It’s the end of the [year] as we know it.
This is my longest blog post yet. If you want to hit the highlights, just look for the bold headings.
At the beginning of the year, I took a developmental editing class. I learned so much from that class, not the least of which is that I’m not ready to be a developmental editor for big books. I can handle children’s books quite nicely, but romance novels just aren’t my bailiwick.
I also learned how precious it is to have a group of people rallying around you and supporting you by sharing encouraging insights and their own journeys.
Six of the other students and I formed a Mastermind group and set SMART goals. (I learned about such things from that group too.) We’ve met on alternating Wednesdays throughout the year, and at our final meeting of 2021, we discussed what we’re most proud of about the year.
I shared my top three with the group, but I’ll share my entire list with you.
1. I had the courage to quit my day job.
When I began pursuing my interest in copyediting, I had a long-range plan to start my own business and copyedit on the side. Actually, I don’t know that I wanted to run a business, maybe just pick up a few projects every so often. But in 2020, changes at the day job and an increasing awareness of how much difficultly I was having with executive dysfunction made it absolutely clear that I needed to change industries—or at least companies. I began taking copyediting classes and explored what was required to form a business.
And then events conspired to speed up the timeline, and my last day at the day job was on Feb. 5, 2021. Jonathan gave me full support to quit. Life without the stress of the day job has been so much better. I am so glad I was able to be free.
2. I launched a business and a website. Tada! You’re on it.
3. I have worked on 27 projects, most of them paid.
It is extremely difficult to break into copyediting in the romance genre. If I had known that, I might have stayed at my day job longer and reached full burnout. As it was, I struck out on my own, full of hope and excitement. And then discouragement set in, as I wasn’t finding work like I anticipated. Sure, I read loads of novels that needed to be copyedited, but I couldn’t figure out ways to respectfully connect with those authors and offer my services. Instead, in a fit of desperation, I searched for romance editors to see how they were running their businesses and connecting with clients. I stumbled across one editor whose website appealed to me and sent a quick email. “Do you need a copyeditor to add services for your clients?”
Jessica Snyder of Jessica Snyder Edits has been a godsend this year. Most of my work has come through her. Jessica is warm and encouraging and thoughtful and helpful and patient and supportive. She knows how to relay bad news with sensitivity, which I greatly appreciate. Working with Jessica has been good for my income, but it’s also made me a better copyeditor.
4. I took three classes.
As I mentioned in the intro, I took a developmental editing for fiction class this year. I am also taking a copyediting practicum. Both of these are through Editorial Arts Academy. I highly recommend this organization. Classes are small, feedback is useful, and the ongoing relationships formed with students and instructors are precious.
The EAA dev editing class showed me how much I didn’t know about “craft,” so my goal this year has been to rectify that. I also wanted to pick up some children’s editing projects between romance novels, so I took a children’s literature editing class through the Editorial Freelancers Association. The biggest takeaway from that class? Make sure the conflict is introduced right away and have the child protagonist solve the problem. Adults may provide assistance, but they shouldn’t be the heroes.
5. I attended six conferences in two countries without leaving home, navigating the challenges of traveling and staying in an unequipped hotel room as a disabled person, or incurring expenses beyond the entrance fee. Virtual conferences expand access, and I get angry at people who insist on returning to in-person events. But I digress.
6. I finished writing the novella I started in 2009. It’s not fabulous, and it needs loads of work. The process convinced me that I’m better off helping other folks with their novels than trying to write my own.
7. I created a presentation about editing with two other editors. Penni Askew, Laura Helseth, and I built a presentation about the editing process and how to work with editors. Any of us will happily present to your organization via Zoom for a reasonable fee. (We might be willing to do it in person for an exorbitant fee. Ha-ha!)
8. I’ve built relationships with countless editors and potential clients. I’m a member of a bunch of professional organizations, and I’m involved in editors’ groups on Facebook, Discord, and Slack. I’ve also connected with writers at conferences, in Facebook groups, on my Instagram page, and on Twitter. I converted my journalist Facebook page to a business page and finished the rebranding of the grammar group I inherited. A highlight of the year was getting to know writers at WIPS in March and seeing them at conferences later in the year.
9. I’ve referred folks to others.
I adore matchmaking! It’s what I miss the most about my previous job. As I worked, I got to know the people and services available in my coverage territory and introduced readers to those folks. I also connected those folks with each other.
Now as a social butterfly (Seriously! How is this my life? Who has this introverted bookworm become?) in editorial and authorial spaces, I’ve found myself continuing my matchmaking services. I’m able to refer potential clients to colleagues, with happy results. I’ve also introduced clients to conscious language, the activity of writing respectfully.
10. I solidified my focus/services.
When I became interested in copyediting fiction books back in 2018, I wanted to work in the inspirational or closed-door romance subgenres because those were the books I read. However, I became disenchanted with those subgenres because of their marked disinterest in accurate and respectful representation of disability, fatness, mental illness, and gender and sexuality. In frustration, I began reading secular novels and turned my professional attention to that segment of the genre.
I signed up for the EAA developmental editing course because I planned to offer that service for romance novels. By the end of the course, I had learned all about the process…and that it wasn’t for me until I learned more about craft and beats and Goal/Motivation/Conflict and, and, and... I’d much rather copyedit novels than do a developmental edit on them—it’s the executive dysfunction at work. Developmental edits on children’s books, though? Let me at ’em! They’re small bites of fun!
My reading habits have morphed over the years until I primarily read MM romance. I’d like to copyedit MM and other LGBTQ+ books, but I haven’t found a good way to make connections in that area.
When I started working with Jessica, I took anything she offered. After working on two historical fiction novels, though, we decided it wasn’t my subgenre, and I’m pleased with that decision. My niche is contemporary romance, and that’s quite all right by me.
Bios and blurbs! My journalism background prepared me to help authors with their marketing. I enjoy boiling down stories to their essentials, then writing blurbs that catch readers’ attention and entice them to read the books. Additionally, I’ve seen too many authors post unedited bios that make me cringe—if that’s how they write about themselves, what are their books like? Bios are just as much a marketing tool as blurbs and covers are.
Wow! That was a lot to write and a lot to read. Thanks for sticking it out with me. If you have any questions about anything I wrote or are interested in my professional services, please reach out. I’m happy to help.
Here’s to a new year and a new top 10!
