Building Your Editing Business
Building your editing business requires finding clients. As a newer editor, this can be challenging, so where do you start? I suggest you begin by asking yourself a few questions.
Building Your Editing Business: Decide Who You Are as an Editor
- What is your purpose? Mine is to help women find a way to tell their stories.
- What kinds of clients does your purpose suggest you should target? I target women who are transitioning from nonfiction to fiction or creative nonfiction.
- What do you want from your business? I want to work on interesting manuscripts written by professionals who can pay professional fees.
- What kinds of clients does your “what I want from my business” answer suggest you should target? For me, people who are already professionals and who see the value of editorial help.
- What is your area of specialization, and why? I specialize in teaching women nonfiction writers to write romance because this is where my skills and experience lie, and it is what people ask me to do.
Inventory What You Already Know
- What is your overall business goal?
- What are some overall marketing strategies you could use to get clients?
- What are some skills and experiences you have that might help potential clients solve a problem?
- What are five or ten things you can do in the next two months to gain additional editing experience?
- Who are some people you could get to know who could help you build your business?
- What types of services are you offering/planning to offer potential clients?
Put It Together
- Who are your target clients, and where are they likely to be found?
- What is one thing you can do this week to network with colleagues and/or potential clients?
- Identify an indirect way of finding clients (such as teaching a class) that appeals to you. What are some steps you need to take to get the ball rolling?
Tips for Editors & Writers
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Editing as a Second Act Career
Freelance editing can be an excellent career choice for people who love books and are interested in changing jobs, are seeking more flexibility in their work, or are looking for retirement income. Who chooses editing as a second act career? Most of the students who come to Club Ed to explore editing as a career…
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Choosing the Best Marketing Approach
Many of the freelance editors I know love running their own businesses … except for the marketing part. They love editing, they love their clients, they love the freedom and flexibility of freelancing. But then … they have to get clients. They have to market. And many (probably most) of them hate it. So they…
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How to Identify Developmental Problems
Noticing a developmental problem is only the first step in the editing process. The next step is to explain why it’s a problem for this manuscript. This second step is one that most editors skip at first (and many editors skip forever) but it’s crucial for doing an effective developmental edit. Often, we use generic…
