The Concierge (Blog)

I’ll get to the sad truth right away: to be considered for freelance editing work for traditional publishing companies and related organizations (hybrid publishers, book packagers), you need to have experience. And so the age-old conundrum rears its head: how do you get experience if you need experience to get experience? Three things can help…

I’ve freelanced in various capacities for a lot of publishing companies over the years, and overall, it has been a rewarding and happy experience. However. There are some yellow (and red!) flags to watch out for if you want to work as a freelance editor for publishing companies. The following are the most common. Edit…

Over the course of my career, I’ve work as a freelance developmental editor for a number of publishing companies. This has been a good way for me to get regular work without having to stress too much over marketing. But there are some differences among the types of publishing companies that hire freelance editors. A…

When I was a romance acquisitions editor, I learned that one of the biggest problems writers struggle with is creating a believable conflict, or series of conflicts, that will sustain the novel its entire length. Conflict is the core of any work of fiction – it’s what makes your readers keep turning pages. The Purpose…

A couple of years ago at the ophthalmologist’s office, I got the “Do you need a doctor’s excuse for work?” question again. I’m always shocked at this question. There are jobs where a GROWN ADULT has to provide a permission slip from Mommy? I mean the doctor? Are you kidding me? No, I don’t need…

Anyone can say, “Hire me, I’m great!” But not everyone has the kind of testimonials and references that can help prove it. As a freelance editor, you may think, “Hey, I’m not asking for a staff job, why do I need references?” The answer is that you need to provide context for people to make…

AI is going to kill routine jobs. But it won’t kill jobs that require expertise and human judgment. That’s why it’s important for editors to move beyond basic skills like proofreading. It’s not enough to say, “But homophones!” Most people will accept a small error rate if it means they can save three thousand dollars….

Many students at Club Ed have an English or journalism background, and it makes logical sense that editing is a potential career path for them. But I do have students with a variety of other backgrounds: some are (or were) lawyers, or psychology majors, or history majors. And they sometimes wonder if this is a…

As a developmental editor, you’ll occasionally (maybe even frequently) encounter clients who need more than what you can offer in a developmental edit. Sometimes they don’t have the skill to do the necessary revision or they simply don’t have the time to do the writing. Seize the Opportunities In these cases, rather than sending the…