If you're a freelance editor, you’re probably working too hard. This is because editorial business owners often wear many hats: marketer, bookkeeper, sales professional, project manager, webmaster, customer service representative…the list goes on. Even when you’re not working on client projects, you...

Every business owner runs into a problem client from time to time. Even as you get better at defining your ideal client, watching for red flags, and setting clear boundaries and expectations, someone is bound to sneak through the gates and wreak havoc every now and then.

The good news is that you r...

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how to define your ideal client and spot red flags. This week, I’d like to talk about the freelancer’s role in establishing clear boundaries and expectations for clients.

Setting clear boundaries and expectations is the only way to develop successful and mutually bene...

Potential problem clients are everywhere—just think back to the last person you saw being rude to a flight attendant, for example. Some people are inherently demanding, aggressive, unfair, and inconsiderate, and as freelance editors, we can usually spot those individuals immediately and steer clear....

In the previous installment of this freelancer finance series, which argued against the feast-or-famine mentality, I mentioned that I work a maximum of 25 billable hours a week. A colleague asked how I divvy up my non-billable hours, which was an excellent question that also hinted at a common sourc...

I’ll come right out and say it: I’m not a fan of the term “feast or famine” when it comes to freelancer finance.

All the other terms we use to describe the ever-changing nature of the freelance money cycle—peaks and valleys, rise and fall, ups and downs, ebb and flow, highs and lows—use the word “a...

Even though my freelance editorial business was technically profitable within a year, it took me three more years to start paying myself a regular salary. Sure, I would take draws to pay personal expenses, but they were minimal and erratic. I was reinvesting and saving as much as I possibly could—a ...

When I was working for a company, I knew my salary off the top of my head. But when I started my own freelance editorial business, things got a lot more confusing.

Even though I did my own taxes for years and thought I had a solid understanding of my LLC’s finances, I still preferred to think of my...

In my last post, I gave some tips on what to do when someone asks, “What’s your rate?” This time, I’d like to address that dreaded question’s (sometimes evil) twin: “What should I charge?”

If you’re a member of almost any Facebook or LinkedIn group for editorial freelancers, you see this question c...

Imagine a scenario, if you will. You’re at a networking event for entrepreneurs and freelancers, and you start talking with someone in a different industry. They ask you what you do, and here’s how the exchange often goes from there:

“I’m an editor.”

“How cool! What kinds of things do you edit?”

Back in 2016, my worst nightmare as an editorial business owner came true. After weeks of copyediting a novel, I was doing final checks and preparing to send it off to the client when I was suddenly overcome with a feeling of impending doom.

I hurriedly did a Compare Documents in Microsoft Word, co...

Working with an editor can be a daunting task for many writers, especially if it’s their first time having their work edited by a professional.

You can make the process less intimidating and earn the writer’s trust by letting them know that you’re a coach, not a judge, and that you’ll be working al...

I read a ton of business books (roughly 22 a year, according to my StoryGraph metrics). Many of them overlap; most are ho-hum. But every now and then, I come across a book that challenges me to redefine my approach to my freelance editorial business.

John Jantsch’s The Referral Engine: Teaching You...