How I Became a Freelance Editor

Not too long ago, I covered why I edit. Now I'm going to give y'all a look at how I got here. (Hint: it's not as hard as you think.)

First, I'm going to define "freelance editor." I think that's become a term for any editor who isn't employed by a publishing house. A nice way to put that is "freelance" means "entrepreneurial."

Thus, the whole point is that there really is no set recipe on how to get there kind of like chili. So I'm going to give you my recipe, but don't feel like all of these are requirements. Personalization is part of it.

While I know some people go to college, take courses (like this one), or even apprentice, I find that the most important thing to have as a freelance editor is experience.

I've gotten experience in three different ways:

• beta reading // This is how I started out. I beta read friends' books for free and basically practiced my edits on them. I had actually already begun doing this just "for fun" before considering editing as a career. Enjoying alpha and beta reads is part of what helped me decide I would like editing.
• read writing craft books // This might not be for everyone since I'm a reader. But so far, DIY MFA by Gabriela Pereira and The Irresistible Novel by Jeff Gerke are my absolute favorite writing craft books. They're so much more than that and taught me a lot of things from masters much quicker than I would have learned them myself.
• received edits from others // Whether this was beta reads (not for everyone!) or paying for a freelance editor, I learned the most the fastest by having other people give me feedback.

I did all of those things before ever charging a dime. When I felt ready to make the transition to a freelance editor, I did several things:

• collected "editing" reviews from the more prestigious people I'd beta read for (all you have to do is ask!)
• stopped alpha/beta reading for everyone but my closest writing friends
• chose affordable pricing so I could reach the same group I'd already been helping
• let people know I was editing through a blog page (now on my website) and post

And really, it's been fantastic! I've had an average of at least one manuscript a month since I began editing almost two years ago. Since then, I've only raised my prices once to match my growing skillset. Through word of mouth, I've ended up with some college-level papers to edit as well.

I don't try to sound more accomplished than I am, and I always intend to have under-market pricing. My target clients are young/new writers who need an encouraging edit and more experienced writers who need a once-over final proofing. I think those are key things to make me stand out from the crowd. (We all know every writer and their second cousin edits on the side.)

I've really enjoyed freelance editing, and hope to continue to build it as a steadier source of income. (If anyone has any tips on how to get any faster, that would be spot on! xD)

The hardest part for me was knowing how to transition to charging. Would people be all right with that? Would any of my friends want to pay for my feedback? The truth is we all have to start somewhere, so putting that self-doubt aside and stepping out there was hard. But it's what allowed me to gain experience and confidence.

I'd say the best part of it all for me has been knowing that I'm helping other people. People whose shoes I've been in. Publishing is scary and professional edits are a must (in my opinion). So I love being able to get writers one step closer to fulfilling their dreams.

Thanks to my reading accountability partner Lisa for giving me the idea for this post! I hope you found it helpful. Have you ever considered offering editing services?