Why My Focus is on Freelance Editing (+ Why I Stopped Freelance Writing)

Why My Focus is on Freelance Editing (+ Why I Stopped Freelance Writing)

Freelance editing is what I am made to do! 

My focus is now on freelance editing instead of freelance writing.

Do you think you’re made for editing instead of writing?

I have always loved words and I have always loved writing.

When I first started blogging and got an offer to write an article a month for Dear Blogger, I decided to try my hand at freelance writing. This was all before Wording Well was born… back in 2013. 

When I founded Wording Well in 2014, I started out offering only freelance writing services. It wasn’t until later that I began offering editing services. Looking back, I realize that I should’ve had my focus on freelance editing all along. It’s what I love to do most of all!

Is freelance editing “your thing”?

If you want to become a freelance editor, check this out!

There are so many awesome things about being an editor. These are 12 benefits of being a freelance editor that I get to enjoy EVERY DAY.

How I Built Up My Freelance Editing Reputation

I used to get free books from authors I met online in exchange for my promise to write a book review for them.

I did this for many authors. Most of them were relatively unknown… but I really lucked out when the famous author, Lisa Jackson, saw that blog post, sent me a Tweet, and then took me up on this offer!

I was thrilled when she sent me an autographed book because she has been one of my favorite authors for years!

Lisa Jackson's autograph on my copy of "Tell Me"

While reading books published by authors I met online, I noticed that many of them didn’t have a good editor. I ended up editing their books for them!

At first, I did this for free. This is how I started to build my reputation as an editor. (Remember, I was an unknown editor back then!)

Why I Began to Diversify My Services to Focus on Freelance Editing

After editing for free for a while, I realized two things:

1: It takes a lot of time to edit a novel. (It takes longer to edit a novel than reading it does!)

2: My time was valuable. Read More

How to Become a Self-Published Author on Amazon_KDP

How to Become a Self-Published Author on Amazon/KDP

How to Become a Self-Published Author on Amazon_KDP

How to become a self-published author on Amazon/KDP is the topic of this article. It contains both an infographic of the steps as well as the steps listed in text form, with a full explanation for each one.

Self-Publishing (and Becoming an Author) is Easy!

Self-publishing in today’s world is easy. ANYONE can become an author, nowadays!

Many people, however, get overwhelmed with the process, because there are many steps involved in reaching their dreams of becoming an author. That is why Wording Well offers help to those who need it!

That is also why I put together this article. It outlines the steps to becoming a self-published author and how to self-publish a book on Amazon through KDP.

This article also lists the steps in the order they need to be taken, making it easier for you to understand what is required for you to achieve your dream!

An Infographic of the Steps for How to Become a Self-Published Author on Amazon/KDP)

The following infographic lists the steps for how to self-publish a book on Amazon.

Below it, you will find a full explanation for each step, so keep reading!

infographic for How to Become a Self-Published Author on Amazon/KDP

A special thanks to the team at AirTract for creating this infographic for me!

A huge thanks to InVideo (affiliate link) for making this video for me! InVideo (normal link) is an SaaS platform that helps anyone transform their content into great videos. They help serve publishers, media companies, and brands to expand audience engagement through the power of video content.

How to Become a Self-Published Author on Amazon/KDP

1: Write a book.

This is the hardest part of the whole process. It’s time-consuming. You might suffer from writer’s block during this step. You might lack discipline while writing your book. That is why it is important to hire a coach or find an accountability partner who will help keep you focused and on target during this phase.

There are many steps involved in writing a book and the best one I have found to help you through your journey is the post from Write to Done called The Ultimate Guide to Plan and Write Your Book. It contains the following tips you can use:

Step #0: Check That People Actually Want This Book
Step #1: Get Clear About Your Book’s Eventual Format and Purpose
Step #2: Figure Out a Working Timetable
Step #3: Get Your Book’s Outline Started by Mindmapping
Step #4: Develop Your Ideas into an Outline
Step #5: Fleshing Out Your Chapters with Key Points
Step #6: Make Writing a Breeze with Your Standard Chapter Template
Step #7: Tackle Your Writing in a Sensible Order
Step #8: Staying Focused When You Sit Down to Write
Step #9: Knowing How to Write Each Sentence of Your Book
Step #10: Follow Your Working Schedule (and Get Back On Track When Needed)

Of course, if you are writing an e-book instead of a full-length novel, this step won’t take you nearly as long!

2. Edit your book.

Hire Wording Well’s editor, Lorraine Reguly, for this! (Yes, hire me to edit your book. I am a FANTASTIC editor! Just check out the testimonials I have received from some of my clients!)

Editing is a necessary component of the writing process and is essential to your book’s success.

If your book is not properly edited, you will receive bad reviews on Amazon, you will lose readers, and you will lose money. People won’t buy your book if they see negative reviews. They also won’t buy any additional books you might write.

It’s worth it to pay for an editor’s services, skills, and knowledge ONCE. By investing in an editor, you are also investing in yourself. You are proving that you are worth listening to, too. People will, therefore, be impressed with your book, the way it was written (ergo, the way it was edited), and you will gain fans for life! You will also reap additional rewards, such as great reviews on Amazon!

3: Finalize the book’s text.

If you have hired me for Step 2, this part will already be done.

If you hire a different editor, that person might suggest you rewrite some sections of your book. In that case. you will need to have your book proofread by an experienced editor or proofreader (such as myself). Do this to ensure the quality of your book is high and your words, sentences, and paragraphs are perfect (without typos, grammatically correct, and impactful).

4: Add images, if desired.

Images are easy to add to books (to both the digital and print versions).

Many authors are now adding images to their books because it’s easy to do so.

I included many images in my book, From Nope to Hope.

book cover for my book, From NOPE to HOPE
Maxwell Ivey included many pictures of his trip to New York City in his book, The Blind Blogger’s NYC Adventures. (Note that this link is an Amazon Associates affiliate link.)

Read More

12 Benefits of Being a Freelance Editor

 

A picture of me as a freelance editor with a red editing pencil - for the article called 12 Benefits of Being a Freelance Editor

Almost everyone knows that I am a freelance editor.

(Yes, that’s really me in the picture, too!)

I love editing. I love words and I love making them perfect.

Every time I read something, I am constantly editing what I read. I can’t tell you how many books I have read in which I have found mistakes! I have often thought of contacting the editors at the publishing houses and informing them of the mistakes I found, but I have never taken action on doing that. I probably should.

Instead, I have decided to offer my editing services to others as a freelance editor. I’ve been doing this since 2014… and I love it!

I love the freelance lifestyle and all that it offers. In particular, I love the benefits of being a freelance editor.

Here are 12 benefits I enjoy as a freelance editor:

Editor Benefit #1: I can work at home.

I live in a city that has very cold weather for the majority of the year. For about five or six months of the year, we have snow and sub-zero temperatures. For that reason, I like staying indoors. The freelance editing lifestyle I lead allows me to work from home. Not having to commute to work is an excellent benefit for me!

Editor Benefit #2: I can set my own hours.

We all have schedules in our lives that we generally follow, but no one has my exact schedule. I often work in the wee hours of the morning, when it is super quiet.

I like being a freelance editor because I can work whenever I want.

Editor Benefit #3: I get paid to learn new things.

Depending on the type of book that I am editing, I often learn new things. For example, in the last book I edited, I learned what drag litters were. For those of you who don’t know, drag litters are fashioned out of tent poles that are lashed to the sides of a horse with the opposite ends dragging on the ground, which are attached to some kind of platform that can be used to transport gear such as tents and food or to transport injured people.

Sometimes I even learn new words. Just because I am a freelance editor does not mean that I know every single word in the dictionary!

Sometimes I learn other things, too, depending upon the subject matter of the book I am editing. When I edit non-fiction books, I reap the benefits of learning whatever it is the author is teaching others. Being allowed to read such things for free is an honor. And even better than reading them for free is the fact that I get paid to read them!

Editor Benefit #4: I get to keep my skills sharp.

I am a certified English teacher by trade, and doing freelance editing allows me to constantly use my skills. As a result, my skills never wane. Instead, they are kept sharp by the constant work that I do.

Editor Benefit #5: I don’t have to look for work.

Many freelance writers and editors often struggle with finding work. Not me. I have never looked for a freelance editing job! Instead, people come to me.

The reason they come to me is that I have received excellent testimonials from others. While I initially offered free editing services in my attempts to market myself as a freelance editor, I now simply respond to emails I receive and give a sample edit to those potential clients. If they like my work, then they will hire me (as long as they can afford me!), which is usually the case.

I’m also listed in this hugely popular list of book editors. Many of my clients have mentioned that they found me there. (Thanks again, Dave!)

Because editing books is a time-consuming process, when I accept a huge editing gig, it generally means that I am going to be busy and employed for at least 2 or 3 months.

Generally, during that time, I receive inquiries about other editing gigs and so I schedule them for when I am finished my current one. That way, I never have to look for work! It is already lined up for me! Read More

10 Tips for Editing an Academic Essay

10 Tips for Editing an Academic Essay

This is a sponsored post from Do My Essay. Because my writing services do not include essay-writing services, you can contact them for fee-based editing and writing assistance. However, I offer both editing services as well as 22 self-editing tips you can use if you cannot afford to hire an editor.

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Academic essays are the most important part of a student’s academic training. Not only do these help polish your writing skills, but they also enhance your competencies at researching a specific subject, as well as coming up with logical explanations and arguments and the ability to prove one’s point, with proper explanations. Everyone wishes that there was a cheat sheet to producing effective and powerful academic essays, and the truth is, THERE IS!

It is called EDITING.

10 Tips for Editing an Academic Essay #editing

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10 Tips for Editing Academic Essays Effectively

After you are done with drafting your academic paper or essay, you will need to go through every line and make the necessary edits.

Some of the tips you should follow while doing this, in order to ensure 100% accuracy and powerful writing, are these 10: Read More