A Small Yet Mighty Step I’ve Taken to Get Myself Credit as an Editor

When I first started working as a freelance copy editor in 2014, getting recognition for my work was furthest from my mind.

What was front and center was getting work. Any kind, any pay.

Then I began working as full-time copy editor at Time Out New York and learned the pleasure of having my name included in the masthead of every weekly issue.

The cover of the last TONY issue I worked on in January 2018

My name in the blurry masthead of the last TONY issue I worked on in January 2018 (four up from the bottom)

So it’s surprising even to me that I didn’t push for my name to be featured on clients’ projects when I again began freelance editing in 2018.

I copyedited fiction manuscripts whose authors mentioned their developmental editors but not me. I copyedited regularly for well-known content agencies and Fortune 100 businesses that never included my name anywhere on the multimedia content whose language I fine-tuned.

Occasionally I thought it would be nice to receive recognition, but I never did anything about it. It was just how the industry worked, I thought.

Of course, I named my clients (at least, all those who didn’t require me to sign an NDA) on my LinkedIn page and website.

But I realized I was missing out on referral opportunities by not having my name on the projects themselves.

At least one client has told me that he contacted me because he saw my name on a project he admired.

Clearly, getting credit matters.

This year, I’ve made a point of asking clients to feature my name.

So far, the response has been along the lines of: “Happy to! I’m sorry we didn’t think to do it sooner.”

After two years of copyediting for Tablet magazine daily, I was added to the masthead.

My bio in the bottom left corner of Oatly’s Hey Barista magazine

Freelancing is challenging in many ways—mainly in that any success you have, or don’t have, is entirely on you. Would I have learned to advocate for myself as well if I weren’t a freelancer whose livelihood depended partly on getting credit? Probably not!

What small yet mighty step can you take today to receive credit for your work?

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