Start an Editing Business

About Kris

Owner of Surrendered Press and Final-Edits.com, writing as Aspen Drake, Kristina Renee and other pen names...

• I’ve edited thousands of indie books across the globe and in all genres

• I have written more than 200 books in English

• I've translated at least that many translated into French, German and Spanish.

Who Needs an Editor?

• Indie Authors

• Social Media Marketers

• Bloggers

• Technical Writers

• Course Creators

• Sales People, Funnel Marketers or Website Managers

• Job Hunters updating their resume, portfolio or job board profile

• Anyone who transcribes their videos or podcasts

• Screenplay/Scriptwriters

Who Should Become an Editor

• The short answer is…anyone. You don’t have to have a degree or years of experience.

• Most of my clients are avid readers who love books so much that they just want to help make them even better.

• There is no such thing as perfect in writing but good editors can be a writer’s most important partner in putting out a book that readers will love

• It takes a village. No matter how many times an author rereads their book, there will always be some typos, clarity issues or plot holes that get missed. Even having an editor and proofer isn’t a guarantee that everything will be caught but it reduces the risk of major issues slipping by.

• If you love reading in any form and want to help writers shine, you should become an editor.

** Although most of my references will be related to editors of novels or books, the techniques and exercises in this course can be applied to any kind of content editing.

Will A.I. Take Over Editing?

Unlikely.

Did spell check replace the need for an editor? Spell check is essentially AI.

So how do you get started?

1. Complete this course

2. Start reading as much of the kind of content you want to edit

3. Make yourself available to potential customers by contacting writers and telling your network you’re now in the editing business.

4. Offer free samples to anyone who posts that they’re looking for help

5. Start taking clients. Even if you’re not sure you’re ready, the best way to learn to do…is to do.

Now that you’re sold on doing it, what does it mean to actually be a paid editor?

What an Editor Does (and Doesn’t) Do

Does...

• Partner with the client to make the finished product as clean and enjoyable as possible

• Improve a work in the least intrusive manner

• Constantly research commonly-accepted practices within a genre or product.

• Maintain transparency with clients if any issues or concerns arise

Does Not...

• Force their own style preferences upon a work because they like it better that way

• Criticize or pass judgment because it’s not their interest or what they enjoy reading

• Cut corners just to complete a job faster or accept a job they know they’re gonna hate

• Publicly share any details or opinions about an unpublished work or the author without express permission

PRO TIP

Don’t be in editor mode 24/7. No better way to lose friends than to correct their texts or emails. If they aren’t asking you to edit for them, don’t overstep. Like the therapist friend who is always analyzing you…it’s okay to turn it off (and allow others to turn it off.)

Types of Editors

In this course, we focus on proofreading and copy/line editing because those are skills anyone can easily learn. Content and developmental editing take more hard skills in writing craft and research.

• Proofreader — very last step before beta readers or publishing

• Copy/line editor — after all writing is done, it’s time to find typos

• Content editor — a deeper edit that includes research of clothing styles worn in a time period and which swear words were common in a particular time period, etc. Much more involved and usually only for specific genres/content you have expertise with.

• Developmental Editor — generally working with the writer from the beginning to help shape the story, talk through plots and story arcs, etc.

Landing Your First Project

Review a Sample of the Work

Not every project and editor are a match. There are some books I can not read for any amount of money. And there are some styles of writing that I can’t edit. Don’t be afraid to politely decline jobs that don’t match your skills, values, or interest.

Find out what the client truly wants

Some authors don’t want any criticism or wording suggestions at all. They just want validation that they’ve done a good job and for the most egregious errors to be found. Of course, they’ll expect you to come back and tell them you didn’t find a single typo and have no feedback because it’s absolutely perfect. Others are more realistic and want a book that is going to sell well and encourage good reviews. If they are grammar obsessed, making sure your grasp of language and punctuation are on point before taking that job. If they just want it cleaned up, don’t spend hours adding semi-colons and looking up hair trends for women in the 1890s.

Sign Contracts

Simple contracts will protect you and your client. Clearly state what is being delivered to you (complete manuscript in Word or Google Docs) and what you will deliver (copy-edited manuscript with tracked changes and comments, one round of revisions, formatting help, deadline, etc.) I’ve provided a sample, but you can also create a contract at Legal Zoom or Rocket Lawyer for a few bucks.

Get Paid

50% upfront and 50% when the project is complete is fair. If you wait until after delivery to collect, you might get burned a few times. Expect it. Learn from it. Be careful about full payment upfront when just starting out…

Turn on Tracked Changes

Don’t make a single change until you’ve turned on Tracked Changes. Even if the client wants the document delivered in a “ready-to-publish” state, keeping a copy of all the changes you made (and didn’t make) will save you headaches if there is ever a question about why you suggested a particular word or punctuation method.

You've got a client. Now what?

Get Organized

Create a file system that makes sense to you and save the “original” as well as your “working copy.” Make duplicate copies and/or backup daily. (Carbonite has saved me a few times)

Turn on Tracked Changes

Don’t make a single change without tracked changes. I’ve gotten ten pages into an edit before realizing I forgot and had to start over.

Take notes or create a “bible”

When you come across names, ages, locations, siblings, pets, etc., it’s a good habit to make a note or highlight in a specific color so you can refer back later….as well as easily remove before delivering to the client.

Search for Repeated Errors

If the same error is popping up over and over, note where you’re at and do a search for the error throughout. Might as well find them all at once but never “replace all” from a search.

When you're ready to take a test, pause the video and download the test #1 file. You'll need to use Word or Google Docs to take the test. Then unpause to review the answers.

Some of the most common mistakes… (and those you can let slide)

Some flexibility and creative license can always be allowed in writing. If the author wants to use slang or dialects or local references, that’s up to them. You can make a recommendation that it might be read as an error or confusing to readers, but you don’t need to hammer them on stylistic choices. However, some things can not be ignored or allowed to slide. Not when your name is on the line. So, make the change and know that it’s up to the author to accept your recommendation or not. If they like saying get’n instead of getting, that’s their prerogative. But you’re being paid to note where obvious errors occur.

Here are just a few examples

They’re = they are
Their = belongs to someone

There = indicates a place/location

Peak = Top of a mountain

Peek = Look at something

Pique = Capture interest

Seventy five = wrong

Seventy-five = right

Two hundred thousand = right

Mixing First person with Third Person:

I am sitting with my friends. They sat with their friends.

Two = the number after one

To = indicates a direction

Too = also

Lots of run on or excessively long sentences (if it impedes comprehension)

He was five years old = right

He was a five-year-old = right

Unique words overly repeated

His ice blue eyes lowered, and then his ice blue gaze locked on my eyes.

Redundant words or thoughts:

By the way, you look like you got dressed in the dark, for the record.

Because Mom said so = right

Because my Mom said so = wrong

Mixing Past vs. Present Tense:
She is going to leave to went to the store yesterday.

Farther = distance is not closer (measurable)

Further = deeper or not measurable. (i.e. requires further consideration)

Negotiable Fixes (again, just a few examples)

• Capitalization of proper nouns vs. words the author thinks are important. If they always want King or Alpha or God capitalized, do it. If they prefer lowercase unless used as a name (King George, Alpha of the pack, what would God do?), then note the generally accepted way at the beginning of the edit and move on.

• Active vs. passive voice is a style choice. Not always a good choice, but trying to rewrite a book to make it active is not your job unless the author specifically asks you to do that.

• Lots of exclamation points are usually annoying and distracting to readers! I recommend not having more than 3-5 per book! But some writers love them and have 5 to 10 per page! If you come across that, I’d remove almost all and let the author decide to accept or ignore the changes.

• Showing vs Telling Nothing is more annoying than to constantly see this stated without clear examples of how to fix. If you think the writer is being lazy about their descriptions or exposition, offer a solution. This is your chance to make the book even better. But if the entire book is “telling” then you might need to let it go unless the author has asked for a full content review. How they write is how they write. We’re not here to make them feel inadequate or unworthy of publishing.

• Only necessary commas vs. all the grammatically correct commas. I used to hate adding commas to my work. I’ve come around to the importance, but this is a style issue that your client may dictate.

• Not every person will love or be interested in every style of writing or storyline. Unless you have some moral or triggering aversion to a piece of work, you are not expected to comment or judge the content. Even if you think it’s dumb, you are just there to remove typos and ensure that people who are interested can enjoy and understand it.

Ready to take Test #1

Download the document labeled Test #1 in Word and edit it. (Be sure to pause this video while you do the work. We’ll correct it together in the next scene.)

Make sure “Track Changes” is turned on in Word before you make your first mark.

After you’ve made all the relevant edits, download this answer sheet to compare your version against mine.

Did you catch everything I did? Did you find some that I missed?

Play the video and we’ll review the edits together.

Dreaded Dialogue Tags...

The hardest thing for authors to get correct is dialogue. Here are some of the common errors you’ll come across. Be sure to look for these when reviewing a sample to know how much work will be required to get the file ready for publication.

Dialogue tags are used to indicate actual speaking.

Not for coughing, breathing, smirking, laughing or other gestures. When you use an actual dialogue for anything other than a question or exclamation, a comma is placed inside the quotation marks before the dialogue tag. If the dialogue tag is at the beginning, you’ll end with a period inside the quotes.

Correct ways to punctuate dialogue tags

• “You look like you just woke up.” He smiled at my hair.

• Mary said, “I can’t wait to see you.”

• “Do you like it?” asked Steve.

• “I can’t believe it!” said Bill.

• “You look like you just woke up,” he said with a smile.

• “I can’t wait to see you,” Mary said.

• “I like it.” Steve sighed as he rubbed his chin.

• “I can’t believe it!” Bill shook his head in shock.

Now it's time for Test #2

Download the second test document in Word and edit it. (Be sure to pause this video while you do the work. We’ll correct it together in the next scene.)

Make sure “Track Changes” is turned on in Word before you make your first mark.

After you’ve made all the relevant edits, download this answer sheet to compare your version against mine.

Did you catch everything I did? Did you find some that I missed?

Play the video and we’ll review the edits together.

References for double-checking your edits

• Chicago Manual of Style is the standard for fiction and professional writing

• AP stylebook is the standard for academia, news, and magazine writing

• Merriam-Webster is the dictionary & thesaurus trusted by most editors

• Dictionary.com & Thesaurus.com are more fluid resources and will show both commonly accepted and “slang” or less common usages. I don’t trust this as much as M-W

• Grammarly is a great tool for suggesting possible edits, but it is not always correct and does not catch all issues. Use it as a backup tool but not your only source of finding errors

• ProWritingAid is a tool similar to Grammarly, but it offers more suggestions about the content and certain types of writing. You might consider using both while you’re learning the ropes of editing.

Don't Let Fear Slow You Down

If you’ve never had a home business or side hustle, you might be overwhelmed with the worry of getting a business license and an LLC and a bank account and insurance and credit card processors, etc. Don’t let fear slow you down. In the beginning, you don’t need much. Eventually, as you start to get clients and are sure you love editing, you can take care of all the extras.

Minimum to get started…

• A reliable computer with a backup system

• Strong grasp of spelling and grammar rules

• Microsoft Word or Google Docs

• Paypal or Venmo acct (or another method of accepting payment)

• Basic contracts for each client

Nice to have as your business grows

• Business license to work from your home if required by your city/county

• Business/separate bank account to make your taxes “cleaner”

• Website/Social Media to share with strangers looking to hire an editor

• Business cards if you attend writing clubs or conferences

• Testimonials from satisfied clients

Pricing

• Proofing something that has already been edited by a professional is the lowest cost and lowest effort editing. I always charge by the word (never the page or hour). $.005/word is a fair starting price for a proof. ($50 per 10k words)

• Copy editing is more in-depth. .01 to .02/word is fair. ($100-200 per 10k words)

• Content editing with fact-checking, research, plot suggestions is usually $.035 to .05/word. ($350-500 per 10k words)

If you have too much work, raise your prices. Not sure how much? Double them, and see how that goes. If you need to double again, don’t be afraid to do it. The difference between a few hundred or a few thousand for a quality editor is not always a big deal for a professional writer.

Protect Yourself and Your Clients

• Mutual NDA - before you look at their sample, offer to sign an NDA. Many clients won’t require one, but they’ll appreciate the offer. And a corporate client will likely require one before sending you their confidential information.

• Work For Hire Agreement - The NDA will often be included in this contract. Be sure to clarify the level of editing you’re being hired to provide and the word count included at that level as well as the payment and delivery schedule.

• Simple Editor Agreement - This will be sufficient for most clients. You can choose the level of detail you’re most comfortable with.

• Refund Policy - I don’t offer one, but if you must, make the time period (within 7 days of delivery, etc.) very clear and the amount that will be refunded (50% of the contracted amount). It’s rare that someone will take advantage of a guarantee or refund policy, but they appreciate knowing it exists.

Business Tools

• Legal documents: Rocket Lawyer is my preferred source for legal documents, but LegalZoom is also trustworthy and comprehensive (though a little more expensive)

• Digital signature service: Docusign and Adobe Sign are the biggest providers. I use SignWell as my digital signing service.

• Payment processors: Paypal.com, Venmo.com, Stripe.com are all commonly used by small businesses and generally trusted by clients.

• Website builder: I use Systeme.io for this website. It includes all the client, payment, and web content management in one place, and it’s very affordable. My Final-Edits.com site was built using a basic builder from hostgator.com

  
  

First One Free Actually Works

You probably read a lot if you want to become an editor. One of the best ways to start your business is to offer free samples to potential clients. When I started, I made lists of typos I found in my favorite books and offered to proofread the whole book for free. Some authors ignored me. Others took me up on the offer. And after the first one, they were happy to pay me to edit future books.

If you don’t have favorite authors or content creators to contact, check out writer groups on Goodreads, Facebook, and in your local area. Not only can you offer to help people who are just getting started as a writer, but you can post a simple “ad.”

Example posts for writer/author groups

• Hi everyone. I’m starting an editing business and would like to expand my portfolio. If you have a sci-fi, romance, or thriller novel that could use an edit or proofread, I have two openings over the next ten days. I’m willing to do this first book for free (or .002/word) if you’ll provide a testimonial I can use on my website and with future customers.

• Hi All. I’m a new editor and trying to get some fiction novels under my belt. If you’re looking for a proofreader, I’m willing to do up to 30k words for free if I can add your project to my portfolio.

• Need an editor? I’m just getting started in my business, so my rates are low and my dedication is high. I’d love to offer you a free sample to show how I can help make your book shine. (the best it can be, etc.)

  
  

Job Boards and Freelancing Websites

• Upwork & Fiverr. Freelancing website to connect gig talent with people looking to hire for specific projects. Great way to build a paid portfolio with low-paying jobs before applying for bigger projects.

• Indeed, CareerBuilder, The Mom Project. These traditional job sites are great for searching local and remote job listings that you can apply to with a quick resume and portfolio link.

• LinkedIn. Professional network site for all industries. Connect with past colleagues but be careful what you post if you’re still employed because your employer and current colleagues might see everything you post.

• Craigslist doesn’t always have great writing/editing gigs, but it doesn’t hurt to check now and then. Sometimes you can find quick work or interesting seasonal projects.