but I'm also a human being. When I'm tired I make the odd mistake. And, anyway, we all know that perfect self-editing is virtually impossible. That's why we all do the jobs we do.
Last week I wrote something late at night and posted it live. I made a typo. It's not that my literacy is poor. It's just that I'm human. Anyway, someone in the international editorial community with whom I'd previously been unconnected sent me a private email to alert me to the typo. I thanked him profusely, amended the error, and then sought out this person on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook so that I could connect with him.
He could have used the opportunity to humiliate me and undermine my reputation in the public arena. He could have left a sarcastic comment on my blog about my howler or posted something on LinkedIn: "Hey, look at that Louise Harnby. Credibility alert or what?!!! She calls herself a proofreader but she makes mistakes on her blog. What's that all about?!" But he didn't. He treated me with respect and recognized my human fallibility. He's the kind of person I want to connect with, share business ideas with, learn from, and engage with.
He took 30 seconds of his time to tap me, gently and privately, on the shoulder rather than publicly punching me in the face. His delicate handling of my error led to us connecting. Now my network is bigger and richer. I hope that he feels his is, too. And the typo is gone. It's a win–win.
When the opposite happens, though, there's only one loser: the aggressor. One second spent on the positive development of our businesses is more effective than one hour spent slagging off our colleagues in public.
Turning the aggressor off ...
Perhaps some of you have experienced that really annoying thing children do when they're not interested in what you're saying. They don't even bother to pretend. They just walk away like you're not there; like your voice has failed to make any sound; like your words have no worth or meaning. Like you have no control over them. Without even saying anything they just shut you down. Hmmm ... there's a lesson there.
So the next time someone hurts you online, ignore them. Don't give them your precious time and your precious space by entering into an unwinnable argument. Instead, just remove them from your online life – unfriend and unfollow them on Facebook; unfollow and block them on Twitter; unlink them on LinkedIn; set up your spam filter so that it junks them when they hit your inbox.
Act like they're not there.
There are too many fabulous people to connect with, learn from, talk to, engage with, even disagree with, to make energy spent on your online attacker a worthwhile experience.
Let's finish with a quotation attributed to George Bernard Shaw (hat tip to my colleague Beth Hamer for alerting me to this gem): "I learned long ago never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it."
Here's to online engagement without the mud!
Here are a few other interesting articles about the psychology of, and ways to deal with, online bullying, aggression and trolling in the business world.
Louise Harnby is a fiction line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in helping self-publishing writers prepare their novels for market.
She is the author of several books on business planning and marketing for editors, and runs online courses from within the Craft Your Editorial Fingerprint series. She is also an Advanced Professional Member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders and an Author Member of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi). Louise loves books, coffee and craft gin, though not always in that order.
Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader & Copyeditor, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.
If you're an author, take a look at her Self-publishers' Writing Library and access her latest self-publishing resources, all of which are free and available instantly.
Lessons learned: Getting the best out of meet-ups with fellow editorial freelancers
A recent discussion with some fellow editorial pros about marketing, in particular networking via local-group meetings, got me thinking about what it is that makes our editorial group meeting (the UK-based Norfolk SfEP group) function so well. I'm always singing its praises so thought it might be worth articulating some of the features that make it so beneficial to attendees.
The facilitator
Paul Beverley, who runs our group (some of you will know of the free macros on his website, Archive Publications), is sensitive to the fact that this type of networking is not always easy for people who are new or shy. He does his best to make sure that a range of voices are heard in group discussions, and that's important because a good chair can make the difference between whether people feel included or invisible.
On a few occasions he has met with aspiring editorial freelancers prior to their attending one of our group meetings; they found this a useful ice-breaker because when they turned up to the meet-up for the first time there was one familiar face in the room – someone to make a beeline for.
The venue
We meet in a church rather than a pub or cafe. We don't do this for faith-based reasons but because having a dedicated room for our meeting means we can control the space in a way that's inclusive. We did talk about meeting in a pub, but were worried that we'd be forced into smaller niche groups that some quieter people might not find inviting. And a cafe might be too small if there's a large attendance. There are also the noise levels to consider – by using a dedicated space for the meeting, we only have to put up with the sounds we create!
Seating for sociability
However many of us attend (and the size of the group can range from five to twenty), we usually place all the tables in a big circle. This means that everyone can see everyone else and niche groups are less likely to form. Even when the evening is based around a more general group discussion, rather than a training-style session run by one speaker, people are less likely to end up chatting with just the people either side of them – there's space to engage with someone elsewhere in the room without rising from your seat. And if one of us sees someone who has no one to talk to, it's easy enough to engage them.
What's your name, again?
We wear name badges if there's a newbie in attendance. That way, they can see what everyone else is called. Paul comes ready with sticky labels and a big, black marker pen. And if a solid day's worth of editing has left you feeling a bit addled and forgetful of all those names of those people you've met many times before, it's no problem!
Giving a voice to the newbie
When new people attend, Paul asks everyone around the table to introduce themselves and provide a short summary of their skill sets, specialist subject areas and how long they've been doing the job. Then the newbie can follow suit and let the rest of us know a bit about their background. It's a good ice-breaker for the new person, and it's a great reminder to regulars of what the others do (particularly useful when it comes to opportunities for referring work).
The agenda – eat, work and wash up!
We usually eat together before the discussion or "training" session starts. And all those dishes need to be washed up after the work section of the evening. Preparing food and cleaning up afterwards means we're forced (in the nicest possible sense) to engage with each other in a way that's naturally comfortable and conversation-inducing. Even if it's someone's first time at the meeting and they're the shyest person on the planet, it's pretty difficult for them to disappear into a corner when they're drying the dishes you've just thrown detergent and water all over! Some say the best parties always end up in the kitchen, and all the things that go into sharing food together really do facilitate easy-going communication.
How do you do it?
Do you attend a local or regional editorial group? What are the benefits and the challenges? How does yours function in a way that helps even the newest or shyest of attendees find their voice? Where do you meet and what makes your venue work for you? And do you think there are things you could tweak to make it work even better? I'd love to hear your ideas – maybe the Norfolk SfEP can borrow some of them!
If you're based in the UK and want to find out more about the SfEP's local groups, information is available on the Society's website: Local Groups.
If you're based elsewhere in the world, contact your national editorial society and ask what's available in your region. There's an international list on this website at Editing & proofreading societies.
About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a professional proofreader and the curator of The Proofreader's Parlour. Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader, follow her on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or find her on LinkedIn.
Recently, a group of editorial friends and colleagues demonstrated how the power of group support can be harnessed to further the success of their editorial businesses. Let's call them the Lunchers.
Learning the skills to be a fine editor or proofreader is tough enough. Turning that skill set into a client base is even tougher. For those with no previous marketing experience, this element of small-business building can feel like an overwhelming challenge. Social media platforms such as LinkedIn are a great option in which to explore marketing ideas, and there are books, blogs and professional society forums that are worth their weight in gold. However, when it comes to inspiration, nothing quite beats the act of bouncing ideas around with a group of trusted friends.
Freelancing can be isolating and many editors and proofreaders don't feel comfortable using professional forums to chat. There are a number of reasons for this, some of the most common being:
For those people, the ideal scenario might be a daily lunch in a local café with trusted colleagues – a sandwich and a coffee to accompany the sharing of ideas. Alas, given the nature of editorial freelancing, it's likely that your best editorial friends don't live around the corner. The group of editorial pros featured here, the Lunchers, have therefore taken the challenge online. The sandwiches and drinks are virtual but the daily meetup is very real. The idea started when one editor mailed the following message to a small group of her trusted freelancing friends:
I read this article last night: How to Create a Marketing Plan You'll Actually Enjoy Implementing. It it has inspired me to set myself a challenge to get into good marketing habits [and] I want to get better. So, I aim to do at least one marketing activity every day for the next three weeks. My definition of marketing activity is fairly loose. I'm including activities such as updating my CV because, although it's not actively marketing, it is a prerequisite to sending out emails, etc. Anyone fancy joining me and providing mutual moral support?"
The response was enthusiastic, to say the least. As the emails flew back and forth what transpired was a decision to "meet for lunch" every day and share any activity that would fall into the initial, comfortably loose definition of business promotion.
As the weeks have gone on, each member of the Lunchers has fired off daily emails stating things such as:
There are several points that struck me about what my colleagues are doing:
It's not that I see the online lunch as an alternative to professional forums and social media platforms. Far from it. Indeed, I value the formal platforms I participate in. And many of the "rules" associated with larger, more formal forums are absolutely necessary owing to the size of the membership, the resulting number of contributions, and the lack of intimacy between members. Rather, the online lunch is an additional way for freelancers to communicate and inspire each other on a goal-by-goal basis (if desired) to improve their business practice in a safe and kind space.
The daily marketing challenge that our Lunchers set themselves could be applied to any aspect of small business development. If you want to set your own goals and get inspiration from your freelance friends, but feel uncomfortable with a more public forum, why not create your own virtual lunch group? What I've learned from the Lunchers is that success lies in keeping it between friends, keeping it small and keeping it kind.
Hat tip to my colleagues Averill Buchanan and Wendy Toole for alerting me to about.me.
This is a sharp little platform that enables you to create a 1-page website in minutes.
If you already have a website then this is just another tool with which to advertise yourself online. If, however, you've not got round to building a website and are a little nervous about taking the plunge, or you're pushed for time, then about.me may be just the ticket.
The screenshot below shows how I designed mine. I used my brand colours to make it recognizable.
It takes only minutes to input the basics using the toolboxes, so if you're a little nervous with technology there's no need for concern. It's simpler than setting up a Facebook or LinkedIn profile in my opinion ... easy to navigate and edit, and no intrusive adverts or messaging that I can see so far.
A colleague who recently entered the field of editorial freelancing asked me if I thought he should set up a blog. There's no straightforward answer to this – it really depends on what your business goals are. Here are some questions and follow-up thoughts that aim to offer guidance.
1. Do you want to blog? This is the first and most important question. If the answer is yes, then do it – simple as that! Setting up your own blog provides you with your own space in which to write your thoughts on your terms. This doesn't guarantee your blog will be visited but if you simply want to write online that's hardly relevant.
If really don't want to blog, then the answer is equally simple – don't. Many of us spend enough time working on things we wish we didn't have to, so why add to the pain? However, if you're still interested in the idea, consider the following:
2. What do you want to say? Before you get going, spend some time sketching out what you want your blog to say. I follow a number of blogs covering a range of subjects including scholarly publishing, grammar tips, life choices and well-being, publishing, book-selling, editing, current affairs, and humour. Despite their diversity, the one thing they all have in common is that the focus is clear-cut. Yes, there's cross-over between some, but each has its own distinct voice. I've attempted to carve out my own niche with The Proofreader's Parlour, rather than trying to emulate existing blogs. For example, I never post about grammar or punctuation issues here – there are other bloggers who already do this, and do it far better than I ever could.
Offering something distinctive enables you to develop a network of returning visitors as the following examples demonstrate: In addition to her EditorMom blog, Katherine O'Moore Klopf hosts a website including the excellent Copyeditors' Knowledge Base. Here on The Proofreader's Parlour the most important single driver is my free, downloadable set of proofreading stamps. Liz Broomfield's Resources for Word Users have proved hugely popular on her LibroEditing blog, and Mignon Fogharty's GrammarGirl: Quick and Dirty Tips site is a must-go for grammar chat.
3. What do you want to achieve? Do you want your blog to drive clients or colleagues to your website? If the former, you'll need to ensure the things you are writing about are interesting to your clients, NOT your colleagues. My blog, for example, is an information-sharing blog aimed at other editorial freelancers. My primary clients, however, are publishers. The Proofreader's Parlour tends to drive fellow proofreaders and editors, rather the people who hire my proofreading services, to my website. That's fine and expected, because that's how I set it up. I think it's important to have a web presence, but my marketing strategy for getting work with mainstream publishers is not primarily web-based, because that's not as appropriate to my particular client base at present.
If you want to drive clients to your website, your blog content needs to feed their interests, no more, no less. A good example is Anna Sharman's biomedical journal publishing blog. Anna posts content that is of interest to the same people who might buy in her editing services. By writing excellent posts about how to publish in, and navigate the world of, scholarly journals, she's generated a bank of followers who will be as interested in reading her articles as they will in hiring her to edit their own projects.
Whether your targeted readership is the client or the colleague, think about your network and what they might want to know. People who read blogs are used to finding the content they're interested in by using the web. If you are not "connected", how will you let your potential users know that you exist? If you're not using the likes of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Google+ you may find it harder to generate the initial interest and "virality" that online social media provide.
Still, if your content isn't interesting to your target group, it doesn't matter how well connected you are; you won't drive anyone anywhere!
4. Do you want to make money directly from your blog? If you want to seriously monetize your blog from advertising, traffic is everything. Niche blogging about proofreading is probably not going to do it for you unless you have THE blog in the field with a huge and established following. Advertisers want a return on their investment. The profiles of people who visit your website have to fit those your advertisers are targeting, and the advertiser wants to see lots of them! Be realistic about whether your content and the resulting readership are likely to fulfil advertisers' goals.
5. Do you want to increase your search rankings? Blogging, if done regularly, is an effective way of increasing your online profile in the areas you blog about, or so I'm told. But the key word here is "regularly". When those search engines send out their bots to crawl all over your site, they're looking for fresh content. If you don't post regularly, this strategy won't work. Remember, however, that it always comes back to the nature of your content and what you aim to achieve from it. If you blog regularly about copy-editing training, you'll improve your rankings for this type of search; you won't necessarily improve your chances of being found by potential clients because your content rankings aren't related to your their needs and their search terms.
In a nutshell … If you want to blog, then blog. Be sure about what you want to achieve, who your readers are, how you are going to connect with them, and that your content reflects their interests. Regular blogging takes up a lot of time and requires commitment. Establishing a loyal readership requires patience. However, I think it's another wonderful way for a home-based freelancer to connect with colleagues and clients from all over the globe.
And don't forget to share you colleagues' blogs, too, assuming you think the content is worth your endorsement. No one likes a greedy blogger!
If you're building your editorial business, you can't afford to sit back and hope the work will come to you – too many colleagues will be taking a more proactive approach.
So, this time round I thought it would be fun to pretend to be someone else – someone with a different educational background and career history.
I'm going to pretend that I'm new to the field but that I have completed some sort of recognized training in proofreading/editing and have joined my national editorial society. My technical skills are there but I've got to work out how to get myself noticed.
So who am I today? My name's Basil Rhoueny [it's the best anagram I could come up with – alternatives on a postcard].
So how am I going to create awareness of my new business? I know it's not going to happen overnight, but I have a plan!
At the moment, this is who I am:
My name is Basil Rhoueny and I'm a fully trained copy-editor and a member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders.
I write, I blog, I run, I (used to) manage staff, and I scamper around the garden with my kid (and the guinea pig when it escapes). I've retrained as a copy-editor, but which element of my experience will help me develop the best editorial business brand? All of them?
Perhaps later on down the line I can expand my portfolio but right now I need a focus, something that I can really get my teeth into so that I can target my services.
As I said, I have 20 years' experience of working for a large financial services organization. I understand the language of business: money, insurance, capital, funds, investments, portfolios, stocks, shares, corporate culture, management, organizational behaviour. Those terms trip off my tongue without a second thought. I can edit this stuff with my metaphorical eyes shut.
So that's how I'm going to sell myself. I want a tight message that I can sell to people and I don't want to confuse potential clients as to what my niche is. I'm not going to talk about running, or writing, or blogging. Not yet, anyway.
So, now, this is who I am:
My name is Basil Rhoueny and I'm a fully trained copy-editor specializing in business, finance and related disciplines. I have 20 years' experience in the finance industry and I am a member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders.
Now that I've sorted out how I'm going to brand myself, I need to think about who my potential clients are.
Now, this is who I am:
My name is Basil Rhoueny and I'm a fully trained copy-editor specializing in business, finance and related disciplines. I have 20 years' experience in the finance industry and I am a member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders. I offer copy-editing and proofreading services for publishers, professional societies, companies, independent business professionals, academic researchers and students.
Subject areas
I now need to think about widening my net to make my niche as comprehensive as possible.
A quick browse through the management sections on only two large publisher websites tells me a great deal about the sub-disciplines that are being written about.
The world of business and finance has a lot of options that I can focus on – key words which will demonstrate that my specialist knowledge is wide-ranging.
Now, this is who I am:
My name is Basil Rhoueny and I'm a fully trained copy-editor specializing in business, finance and related disciplines. I have 20 years' experience in the finance industry and I am a member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders. I offer copy-editing and proofreading services for publishers, professional societies, companies, independent business professionals, academic researchers and students.
Specialist subject areas:
Getting the information out there
Next, I need to decide where I'm going to put this information.
I need to think about networking, too. Fellow freelancers who have established businesses may be able to refer work to me once they get to know me.
I've decided to join the local chapter of my editorial society so that I can meet some of my colleagues face to face. I also aim to build up a network of freelance colleagues on Twitter and Facebook.
I might pick up some good business-building tips as well as make some online friends who've taken the journey that I'm now on. But I'm going to take it further than this …
Being interesting
... I'm going to take a look at what's being tweeted about in the business world, both from an academic and a trade angle.
The aim is to build up a Twitter network that stretches beyond the freelance world and into the world of my clients. If I want to get followers who are potential clients, I need to give as much as I take. I need to tweet about news, tools and resources that will make me interesting to these business people.
Since I'm branding myself as an editorial specialist in the fields of business and finance, I'm putting JogMeBlogMe to one side and attaching a new blog to my editing website. I might call it BazBiz (then again, maybe not!).
Regardless of the name I choose, it will feature links, news, articles, resources, tips and tools related to business – about business people, and for business people.
Some of the features/links will cover editing and proofreading, but from the point of view of a client (tips for report writing, good-grammar guides, working with a freelancer, etc.); others will focus on business tools and tips based on my previous career knowledge (financial planning, good management practice, staff motivation, time management tips, latest research, etc.); still others might explore useful tools and apps for on-the-go business professionals.
The point is to make the content interesting to the kinds of people who might also use my services. And it might drive up my Google rankings because the freshness of the content will generate juice for my site.
I have a lot of work to do, but I'm focused and I know what I need to do. The results of my labour may take months to bear fruit but I'm investing in the future success of my business so I believe the hard work is worth it.
Now I'm off for a run. Did I mention that I'm good at running?
You don't have to be Basil to try out the strategy above. You can take the same principles and apply them to your own background with a little bit of tweaking.
Maybe you're an ex lawyer, teacher, accountant, sales manager, soldier, nurse, or social worker. Perhaps you have a degree in politics, biomedical science, or psychology.
The point is to focus on your specialist area and then mine the field to see what the associated areas and sub-disciplines are. In this way you can develop a core profile, rich in description, which can be displayed across a range of media. That profile will provide a comprehensive list of key words that will help you get found when potential clients are searching for editorial freelancers with specific skills.
It's not the only strategy by any means – it's simply one for you to consider if you're starting out.
I'll not claim the ideas above are mine alone – they're more a culmination of time spent watching, listening and talking to my successful colleagues about how they network and market themselves to fellow editorial freelancers and potential clients by making the most of their specialist skills.
They are editorial professionals now, but they came from a variety of career backgrounds: science, law, academia, education, management, publishing, journalism, and much more besides. I'd name each and every one of them if I had the space, but there are far too many. I thank them, anyway, for their wisdom and their knowledge sharing.
Louise Harnby is a fiction copyeditor and proofreader. She curates The Proofreader's Parlour and is the author of several books on business planning and marketing for editors and proofreaders.
Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.
If you're an author, you might like to join Louise's Writing Library. Members receive monthly updates featuring self-publishing news and resources.
The Editorial Freelancers Association is the largest and oldest US professional association for editors, proofreaders, indexers and related specialists.
There's a wealth of information on their website, some of which will also be of interest to editorial pros from outside the States. One of my favourite resources is the transcripts from the EFA's Twitter Freelance Fridays. If you follow @EFAFreelancers you'll be able to join in with the discussions and see notifications of when the transcripts are published.
Other resources include the training/education catalogue, resource links, society and chapter meeting information, and the EFA searchable membership database.
If you are based outside the US and want to contact your national editorial association, take a look at this international list: Editing & Proofreading Societies.
Making your résumé available online was one of the issues discussed at the recent SfEP Norfolk Group meeting on editorial marketing matters.
Here are eight reasons to think about when deciding whether to incorporate this into your promotional strategy.
Additional points to consider
Some of our members raised additional points about online résumés that are worth considering:
My search for an easy way to upload my CV to my LinkedIn profile led me to Box. It's basically a file-sharing tool, though you can add details to the free personal account including your picture, name, company name, website, address, telephone numbers. You have up to 5GB of storage with the free account.
It's up to you to decide how best you want to use Box – as a backup, to enable collaboration, as a mobile work platform, or as a means to upload particular files, such as CVs, that you want to make digitally available, perhaps for marketing purposes.
At the recent Norfolk Group meeting of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders, which took place in Norwich on 2 July 2012, the members in attendance jointly agreed to publicize a summary of the discussion that took place on editorial freelancing and marketing.
The meeting was extremely productive – we all came away feeling we'd learned something new and wanted to share this with colleagues from within the Society and beyond. We hope the following notes prove as useful to you as they have done to us.
Each member of the group outlined how they got into editorial freelancing, their primary market, and what their preferred tools are for accessing that market. We then shared ideas based on our own experiences or those that we'd heard about second-hand. The following is a summary of the discussion.
Members of the group come from a variety of backgrounds (IT, teaching, publishing, for example) and offer a number of different services (marketing, copy-writing, development editing, copy-editing, proofreading, writing, business consultancy). Most of us in attendance work for mainstream publishers, but businesses, agencies, students and independent authors are also markets that we've all had various degrees of experience with.
So what are the tools that we're using to get noticed, and how are we getting the best out of them?
Are you thinking about your business in the right way?
Two group members highlighted the importance of the approach you take to your business. If you don't have the correct approach in your head, you're less likely to be able to take advantage of marketing tools in a way that will generate the best leads. Think about yourself as a business owner first and foremost. Only then should you focus on what services you have to offer.
Thinking about yourself as a business owner makes you acknowledge that proofreading, editing, copy-writing etc. in themselves will not be enough to generate work. As a business owner you need to think about how you will get that work – in other words, your marketing strategy. This is as core to your business as sending out invoices or managing the delivery of completed work. If you don't take proactive action to sell your business, you'll be self-unemployed not self-employed. Don't be shy about marketing your business – this is what companies do and editorial freelancers, as small business owners, shouldn't feel they have to wait for referrals in order to generate leads.
Websites and email
The consensus was that having a website is crucial for several reasons:
The same thing applies to email address – ideally you do not want to be using your personal email address for your business. <firstname.lastname@example.com> is far more professional than <email@example.com>. In this example, the email address is used by both partners at home for personal communication and by one partner for her business correspondence.
Summaries of experience: CV or promotional leaflet?
During our website/email discussion, and a quick mention of LinkedIn, the issue of placing CVs online came up. Everyone agreed that it made sense to place such a summary online so that potential clients could download something to keep on file. Several points are worth considering:
Is your bank of clients large enough?
We also discussed the importance of ensuring you don't put all your eggs in one basket. Some members have found themselves taking the bulk of their work from a very small number of clients.
We all agreed that while it's good to have repeat work from core suppliers, it's important of protect yourself from future changes in the market. An example that highlighted this was that of Williams and Wilkins and Lippincott. In the early 1990s these were two separate publishers, both of whom bought in editorial services. The companies have since merged, meaning two work streams are now one.
We also recalled the experience of an SfEP colleague who lost a core publisher client when all proofreading work was brought in-house as a result of the recession.
The group talked about sharing contact names and email addresses of relevant publishers in a bid to help each other broaden our client portfolios and future proof ourselves from economic shocks and corporate restructures.
Working with businesses
We talked about how the business market is far harder to penetrate than, say, the publisher market. Publishers understand us – our services were born in that industry. Businesses are different – they often don't realise what we do, or the differences between the various roles (copy-writing vs copy-editing vs proofreading). The main points were:
Developing good business relationships
Many of us felt it was important to build links with more than one person within an organization that provides a regular supply of work – it's useful to try to get work with several desk editors in a press or project management agency. That way, when one contact leaves for pastures new, your work stream isn't threatened.
Most of us stated that we'd never met any of our clients – all communication was done by email or on the phone. However, another member gave us something to think about – he tries to get face-to-face contact whenever possible. He wants to get under the skin of his clients, to make them like him and want to give him work. In that way, he becomes one of their freelancers of choice.
Use your local group
SfEP members – use your local group!
The friendships that one develops in these settings can forge business links that are stronger than in the society at large. The Norfolk group is a good example. By the end of this marketing session, not only had we all learned some valuable tips for how to better promote ourselves, but some of us had promised to share publisher contact details to help each other broaden our client portfolios.
And we're not alone – many people in local groups all over the country offer work opportunities and leads to fellow group members in the first instance.
The lesson is: if you're not a member of your local group, consider joining. If there isn't a local group that you feel you can travel to, think about setting one up. If you live in an isolated area, consider setting up a virtual group where you communicate with others in a similar situation by email, conference call or Skype.
Directories and other advertising
While we acknowledged that we do know of people who get a steady supply of work from key directories, none of our group members relied on this as a primary marketing tool. Some key points emerged:
Cold contact: letters, emails and phone calls
Those of us who work for publisher clients felt that cold contact was a very effective strategy for targeting this market, particularly because our services are known and understood by the publishing industry. Members agreed that identifying the name and title of the person responsible for hiring editorial freelancers beforehand was important. All of us had generated strong response rates by making cold contact with publishers. Those of us who had used the same strategy with non-publisher clients had found it ineffective.
Are you selling your full skill set?
Some of our members were keen to highlight the importance of making sure you are taking advantage of your full skill set. Are you really just an expert proofreader? If you have an IT or accountancy background, for example, there may be add-on skills that you can offer to prospective clients, particularly in the non-publisher sector.
If you were once a marketing manager in a previous working life, you could consider offering marketing consultancy services to local companies. If you're a blogger you may have writing skills that could be utilized in your freelance business, too.
The point is to be confident and broad-minded. Bring what you know to the table and don't be shy about selling it. Listen to what people say and if you see an opportunity and think you can add value, even if the skills fall outside your editorial remit, put yourself forward.
The more you can offer to a client, the more indispensable you become and the more likely they are to bring you in on future projects.
Using time zones to your advantage
One fascinating idea emerged from one of our members. He suggested targeting overseas clients (west coast United States, Australia and New Zealand for example) where the time difference enables you to offer a fast turnaround because the client is sleeping during your most or all of your working day.
You can therefore promise a completion time on an urgent job that local editorial freelancers won't be able to compete with!
A summary of promotional tools to consider
Related reading
The following articles offer a few ideas about enhancing your online presence. You never how someone with a work offer might find you.
The following articles feature three editorial freelancers talking about their key markets and how they access their clients.
Come and join us!
Why not join the Norfolk Group of the SfEP? We're a very friendly and vibrant group of editorial freelancers who get together in Norwich once every couple of months. We share a meal and chat about different aspects of our business. If you're already an SfEP member or associate but haven't had the chance to pop along yet, we'd love to meet you.
If you're not yet affiliated with the SfEP but want to get a flavour of the Society via our local group, you are also welcome to visit us and see what we do.
For information about the Society more broadly visit the SfEP website. To find out more about local SfEP groups, take a look at the Regional Development section.
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September 2019
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