Redefining Success as a Freelance Editor

When I was living in Málaga, after more than a year of working hard to learn Spanish, I still didn’t understand a lot of what I overheard around me. This used to discourage me. I felt like I should be a lot further along, given the effort.

Then one day I asked myself, “Is my goal to learn how to eavesdrop on people who are speaking Spanish?”

Obviously not.

My goal was to be able to have conversations with people about ordinary things. Could I do that? Yes, if the person I was speaking with had a little patience.

Could I read the messages that came in from my bank and Seguridad Social? Yes.

Could I write a basic email that asked a question or answered one? Yes.

I realized that was pretty darned good!

But if I had continued to discourage myself with unrealistic expectations, I might have given up. Even if I didn’t give up, the mindset of “I still don’t understand, why is this so hard?” is a very frustrating one, which makes it harder to learn.

If you’re harboring similar doubts and frustrations about your own progress as an editor, ask yourself, “Is the goal to learn how to edit every possible manuscript with every possible problem before I announce that I’m editing for pay?”

No. Of course not.

Can you give useful feedback on a manuscript in a genre you like to read? Okay! That’s a start. Focus on one type of editing in one type of genre. And go from there.

Paso a paso, as they say in Spanish.