Build Your Editing Business on a Budget
Plus, half off on the Club Ed starter pack!
Starting and running a freelance business costs money, but you can do it on a budget.
This is an unfortunate irony at a time when many people have lost their jobs and would like to freelance to earn income but don’t have much spare change to invest in it.
So, this article is about (as the title states) how to build your editing business on a budget. But I’m not going to name specific tools to try, as that’s information you can pick up without too much trouble in a thousand other places. I want to talk about how to think about expenses.
The most important consideration is that you need the right tools to do your job. This is where aspiring freelancers sometimes try to cut back, but that makes them unable to deliver professional results on time. You can’t succeed that way!
Identify the Tools You Need
You need a reliable computer, reliable internet access, a professional-sounding email address (Yourname123@gmail.com suffices, but not assbackwards@yahoo.com), and appropriate skills.
You may be able to use Google Documents for some clients, but for most (particularly when developmental editing at book length), you’ll need to use Microsoft Word. Whether you use the cloud-based version of the software or not, this will cost money.
If you’re hoping to be a copy editor but don’t know what CMOS is, you need training. While you don’t necessarily have to take a class or attend a certificate program, you’re probably going to need to buy some books.
So you do need to invest in yourself and your business. In fact, I recommend that you set aside a certain percentage of all income you earn to reinvest, whether this means upgrading your computer or taking classes to upgrade your skills (or, ideally, both).
But you should invest in the right things. In classes I teach about getting started in freelancing, people tell me about spending money printing business cards and similar collateral. It has been at least five years since I’ve given someone a business card, and I can’t remember the last time giving one out resulted in any business. I think it may be “never.”
If you meet someone in person and want to keep in touch with them, get their contact information and put it in your phone. If you are going to a conference, then it may be useful to invest in business cards or other collateral, but if you’re not going to choke at the cost of attending a conference, then the business cards shouldn’t be a deal-breaker.
Separate wants from needs
You need to back up your files and it’s easier to do using a paid service like Carbonite, but you can use the free version of Dropbox if you prune away the old files on a regular basis.
If you can’t afford to build and host a website, then you can start with a great (free) LinkedIn page to refer people to.
Same with marketing your services. Someone just bemoaned to me that the free version of Mailchimp (a way to easily send email marketing newsletters) wasn’t robust enough for the marketing she wanted to do. Well, if you want to do more complicated things with your email list, then you do have to pay for that. However, a small marketing list hosted for free on Mailchimp can generate excellent results for editorial freelancers. (Note that I just moved the Club Ed newsletter to Substack because Mailchimp was starting to be too expensive for what I was getting out of it—and that’s another tip: if what you’re paying for isn’t worth the fee, you can, and should, change services.)
Buy it “just in time”
Planning ahead of time is smart. If you’re going to offer live video coaching sessions, you should probably think about how many meetings you’re likely to need in a given month, the expected length of each call, how many people are likely to be on each call (one individual or a group?), and other factors that matter in choosing a video conferencing service. Then you can do some research about which options will best suit your needs.
But until you actually get a video coaching client, you don’t need to buy the service.
I use an Excel spreadsheet to track my accounting. When I need something more complex, I’ll buy it. However, in twenty-five years, I have not needed anything more complex.
If you do need accounting software—perhaps you have a lot of invoices and want to automate this or find it hard to keep track of who has paid what—then, by all means, invest in it. But just because you think you might or because someone else uses it doesn’t mean you have to. Buy it when you need it, not before.
Invest Time and Effort, Not Money (or DIY Freelancing)
To learn about free and inexpensive resources, to develop your skills, and to be in a position to give and get referrals, it helps to be hooked up with other freelancers. You can do this by following and interacting with other editors on social media, participating in online groups like the Editors’ Association of Earth (on Facebook), and so on.
Cultivating clients may require sending letters of introduction to publishers you want to work with or answering questions in an online writers’ group to establish your expertise and perhaps connect with potential clients.
These things require time and effort. There aren’t a lot of shortcuts. People try to find shortcuts, such as by listing a profile on Upwork and similar places, but for the most part, those types of platforms undervalue professional services and pay a pittance. Such jobs don’t build your skills or help you build your business. Instead of winding up on a treadmill of low-paying work, invest the time in cultivating better-paying clients.
Doing it yourself can require a big commitment, I know. The first time I tried to figure out how an e-commerce plugin works (to sell classes on my website), it took me days to wade through all of the documentation and make it go. But the next time I needed to configure a plugin for e-commerce, it was much easier and took me an hour or two. Not only did I save money—for both website updates—but I also learned a lot about what I needed an e-commerce plugin to be able to do, and I understood a lot more clearly what e-commerce plugins can actually accomplish.
Until you’re fully booked consistently, don’t farm out chores. Managing other people is time-consuming. Hiring other people is expensive. It’s okay not to take over the world with your business. Manageable is beautiful.
Advanced Copyediting and Advanced Line Editing
Now Available On Demand!
If you’ve taken the beginning and intermediate classes in either the copyediting or the line editing series, you may be interested in taking the advanced class.
These classes will not be offered in the regular group class lineup and must be taken as individual, on-demand classes. I have limited availability for the rest of the year, so if you’re hoping to take one of these classes before we say goodbye to 2024, I recommend enrolling now.
These classes count towards your certificate, either in place of Advanced Developmental Editing or in addition to it.
For more information, find Advanced Copyediting here and Advanced Line Editing here.
Ends Wednesday!
Special on the Club Ed Starter Pack
Save half! 50 percent! Lots of lucre!
This collection of classes is normally $350, but right now you can enroll for just $175.
Thinking about exploring developmental editing as a career? The Club Ed starter pack, also called DE 1 - 6 (I need to come up with a sexier name), is your answer.
This is a package of six self-paced classes that will help you understand what developmental editing of fiction is and gives you the basic skills to get started. It’s all the stuff I wish I’d known in the beginning before I made all those mistakes.
We’re entering the last weeks of summer here in the western hemisphere, and that’s often when people have a little more time to invest in themselves. Or, you can buy now and start in the fall when you have more time (if you’re like me and spending most of your free time at the beach right now).
To get the half off (50% off! Lots of lucre!), just add this package to your cart and use the coupon code SUMMER when you go to check out.
Coupon good through August 4, 2024. Let me know if you have any questions: ResortDirector@ClubEdFreelancers.com
For Members
If you have any questions about the membership program, please reach out to me at ResortDirector@ClubEdFreelancers.com
The Marketing Challenge Is On!
Through July 31, 2024.
Every quarter, Club Ed runs a marketing challenge for members. During the challenge (which is usually about four weeks long), we do a marketing task each weekday (something like interacting on social media, updating a business profile, writing a blog post). Then we report on the forums what we did. We also discuss stumbling blocks and ask each other questions.
This is a great way to get into a daily marketing habit. Small, persistent efforts are a more effective way to spread the word about your work than dramatic, exhausting pushes that last three days.
At the end of the challenge, the Resort Director randomly chooses a participant to receive a $25 Club Ed gift card.
You'll see the marketing challenge forum (where we report our daily efforts) in your Dashboard. If you have any questions, please drop me a line at ResortDirector@ClubEdFreelancers.com
Other Member News
Club Ed Conversations: on August 13, 2024, from 11 a.m. to noon Pacific time, James Gallagher and Penina Lopez will be discussing copyediting. Visit the Membership classroom page to find out how to register for this free Q&A.
Enjoy a replay of this month’s talk with Brittany Dowdle and Linda Ruggeri about networking, now available in the Membership classroom.
Becoming a Member
You can find out more about becoming a member here.
Upcoming Classes
Fall classes:
NEW! Fall Study: Editing Narrative Nonfiction, starts Sep 3, 2024
Beginning Developmental Editing for Fiction, starts Sep 4, 2024.
Editorial Toolkit: Coaching Writers, starts Sep 9, 2024
About the Resort Director
I help editors figure out what the hell they're doing.
If you're an aspiring, new, or established book editor or story coach, I can probably help you learn how to do the work better and more profitably.
Through Club Ed, I offer developmental editing classes, a freelance editor membership program/support group, and a slightly bony shoulder to cry on.
I've worked as an editor for more than twenty years. I learned how to edit in the trenches of traditional publishing with its insane deadlines, pitiless competition, and crushing bureaucracy. To that I added a Ph.D in English literature with a specialization in medieval literature because of a long story.
Editorial clients have included Simon & Schuster, Girl Friday Productions, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, Barnes and Noble Custom Publishing, and others, along with many independent authors.
For fiction self-paced classes, click here.
For fiction instructor-led classes, click here