How to Stand Out From the Crowd
A challenge for newer editors is feeling like you’re competing against hundreds of people for the same few clients—you have to figure out how to stand out from the crowd. But believe me when I say you’re not.
A Little Ditty About How to Stand Out From the Crowd
Here’s a story. My daughter is learning Spanish, and she’s been using an app-based method for a while. A few weeks ago, we decided it was time for her to start learning with a tutor. A friend recommended finding one on a certain platform, so we visited the site and started looking.
And of course you know what we found. There are hundreds (probably thousands, but I stopped scrolling after a while) of people who teach Spanish. (This overwhelm is just as immobilizing for clients as it is for freelancers.) Naturally we started looking for filters and we applied some: someone who speaks European Spanish, for example, and who was available certain hours of the day, but this didn’t narrow the search down much.
I knew that my daughter needed someone who would be patient with a client who has an intellectual disability. But asking eight hundred strangers, “Hey, can you teach someone who is intellectually impaired?” gets very tiring (not to mention dispiriting) after a while.
Then, I found a filter for “works with neurodivergent clients.” I knew that would help. Someone who was used to working with neurodivergent clients was more likely to be able to work well with Jessica than someone who did not have that asset in their bio. I clicked on the filter.
The result was six people. Just six. It was much easier to ask a handful of people if they thought they could work well with Jessica. Then we picked one whose bio Jessica connected with and set up her first session. We don’t know how it will work out, but we made a choice and paid some money.
My point is this is how you stand out in a crowded field. For our search, “I speak Spanish fluently” is basic. I’m not amazed that any of these tutors speak Spanish fluently. I expect them to. They’re supposed to.
Similarly, “I’m a good editor” (or even “I’m a great editor”) is also basic. Of course, a client will expect you to be good at your job. This does not make you stand out at all. No one is hiring “I’m generally competent except on Tuesdays” except your internet service provider.
What makes you stand out is whatever makes you you. It makes someone connect with you and want you to work on their project.
Maybe this is subject-matter expertise, maybe it’s a certain approach to editing, maybe it’s the fact that you, too, have ADHD and understand how to work with an author who does. Maybe it’s just that you only drink Peet’s coffee and will never, under any circumstances, drink a cup from Starbucks.
The more you can share who you are, the more likely clients looking for that exact thing will find you. This is how you stand out from a crowd.
Tips for Editors & Writers
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Work with Good Clients
The other day I finished an edit for a new-to-me publisher client and submitted my first invoice to the company as agreed. I was set up in their accounting system and paid by direct deposit the same day. That’s the sign of a client who cares about their freelancers. And it’s a good reminder that…
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The Connection Between Plot and Character
In discussing how to edit fiction, we’re trying to make explicit what narrative competence is—that is, what makes a story a good story. At the most basic level is the plot. And plot, at its most basic, is simply the story of change. There is an initial situation, some sort of challenge or reversal to…
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Editing for Character Development
When you’re editing for character development, one concern you should keep in mind is that even small changes have ripple effects throughout the entire manuscript. So any changes you suggest need to be important, or else you’re asking the author to do a lot of work for little reward. For example, sometimes I’ll see editors…
