Access me for advice at BuyMeACoffee.com As with trying to start any new side gig, breaking into freelance editing can be daunting. While there’s a wealth of online courses and books that share how to be a successful freelancer and editor, true confidence in your skills comes with practice over…

And the recent etiquette mistake I made even though I knew better Let me tell you about a recent mistake I made as an editor. I was doing a developmental edit of a 3,000-word blog post for a tech startup. This startup did not have its own writers; instead, it…

There’s an unspoken pact between writers and editors. Recently I rewatched Mary Norris’s Ted Talk—for possibly the 20th time—and, as always, a new gem stood out to me. Norris, former New Yorker copy editor, touched on the writer-editor relationship: There is a pact between editors and writers. The editor never…

Yes. Here’s why being a “sometimes writer” makes me a better editor. Acquaintance: “What do you do?” Me: “I’m an editor and sometimes writer.” That’s been my response for a few years now. Editing is my main gig. Most of my work over the past decade has been focused on…

Finding the right freelancer to work with can be a grueling process with a lot of unknowns. Will this person be able to deliver what I need? Is she actually an expert in copyediting and proofreading? …

Recently I saw a tweet that broke my copyediting heart: This comment is a perfect illustration of why many people fear copy editors. Writers, journalists, and others think copy editors are too strict, too critical, too literal. We’re zealots of the style guide, which we champion as gospel, never…

When I became aware of how many editors offer combo line and copy edits, I was aghast. Because combo line and copy edits are the worst. And I am suspicious of editors who tout them as a quality offering. This is a controversial opinion, I know. When I recently shared…