Getting Started in Freelance Editing

This is a bit of a bio / instruction list. So it runs a bit long.

I’m a freelance copyeditor, typesetter, and writer. I started editing when I was in high school, and was the editor of my college’s literary magazine for three years. When I was in college, I started a typing service (that was in the dark ages, before everyone had his own computer), and cleared about $500 a term from my sophomore year through my senior year.

The typing service morphed into something a bit more advanced as people began to seek me out for help in tailoring their papers so that they would get better marks. By the middle of my first junior term, I was offering full-fledged editing help, giving “consultation sessions” in which I would explain the changes that I would make to a person’s paper, and why I recommended those changes.

I got into freelance editing for publishers when I was a stay-home mother. Someone mentioned a publisher who was looking for freelancers and told me to write in for their tests. I must have done well, because they hired me, and I worked for them for three years before my schedule made it impossible for me to meet the tight, rushed timetables that they worked on. You should be aware that publishers will often send you a 200 to 500 page manuscript for proofing with a three-to five- day turnaround expected. So you need to be able to read quickly and catch mistakes with ease.

I now proof for individual writers, which is a lot more forgiving if you are prone to having emergencies come up and wreck your schedule. I have a rate card which breaks down the charges for each of my services; typesetting is cheapest at $25 an hour; deep editing and tasks that require writing on my part (like putting together press releases) are much more expensive: $50 an hour (creativity should never come cheap!). Realize, though, that rates will vary depending on where you are located and editing for pay in college, I charged $5 an hour for typing, and $10 for editing/ counseling. I’ve got nearly 20 years’ experience under my belt (it helps to start young), so I can charge a lot more.

You should hone your grammar, spelling, and diction (word choice and usage) skills to the sharpest possible point. I’ve also found it helpful to be familiar, not just with the wordprocessing software like MS Word and WordPerfect, but also with desktop publishing programs like PageMaker and QuarkXPress. I own a (used) copy of QuarkXPress for my typesetting and writing work. I also use Quark to design my own logoed letterhead and invoices.

You will have to decide for yourself what types of work you will accept, and what formats you are willing to use for your editing. I do not accept erotica or pornography, or books with explicit love scenes. I also don’t do Stephen-King style horror, because I have too vivid an imagination. I used to edit online using MSWord’s “track changes” feature. I seldom do that now, as I have had some bad experiences with it. I edit on paper only, using red or blue pencil and standard “editor’s marks.” You’ll need to familiarize yourself with those marks so that you can use them comfortably and easily.

As for other references, if you can’t afford an OED (Oxford English Dictionary), get the best unabridged Webster’s you can. Get yourself a copy of the AP Stylebook and the Chicago Manual of Style. If you are doing term papers for college kids, get the MLA Style Manual and a copy of Turabian’s guide for writers of theses and dissertations. (Make sure you get the most recent editions.) Your big clients will have their own standard reference works, so you need to be prepared to purchase copies of those if you land a corporate client. Larger clients, or those working with publishers, often have a Style Manual or In-House Style Guide that you will be given a copy of; and they will expect you to follow their manuals.

It’s important to be able to shift styles without too much trouble. You can’t indulge your own idiosyncrasies in this work. For example, I am dedicated to the preservation of the serial comma. Some places reject it outright, and when I edit for them, I have to grit my teeth and mark as they want the text to appear. I knew another editor who was dedicated to the obliteration of the word “like” in any definition other than “attracted to.” It caused her trouble with many a client because she would cross out a perfectly good “like” and replace it with stilted verbiage. You simply can’t indulge prejudices that way when you work for the big guys. With the individual clients, you can explain the differences between two schools of thought, but you must let the individual decide whether to follow your inclinations or his own.

Set up a good filing system with a folder or section for each client, and keep copies of everything. Before you return a marked manuscript, copy it! You’d be amazed how many thing get lost in the mail. I don’t “close a file” until a job has been completed for six months. Then all marked manuscripts go in the shredder. Correspondence, invoices and copies of payments I keep for five years. Keep copies of invoices and payment checks. This helps at tax time. Also keep track of expenses; they can be deducted from earnings and taken off your taxes. It also helps to evaluate your business. If income from the business doesn’t exceed expenses for advertising, office supplies, reference materials, and postage, then your business is not profitable.

Tags: editing, freelancing, op-ed