How can we do the best job possible?

Recently, I had some disastrous tiling done in a small shower room in our house. (Not the tiles in the featured image. I couldn’t bear to include an actual photo.) It was so bad I almost felt I could have done better myself – and I’m no expert, having only ever applied nine tiles in my whole life. Meanwhile, the … Read More

If I don’t write it down, can it even happen?

I love to-do lists. As the owner of a small business, I have a million and one things to remember to do, from meeting major deadlines to all of the minuscule pieces of admin that keep things running smoothly and legally. Then of course there are the parallel demands of a fairly busy household. I used to keep a notebook … Read More

Too much information, or not enough?

I started mulling over writing this post months ago, after the first flurry of posts I’d published on my new website. My partner read one of them and he said, ‘I’m amazed at how much you give away, sometimes. You’re sharing trade secrets. You’re telling people how to do what you do!’ He looked a bit worried. So I told … Read More

The ages of freelancing

Recently, I’ve been pondering age a lot. Last September I turned 45, and I’m at that point where I’m starting to feel it. Not in a terribly dramatic way, because I am fortunate enough to be in good health, but more a notion that I need to take a little more care of myself, that I am not as physically … Read More

Blog appreciation: March

Here are some posts by other editors and writers that I’ve enjoyed reading recently. Editing tests, clients and the editor by Ayesha Chari The question of whether or not editors should take tests to secure work is a fraught one. I’ll come right out and say that I’m perfectly happy to take a test for a client if I think … Read More

Setting boundaries as a freelancer

Last week I wrote about how anxiety can affect freelancers, and in passing I mentioned the need to set boundaries. I thought it might be helpful to say a bit more about that. For me, one of the most important aspects of building a sustainable freelance career is taking control. Sometimes, especially when we start out, it can feel as … Read More

How I learned to deal with freelance anxiety

I thought I might write a post about imposter syndrome, as this is something that affects so many freelance editors, sometimes to the point where they no longer feel they can function. But then I realised that imposter syndrome isn’t something I’ve often been troubled by in my editorial career. I’ve nearly always maintained a firm belief that, twenty-something years … Read More

A six-month affair

When I started this new blog, I thought it would be interesting and relevant to include reviews of books I had been reading for fun. I haven’t written one until now because I have essentially been reading the same book since last September. In July last year, I started writing a memoir. By December I had almost finished a first … Read More

Blog appreciation: February

Here are some posts by other editors and writers that I’ve enjoyed reading recently. Why you need and how to work with a book indexer: a guide for authors by Paula Clarke BainAs Paula explains in this fascinating article, many authors are now routinely asked by publishers to organise their own indexing. While some will opt to index their books … Read More

Proofreading or copyediting? That which we call a rose …

Every time I write a blog post, just before I hit ‘Publish’, I let myself be tormented briefly by a column of three orange and red faces in the Yoast SEO submenu, which my web designer must have installed when he set up the WordPress site. For example: No focus keyword was entered: red sad face, no comment. Readability analysis: … Read More