Editor Insight: Sam Keir

I’ve been talking with newer and more established freelance editors about how they find clients and deal with ups and downs in freelancing.

This week’s editor is Sam Keir, who notes that he’s worked with words since 2013, “in various roles of editor, educator (secondary and tertiary), and author, but which one or three depends on the time or day of the week!”

Here’s our Q&A:

How do you typically find clients? Through social media, content marketing, etc.?

How I found editing clients in 2021, when I started out, compared to how things work now, is very different.

For the first couple of years, I was very active in posting and building connections across various gay and queer romance, crime, and historical Facebook groups and through posting there and answering questions. I met a number of gay romance authors that way, but as the algo annoyances grew stronger and various platforms changed their moderation and content policies, the environments became less friendly, so I shifted away from using social media in an outreach way. I still have a Facebook account as my primary social media platform, and my LinkedIn profile still exists, but I don’t create content for social media now.

For the past two years, I’ve focused on blogging, which connects me with a couple of authors every month. With a focus on SEO [search engine optimization] and now GEO [generative engine optimization], I spotlight a particular issue and write about ways to potentially solve it. I discuss my values and beliefs around the writing and editing process, and also ways to include accurate and fair representation of queer characters in fiction.

My content is therefore quite narrow in focus, but it allows me to meet the right people.

What is your top marketing tip for newer editors?

Don’t see niching as a limitation but as a way to define yourself as an editor in a busy marketplace. Newer editors might be reluctant to narrow their specialisms so as not to turn anyone away, but I see things differently and aim to be the perfect fit for a few authors, rather than a maybe for everyone.

My branding, marketing efforts, and services are all quite niche (gay rainbows!), but they are perfect for those who want them. I make it easy for clients who know they want to work with a gay man who edits fictional men in same-sex relationships, criminal activities, or historical settings (or real life: memoir!).

Ultimately, I’m aiming to become the very, very best at editing and coaching those genres, subgenres, and types of author/services, and it’s paying off thus far.

I have a number of editors in the back of my mind, and because they have strong branding and skills around their interest in worldbuilding, queer romance, military settings, historials, or fairytale retellings (for example), then they become my go-to person when I have referrals. They might have multiple interests, but it really helps if peers know what they can send your way or ask you for help with.

What is your top tip for handling the ups and downs of freelancing?

Find groups that resonate (Club Ed, LGBTQ+ Editors, the EFA, Gay Coaches Alliance for me), and become as active and involved as you are able. Zoom meetings, Discord, or simply via email, there are always ways to make connections. 

Go in to seek colleagues, to share information and learn, and if referrals come along, great, but it all takes time, so give before you take.

Working through those slower periods with some pals to chat and have a joke with makes things much easier!

Anything else you’d like to share?

We are living in testing times, but I have continued hope because the awesome authors are writing and there’s so much joy to be found in all the fiction that is bubbling up as we speak.

Happy editing, writing, and living! 

~~~

Jennifer Lawler has been a freelance editor for more than twenty-five years and has been teaching editing skills for more than fifteen years. She is the founder of Club Ed LLC.