Training isn’t the whole story when it comes to a successful editorial career – of course, UK publishers take into account other factors such as copy-editing and proofreading experience, in-house work, publishers’ competence tests, and great testimonials. No surprise there. But if you want to train as a proofreader or copy-editor and you don’t have those strings to your bow, you need to prepare yourself for market. The obvious first step is to train.

If you want to be ready for market, you need to know what your market wants – to spend your hard-earned cash on courses that count. My preferred market is the publishing industry because a) it’s large and b) a portfolio of clients in this sector can generate repeat work without the need for constant marketing.

Publishing consensus … the no-brainer
Call up the production editors in any established publishing house in the UK to ask them what their recommended training providers are for editorial freelancers, and the names of two organizations come up consistently: 1) the Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP) http://www.sfep.org.uk/pub/train/training.asp and 2) the Publishing Training Centre (PTC) http://www.train4publishing.co.uk/courses. The SfEP is the UK’s national association for editorial freelancers and it’s our equivalent to the EFA. The PTC is the UK’s premier publishing training provider and offers courses across the full publishing spectrum including editing and proofreading, for both freelancers and in-house staff. It also runs courses in association with the Independent Publishers Guild.

Yes, there are other options, some which are well-established and have a good reputation. But the “newbie” wanting to spend their training pennies wisely cannot make a mistake with the PTC and the SfEP. They are industry-recognized bodies and no one in the publishing industry will turn round and say, “You know what? You’d have been better off spending your training budget with X.”

The SfEP runs the only accreditation test available for proofreaders in the UK, and offers short courses and mentoring opportunities. The PTC runs shorts courses and a fabulous distance-learning program. The beauty is that while the SfEP and the PTC are independent organizations, they are mutually supportive. Their training programmes complement each other and the content and standards of like courses are consistent. Most of the PTC’s editorial tutors are also SfEP members.

Across the pond (from my viewpoint)
I’ve learned a lot from my colleagues in different parts of the world. My US friends have offered some fascinating insights into their world of editing, proofreading and publishing. What’s struck me the most is how in the US there doesn’t seem to be an obvious point of entry for generalists who need nationally recognized training of a consistent standard and recognized by publishers. Here’s Kristine Hunt:

There does not seem to be much consensus in the US regarding the “go-to” choice for editorial training. Certainly there are well-known programs – UC San Diego and University of Chicago extension/continuing education certificate programs come to mind, as do the numerous BA/MA programs – as well as the single or short courses offered by the EFA, Editorial Bootcamp, Editorial Inspirations, and others.

And Katharine O’Moore-Klopf concurs, saying that with regard to US editors and proofreaders:

[T]here is no One True Way to train for them. There are no officially recognized training programs. Instead, there are just programs that people learn of by word of mouth. And most US publishers are totally unaware of training programs and certifications.

Thank goodness for the Copyeditors’ Knowledge Base http://www.kokedit.com/ckb.php, which Katharine set up precisely in order to pull together all the relevant strings.

Talking to Kristine and Katharine made me realize how lucky I’ve been to have such an obvious training track to follow. It’s not just the basics, either. The options for continuous professional development are available, too. If I need to brush up my proofreading, the SfEP can help me. If I want to learn about how to optimize my online presence with SEO techniques, the PTC has just the thing. Web editing? Working for non-publishers? Marketing my business? On-screen work? Mentoring? Help with going freelance? It’s all there in just one click each to two websites. And if I put these courses on my CV, publishers will recognize the providers and acknowledge the quality of what I’ve been taught.

Why the difference?
Why isn’t there more of a consensus in the US publishing industry around editorial training? I wondered if it was because of the sheer size of the country – a coordination issue, perhaps. We in the UK can squeeze into California without breathing in. Certainly, it’s easier for people in the UK to meet, discuss, strategize and plan. Or is it a matter of professional organization? Here’s Katharine again:

Every time people in various organizations in the United States complain that there is no nationwide training and certification, the general response is that it’s “too hard” to create such a comprehensive course and examination. The reason it’s too hard is that everyone in the organizations is a volunteer and doesn’t want to spend unpaid time putting together courses and exams.

This is an interesting point. The PTC is not run by volunteers; it’s a registered UK charity with paid staff. It has a course development officer who works with tutors to develop the training programme. However, the SfEP, while having a properly staffed editorial office, is nevertheless reliant on unpaid council members, all of whom are busy freelance editorial practitioners, to develop its strategy, training programmes, accreditation tests and mentoring opportunities.

So the volunteer nature of the work is part of the story but not all of it. Country size may well be a factor. But neither explains the SfEP and PTC’s relationship with the wider publishing industry. I suspect history has a big part to play.

Historical relationships …
Last year Edelweiss Arnold, Marketing Manager at the PTC, did an interview with The Proofreader’s Parlour. She talked about the courses on offer, in particular the distance learning programme. But the little snippet of historical information she shared at the start of the interview is insightful. She told me:

We were born under the auspices of the Publishers Association (PA) and our first courses were run under their banner. Sir Stanley Unwin’s charitable trust identified the need for quality, professional training for the book and journal publishing industry, and his son, Rayner Unwin, took up the challenge.

The PTC website tells us that it was born “30 years ago and remains at the heart of the industry” (my emphasis; PTC http://www.train4publishing.co.uk/about) and that it is “the organisation appointed by the publishing industry to represent its views on skills and training to government” (PTC http://www.train4publishing.co.uk/courses/online-training/grammar-at-work/faqs).

So, the publishing establishment was the driver of editorial training standards in the UK. And the formation of the SfEP just a few years later took place within this publisher-driven desire for high editorial standards. Furthermore, the PTC helped with the formation of the SfEP and there has always been a strong bond between the two organizations.

Perhaps that means that in the US the various training bodies are the metaphorical acquaintances of the publishing industry, whereas in the UK they are more akin to its children. This difference may be crucial to consensus-building – editorial training here developed from the inside.

Does that make the quality of training better in the UK? Not at all. Does it provide a platform on which publishers and freelancers can speak the same language when discussing editorial skills, standards and expectations? Definitely. And that’s got to be a good thing, especially for the freelance novice navigating the training maze.

Louise Harnby is a UK-based freelance proofreader with 22 years’ publishing experience. Her clients are primarily academic publishing houses specializing in the social sciences and humanities, though she also works in the trade sector on fiction and commercial non-fiction. She trained with the Publishing Training Centre and is a member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders.

Getting in touch: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter (@LouiseHarnby), the SfEP’s Directory of Editorial Services, and her blog, The Proofreader’s Parlour.

If you’re a freelance editor, you’ve had to take your share of editing tests. Whether you hate them or love them, they’re part of being a freelance editor. Rich Adin’s blog post, “The Business of Editing: Editing Tests,” discusses editing tests and provides helpful hints for every editor as he/she prepares to take an editing test. I think you will enjoy this post and learn a lot from it. I know I did. Enjoy!

An American Editor

The Business of Editing: Editing Tests

Filed under: Business of Editing — americaneditor@
February 13, 2012″>>

My test-taking anxiety began in elementary school. I could study until the cows came home, know the material cold, and still flunk the test the next day. But as a freelance editor, I’m regularly asked to take editing tests.

I’ve searched online and offline for strategies freelancers can use on these tests, and I‘ve even suggested test-taking classes to editing instructors. Media Bistro offers a class for taking editing tests, and Karen Judd discusses test-taking strategies in Copyediting: A Practical Guide. She advises, “look at an editing test as an open-book test. If you don’t know the answer, use the resources you have on your shelf and find it.” That pointer was eye-opening for me, because I’d been approaching every test the way I would a final exam.

However, I didn’t find much information otherwise, so I asked members of Copyediting-L. The list is maintained by Indiana University “for copy editors and other defenders of the English language who want to discuss anything related to editing.” Four members of the list responded to my query.

Michael Trudeau, copyeditor, proofreader, and owner of Belle Étoile Studios was one of the first CE-L members to respond to my query. He suggests:
•Editors should “figure out the client’s rates and pay schedule before taking a test.” He added, “I’ve taken long tests only to discover later that the client pays four months after invoice. What a waste of time.”
•“The fewer questions an unknown freelancer asks an overburdened editor the better. Instead, see if you can answer as many questions about the publisher’s style on your own.” For him, “this means going to the publisher’s website and browsing its titles and going to Amazon to ‘look inside’ its titles.” He said he did this recently and added, “The publisher’s house style guide was not comprehensive, but I found out what I needed to know by browsing through four of its titles on Amazon. The publisher has already sent me a project.”

Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, freelance writer/editor and author of “Get Paid to Write! Getting Started as a Freelance Writer”, and co-owner of Communication Central, suggests:
•Ask the prospective client which style guide they follow. If they don’t have one, tell them which you prefer to use.
•Ask if the test material has already been published. The ideal is to edit published material, not be conned into a free edit of new material.
•Put the test aside for at least a few hours, and review it one more time before sending it back.

Hilary Powers, freelance copyeditor, developmental editor, and author of “Making Word Work for You”, and who can be reached via e-mail at hilary@powersedit.com or at her website at www.SalamanderFeltworks.com suggests:
•Ask the test sponsor any questions you’d ask a client about the requirements of a live job, but: “Refrain from asking, ‘You don’t really publish crap like this, do you?’”
•Put in queries to the test reviewer explaining judgment calls you’ve made.
•Check, check, and recheck. Then check it again. An hour a page is not unreasonable.
•Use all your automated tools, including spell-check, if it’s an electronic test.

Sally Noonan at sallynoonan@gmail.com suggests:
•While taking the test, note additions to or deviations from the house style. Prepare a style sheet if the house doesn’t have one.
•Choose your mode of attack: step by step; numerous passes, correcting and commenting on certain changes with each pass; or one pass, making all corrections or comments in each sentence or paragraph before moving on to the next.

During a recent test, I read every instruction three times. I checked every mark and suggestion at least three times, proofed my comments, and later read the material from back to front for a fresh perspective. My spelling- and grammar-check actually found a few misspellings for me, too. And I must say that leaving comments on some changes added a lot to my confidence. It forced me to behave as the authority instead of the newbie. Now I approach editing tests without fear.

Before agreeing to take an editing test, check out the company, and find out whether it publishes the types of books you’d read for pleasure. Think of editing tests as just one a step in the process of hiring a new client. Don’t contact the company or agree to take an editing test when you think your freelancing career is spiraling downward or you are otherwise stressed out or lacking in confidence.

In the first part of my Finding Your Niche series, Laura Poole, founder of Archer Editorial Services (www.archereditorial.com) and co-founder of Editorial Bootcamp (www.editorialbootcamp.com), answered my questions. Laura has more than 15 years’ experience in the publishing industry, specializing in scholarly nonfiction for such clients as Oxford University Press and Duke University Press. On Twitter, she is @lepoole. In the second part of this series, Katharine O’Moore-Klopf, ELS, answered my questions. Katharine is a medical editor with a specialty in editing manuscripts written by non-native speakers of English. Her editing has helped researchers in 20-plus nations get published in more than 30 medical journals. She is also creator and curator of the Copyeditors’ Knowledge Base, which is housed within her Web site, at www.kokedit.com. On Twitter, she is @KOKEdit. Both presented interesting perspectives and great answers to my questions. In the third part of the series, Allison Parker answers my questions. Allison is a published writer and freelance editor for literary, academic, and culinary audiences. Her editorial projects of the moment include development of an economics impact book, copyediting a short-fiction anthology, and coaching writers one-on-one in their craft. She also serves as managing editor of the James Beard award-winning website Leite’s Culinaria (http://leitesculinaria.com/), where she is a contributing writer as well. Allison’s most frequent writing themes include ethnicity, parenthood, and culinary topics. You can discover more about her publishing-industry experience at www.acparker.com. On Twitter, she is @acparker.

Hi, Allison. Thank you for agreeing to answer these questions and continuing our conversation about finding your niche. I really appreciate it. Even after the first two parts of this series, this subject continues to fascinate me. Everyone wants specific answers on what he or she needs to do to find his or her specialty, their niche, even if those specific answers don’t exist. You’ll be providing another way of looking at the subject.

1. Tell me a little bit about yourself. What’s your background?

Professionally speaking, my career began in marketing and public relations, which is where I started looking for work not long after graduating from Bard College with a B.A. in Language and Literature (and after a detour through a year of law school that’s best forgotten). I began at a start-up “boutique” agency, as a PR intern, and eventually joined Edelman PR in Chicago, which was a great experience. From there, I moved to the marketing department of the Chicago Sun-Times. In each place, I was very fortunate to have generous mentors—that’s an important theme throughout my career—people who encouraged me to pursue my interest in writing and editing. While still working at the Sun-Times, I got involved on a volunteer basis with a literary magazine. I worked incessantly, became a fiction editor for the magazine and eventually their production manager—all still in my “spare” time. That was back in 1995, and it became the springboard for all that followed, including the genesis of my freelance career.

2. How long have you been freelancing? What made you decide to freelance?

If I measure the time I’ve been working exclusively on a freelance basis (no W2 wages), that’s ten years now. Since early 2001. I did attempt freelancing once before, before I found my job at the Sun-Times, but that was a mistake. I was too young, too inexperienced to compete with freelancers who’d been doing it a lot longer. I didn’t have enough connections, for one thing, and it was really tough to get jobs without a track record. In 2001, I had a lot more going for me. I had more on-the-job experience, plus by then I’d gone back to school for an M.F.A. in fiction. I knew a lot more people. My family situation also changed. I was engaged, and being part of a dual-income household made the financial instability of freelancing a lot easier to cope with. I wanted more flexibility in my schedule to pursue my own writing, and freelancing also created the foundation for that eventual balancing act between career and full-time parenthood.

3. A niche is defined by MW as, “a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted, a specialized market.” How many years did you freelance before you decided on a specialty, before you found or decided on your niche?

Well, it really wasn’t that clearly marked for me. There wasn’t one moment when I decided to specialize in either a task or a segment of industry. It just happened over time, mostly without my directing it—with one very recent exception (an additional niche; more on that below). Basically, I just knew my strong points, knew what skills I could sell—but out of necessity, I also took whatever jobs came my way. Almost all the jobs were book-length copyediting gigs, either for short-fiction collections or for academic monographs, and then developmental editing followed. One thing led to another. So, in one sense, the finding my niche in the editorial world has been an ongoing, ten-year process. But you could also say the opposite: that my niches found me from the start.

4. What is your niche?

I consider myself to have several. I think a particular skill set can be a niche—for me, that means both copyediting and developmental editing, the latter being my more recent focus—as can the application of skills to a specific type of content. Content-wise, I focus on three areas: literary (mostly fiction), culinary, and academic (humanities and economics).

5. How long have you been freelancing in this particular area?

I have edited literary and academic titles on a freelance basis for ten years—as a copy editor since the beginning and as a developmental editor for the past three years or so. My work as a writer and editor in the culinary field is new, just within the past year, but it’s taken off quite rapidly. This is the niche I went after deliberately, the one I’ve been much more proactive about.

6. What made you settle on this area?

Well, I’ve always been drawn to literature—to novels and also to academically rigorous subjects such as philosophy—and I think that my natural interests, skills, and my education all prepared me well to work in these areas. When the work came in, I found that I loved it, and the thought never occurred to me that this would not be something I’d develop as an expertise. As for the culinary focus, that’s been a longtime passion, and when the recession hit, I felt the time was right to go after it. I had a dip in workload right around the time that I met some people in the food-writing world, so I began calculating how and where I could make my experience valuable in this industry that was new to me, professionally speaking.

7. Is it okay to have more than one niche?

Absolutely! In fact, I’d say that it’s more than OK—it’s desirable. Even the most experienced freelancers are not without their dry spells, and when you have more than one area of expertise, you have additional options to draw on for income. I think you want to guard against spreading yourself too thin—and your combination of niches has to make sense in terms of who you are, in terms of a story you will tell about yourself and your career. You don’t want to end up sounding like “Jack of all trades, master of none.” At some point, people stop believing you could possibly do that many things in a specialized (and high-quality) way, and they’re probably right to some extent. I feel like I’m at my limit now, when I promote myself with three niches. But it’s working for me.

8. What do new freelancers need to know about finding their niche? What do they need to consider?

The wisdom I have to offer isn’t specific to finding a niche. It’s sound practice for any stage of your career—or for life in general. First: do good work (that’s obvious), and do it because you have a genuine interest. No matter how much you imagine yourself specializing in a certain area, it’s probably not going to happen for you if you aren’t fully engaged and curious, or if you are unable to sustain your interest over time. Second, you have to be confident and also humble when you’re on a quest—remember, if you’re just starting out or just entering a niche, you have a lot to learn no matter how many years of freelancing you’ve got under your belt. And you still have to convince someone that you have what it takes. I’m not sure it’s much different whether you’re talking about a new niche or just a new piece of business. It takes sweat and moxie. Finally, it’s critical to build and maintain quality relationships with all sorts of people if you want to make things happen. Find out how to connect with people who are already in a niche you are considering. Ask lots of questions.

9. How soon should freelancers begin looking for their niche?

I don’t think there’s any one rule for this. It depends on a lot of factors: the marketplace, the amount of experience you have. I think when you’re young or just starting out, it makes sense to generalize, just to get more projects and references, to open as many doors as possible, and to give yourself the chance to explore. But for every person who takes this approach, there’s probably someone who decides to work in a certain area right away and goes full steam ahead from the start, and they’re successful that way.

10. Is it important to establish yourself as a freelancer first, to get some clients, or should you jump right into a certain area? What is the better way to go? Why?

I think I pretty much answered this already, the answer being: there is no one “better” way to go. What’s right for one person won’t necessarily work best for someone else. A person with a well-rounded liberal arts education might do better as a general practitioner first, while someone with highly specialized training (a technology focus, for instance, or an advanced degree in one of the sciences) can more easily sell their services in a niche market right away. Either way, I think it is important to just get out there and bring in business, to learn how to market yourself and see how you feel about a freelance life in general.

11. What should freelancers know about themselves? For instance, I have been freelancing four years now and I still don’t know what my niche is. What do I need to think about?

Know what motivates you, what excites you. Ask yourself: where’s your passion? The proliferation of blogs and online businesses has proven beyond a doubt that you can plant a stake in the ground anywhere and make something grow. But maybe this is a good time to clarify that I think it’s perfectly fine to not have a niche, too. Some people’s “niche” is really just their skill set, and they apply it broadly. Consider this, too: there’s that saying about variety being the spice of life, and for a freelancer, I think that’s particularly true. Do you crave variety? Maybe a niche is not really the way to go. Maybe you need to ask whether you really are fired up enough about something to make it your exclusive focus. For that, you need passion. You need to find the thing that, when you do it, you lose yourself in it; time flies by because you’re fully immersed. If you don’t have that kind of interest in something specific, maybe looking for a niche is not really for you.

12. After you’ve established a niche, is it okay to change niches? Would it be better to add to your niche, or should you settle on one area? Why?

Again, I think it’s OK to change, definitely. But you have to be insightful about it, purposeful. And you have to realize that there will probably be tradeoffs—there’s a certain amount of starting over involved, just to gain a foothold in something new. Are you ready for that psychologically, financially? It’s like people changing careers. It’s done all the time, and brilliantly. In fact, I love it when people make changes, if they’re smart about it. You have to know what’s motivating you. If you’re making changes only because you want to escape from the old, rather than having a strong drive that compels you toward something new, then I worry. Or if you change too often, that just seems flighty or flaky. I think the best way is to transition. Find a way to do both for a while—old and new—and then see what you can make happen. Maybe you’ll want to give up the old niche, or maybe you’ll gain more appreciation for it and decide the new one wasn’t as interesting to you as you’d imagined.

13. Is there anything you want to add? Have I forgotten an important aspect?

I don’t think so. Your questions are all great. It’s wonderful that you’re thinking deeply about this issue—and that you got me thinking, too!

14. Final words?

Only that I wish you the best of luck on your journey—you and everyone else who reads this. Whether you feel you’ve found your niche or not (and whether or not you even need a niche) I hope your work brings you deep satisfaction.

I hope you have enjoyed this series and these three conversations as much as I have. As you can see, there is no single answer to my questions. I also hope that these three talented and fascinating women have inspired you think about your niche and the journey you’ll need to take in order to find it. If nothing else, I’m sure that this series will spark a conversation.

In the first part of my Finding Your Niche series, Laura Poole, founder of Archer Editorial Services (www.archereditorial.com) and co-founder of Editorial Bootcamp (www.editorialbootcamp.com), answered the thirteen questions I asked three editors about finding your niche. She presented an interesting perspective and provided great answers to my questions. In this post, Katharine O’Moore-Klopf, ELS, answers the same questions. Katharine has been in publishing for 27 years, the first 11 as a production editor for various publishers, and since then as a full-time freelance copyeditor. She is a medical editor with a specialty in editing manuscripts written by non-native speakers of English. Her editing has helped researchers in 20-plus nations get published in more than 30 medical journals. She is also creator and curator of the Copyeditors’ Knowledge Base, which is housed within her Web site, at www.kokedit.com. On Twitter, she is @KOKEdit.

Hi, Katharine. Thank you for agreeing to answer these questions and continuing our conversation about finding your niche. I really appreciate it. Even after the first part of this series, this subject continues to fascinate me. Everyone wants specific answers on what he or she needs to do to find his or her specialty, their niche, even if those specific answers don’t exist. You’ll be providing another way of looking at the subject.

1. Tell me a little bit about yourself. What’s your background?

I’ve pretty much always been in some area of publishing. I have a bachelor’s degree in journalism, and my first professional job was as a newspaper reporter in Texas. From there, I went on to work in-house for a small niche publisher in Colorado, then for a very large mainstream trade publisher in New York, then for a small medical publisher in New York, and then finally I became a freelancer.

2. How long have you been freelancing? What made you decide to freelance?

I’ve been freelancing full time since early January 1995, two weeks after my second child was born. I have three children, now 27 (a daughter), 16 (a son), and 9 years old (a son). I spent all of my daughter’s early years commuting to work for publishers, 1.5 hours each way by train to Manhattan. I missed her so much—and wasn’t the one who was there when she reached a lot of developmental milestones—so I decided that once my first son was born, I would try freelancing so that I could be more available to him than I was to my daughter. Though there were plenty of crazy-making days as he was growing up, it worked so well that I continued freelancing full time when my second son was born several years later. I have fond memories of breastfeeding baby boys while editing and of taking breaks from work to cuddle toddler boys and read stories to preschooler boys. I’m still freelancing full time as they are moving more and more out into the world, and it’s wonderful to be available to ask them, when they come home from school, how their day went. What made me decide to freelance? Hugs and kisses from sweet children.

3. A niche is defined by MW as “a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted , a specialized market.” How many years did you freelance before you decided on a specialty, before you found or decided on your niche?

When I first started freelancing in 1995, most of my work was for mainstream trade publishers and university presses, editing manuscripts for novels and for biographies; books for the general public on health and on travel; and books on business, music therapy, psychology, literary criticism, the environment, etiquette, and lots more.

But some of my work was for medical publishers, editing journal articles and textbook manuscripts. That portion of my work grew, I think mostly because I always gravitate toward better-paying clients, but also because I find medicine fascinating. By about 2006, most of my work was medical editing.

4. What is your niche?

I am a medical copyeditor, working both with publishers and directly with authors. I specialize in substantive editing of medical-journal articles for non-native speakers of English.

5. How long have you been freelancing in this particular area?

I’ve always done some of it, but 2005 was when I began doing a lot more of it.

6. What made you settle on this area?

ESL (English as a second language) medical editing is like solving a puzzle: What did the author mean to say? It’s highly intellectually stimulating. It’s very satisfying when an author tells me that his or her article has been accepted for publication after I edited it, and I’m constantly learning about the latest advances in medicine.

7. Is it okay to have more than one niche?

Sure! I had two for years: editing mainstream books for the general public and medical editing. It kept my brain sharp.

8. What do new freelancers need to know about finding their niche? What do they need to consider?

No matter how lucrative a particular niche may seem to you, if the subject matter is something you dislike working with or are bored by, you and that niche won’t be a good match. If your niche concerns material you enjoy and are passionate about, you will want to keep learning and will do a much better job.

9. How soon should freelancers begin looking for their niche?

It’s important first to ensure that your skills are at the level necessary for you to do great work, so pay your dues first through continuing education and accepting every reasonable project offered. Plus, it takes time to realize what your passion is, so try a lot of subject matters.

10. Is it important to establish yourself as a freelancer first, to get some clients, or should you jump right into a certain area? What is the better way to go? Why?

Yes, do establish yourself as a freelancer first. If you jump into a certain area before you have much experience, you may find yourself “typecast,” working on subject matters that you don’t really love.

11. What should freelancers know about themselves? For instance, I have been freelancing four years now and I still don’t know what my niche is. What do I need to think about?

Not everyone needs a specific niche. Some people are good generalists, and that’s fine. Your niche, if you’re going to have one, will probably sneak up on you over months and years.

12. After you’ve established a niche, is it okay to change niches? Would it be better to add to your niche, or should you settle on one area? Why?

Sure, you can change niches, but you’re going to have to work hard to get the attention of clients in your new niche and convince them that you’re capable of great work in more than one area. Don’t drop your current niche while you’re building up skills and experience in a new one.

13. Is there anything you want to add? Have I forgotten an important aspect?

Always, always keep learning. To be an editorial freelancer is to be always searching for new subject-matter knowledge and for new ways to work better and faster and smarter. Don’t keep doing things the same old way just because that’s how you’ve always done them. Periodically analyze your workflow and client-seeking processes, and always be open to new ways of doing things. Don’t cheap out on office equipment, including reference works and software, or on your continuing education. (For example, in 2008, I took the rigorous certification exam offered by the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences. I wanted that certification to show my medical-editing clients that they are getting a well-trained editor. That “ELS” after my name indicates that I am a board-certified editor in the life sciences.) And network, network, network. That’s vital for learning about and moving into a new niche.

Allison Parker answers these questions in the third part of my series.

The following is a guest blog post I wrote for Shakirah Dawud. It appears on her website at: http://deliberateink.com/the-career-leap-from-proofreader-to-editor
You can also read that post here. Either way, I hope you enjoy.

Welcome Cassie Armstrong of Morningstar Editing, a self-styled “newbie” copyeditor who has had the wisdom, generosity, and humility to chronicle her career leap into copyediting. She also provides more resources than I thought it was possible to cram into so few words! Aspiring freelance copyeditors: read, click, and learn. Your career is limited only by how hard you’re willing to work for it.

If you visit my website, you’ll see I offer proofreading, fact checking, copyediting, and manuscript evaluations. From the very beginning, though, I focused on proofreading. For the past four years, I presented myself as a proofreader and marketed myself that way. I thought I was a proofreader because I was able to get proofreading projects, and as I got my foot in the door, I was happy to be identified with any aspect of editing. At first I even assumed proofreading and copyediting were the same.

It’s nice to discover after all this time that I do indeed have the characteristics of a proofreader, personally and professionally. I pay attention to detail, love reading every word of every manuscript, and notice typos, spelling errors, and inconsistencies. Up until I took a proofreading class a year ago, everything I knew came from on-the-job training, other proofreaders and editors, and books.

I also learned that proofreading and copyediting play in different stadiums. And I decided to pursue copyediting. So I researched books, websites, people, and groups to help me make the decision and the leap in my career.

A copyediting class from Media Bistro filled in many blanks, and its self-paced format was perfect for me. Media Bistro offers several other editing and copyediting classes for reasonable fees. The Editorial Freelancer’s Association (EFA)–which I joined–offers an online Copyediting I & II combo, among others. Editorium and McMurry, Inc.’s Copyediting offer classes, too. Several universities also offer editing classes, and even certificates.

I read Copyediting: A Practical Guide by Karen Judd, The Copyeditor’s Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications by Amy Einsohn, and The Subversive Copy Editor by Carol Fisher Saller. The last is worth the price if only for the detailed reading list at the end. All three are fantastic resources, filled with tips and examples. By the end of The Subversive Copy Editor, I knew I wanted to be a copyeditor, but I also knew that wanting to wasn’t enough to make me one.

Katharine O’Moore-Klopf, long-time freelance editor at KOK Edit, is my mentor. She has presented and discussed resources, opportunities, and possibilities for copyediting careers in her book, Getting Started As A Freelance Copyeditor, and her Copyeditor’s Knowledge Base is a repository of excellent resources.

Next, I did a lot of online networking. Besides the EFA, I also joined the lively Copyediting-Listserv ( “for copy editors and other defenders of the English language who want to discuss anything related to editing”), and the regional Bay Area Editors Forum and Rocky Mountain Publishing Professionals Guild. I also opened accounts on Twitter and LinkedIn, where I’ve connected with many copyeditors, managing editors, writers, project editors, and publishers. Launching and maintaining an active website has gone a long way to helping me make connections, establish, and position myself as well.

Just as I did when I was trying to land my first proofreading client, when I put on my copyediting hat I examined my favorite books, interests, and hobbies so I can market to those types of publishers. I make lists and visit bookstores looking for publishers of interest, noting which genres I gravitate to and the books that catch my eye. I read The Literary Marketplace and Writer’s Market at the library as if they’re bestsellers. Both are invaluable and provide excellent information about publishers.

Online, John Kremer’s Bookmarket does a great job of listing publishers in different genres, and Publishers Weekly and newsletters from Media Bistro are regulars in my e-mail. I google and visit publisher websites, and follow several on Twitter. I consider it treasure hunting, and time flies.

While it’s a cliché, I think a career in editing—and any other field—really is all about the journey, not the destination. I have a lot of work ahead of me, but right now, for me at least, the only way is up.

Everyone dreams of working in a profession where going to work every day is a joy, not a drudgery. Editors are no exception. Like teachers, doctors, and writers, editors often specialize in one area. That specialization comes after an editor has proven herself as dependable and competent and has made a name for herself. Establishing yourself as an editor takes time. Finding your specialization might take even longer. After four years, I’m not at the specialization stage. I’m still in the proving myself and building my client list phase.

Being a relative newbie hasn’t stopped me from thinking about my specialization or niche. Merriam-Webster defines niche as a place, employment, status or activity for which a person or thing is is best fitted (finally found her niche). I have to admit that at this point, I don’t know what my niche is, but I have given it a great deal of thought. I’ve also had several conversations with editors about finding their niche and read a lot on the subject. Because of the conversations I’ve had with editors, I decided to write a blog entry on finding your niche. That entry grew to three blog entries. There was just too much information for one post.

My next three blog posts are the results of my conversations with three outstanding and well-respected editors, Laura Poole, Katharine O’Moore-Klopf, and Allison Parker. All three women specialize in different areas of editing and have different niches. I asked all three the same thirteen questions. Each has an interesting perspective, and each has a lot to say about the topic. I know you’ll learn a lot from the question and answer conversations that follow.

We’ll begin our discussion with Laura Poole. Laura is the founder of Archer Editorial Services ( www.archereditorial.com) and co-founder of Editorial Bootcamp ( www.editorialbootcamp.com). She has more than 15 years’ experience in the publishing industry, specializing in scholarly nonfiction for such clients as Oxford University Press and Duke University Press.

Hi Laura. Thank you for agreeing to answer these questions. I really appreciate it. This subject fascinates me, and I know others are as fascinated as I am. Everybody wants to know what he or she needs to do to find his or her specialty, their niche. You’ll be shedding some light on the subject.

1. Tell me a little bit about yourself. What’s your background?
I’m a lifelong avid reader. I have a bachelor’s degree in English. My last year in college, I did a work-study at Duke University Press, where I was introduced to the world of publishing. I fell in love with it! I learned how to do some desktop publishing in Quark, as well as basic proofreading, and I picked up some freelance work here and there when the internship ended and I had no job lined up. I eventually got a job in desktop publishing for a pharmaceutical training firm. I badgered my way into a promotion to Assistant Medical Editor. I kept doing freelance on the side, and eventually quit my job to pursue that full-time.

2. How long have you been freelancing? What made you decide to freelance?
I quit my job in May 1997, and I was freelancing on the side before that, starting in 1995, so… 15 years and counting!

3. A niche is defined by MW as, “a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted , a specialized market.” How many years did you freelance before you decided on a specialty, before you found or decided on your niche?
I began my business in 1997 by deciding I wanted to specialize in copyediting only. I already knew I would only do nonfiction. I still did proofreading, and occasionally desktop publishing when necessary, but I started going after only copyediting jobs. I developed a few niches depending on the clients I had: computer books, travel books, and some medical/pharma stuff. After 4 years or so, I decided to STOP doing the computer books, because (1) I didn’t like them, (2) some of them were beyond me, and (3) it was not my best work. This resulted in me “firing” two clients.

In the past 10 years or so, my business evolved naturally into doing more and more difficult work, to where I almost exclusively edit for university presses and scholarly publishers, so I call my niche “scholarly nonfiction.” This is the most prestigious level of editing and publishing, and the work can be very difficult. I definitely would NOT have been ready for this right off the bat! But now I am, and I’m good at it. I have “topic specialties” here in medical/pharma (again), anything with math in it (variety of textbooks, economics, statistics, more), and “tricky projects” (as one project editor says).

4. What is your niche?
Scholarly nonfiction

5. How long have you been freelancing in this particular area?
Hmm, including ramp-up time to get to this level, about 10 years or a little more.

6. What made you settle on this area?
(1) The pay is very good for a good editor. (2) I like the challenge. (3) I’m good at it, and that’s incredibly satisfying. (4) My clients (publishers) pay well and trust me.

7. Is it okay to have more than one niche?
Yes, I think so—as broad a niche as “nonfiction” has really served me. I have several “topic specialties” within nonfiction that makes me appealing to certain publishers. I’ve not heard any complaints on this, and I like having at least a little variety in topics.

8. What do new freelancers need to know about finding their niche? What do they need to consider?
Be open to the evolution of your work. For instance, my “math” specialty really surprised me. I have a humanities and a science background, but never really cared for math. However, I am not intimidated by it, and I somehow can just “read” it like text. My clients have been quite happy with it, and I have been surprised and pleased. This niche, although not developed or nurtured by me, presented itself within the evolution of my business.

Also, be ready to cut out the kind of work that isn’t your best. When I decided not to do computer books, that was a difficult decision—it was sort of easy money for me, but I didn’t enjoy it, and I didn’t always feel like I did a good job. Cutting out this work paid off, in the long run, though one client was very sorry to see me go. I was then able to focus more on the kind of work I wanted to do, and I had more time for it because of that. I’ve done a similar thing by no longer working for a vanity press (just couldn’t stand the bad writing!).
It may seem that you would get more business doing “everything,” but you actually get more work (and more respect) if you specialize a bit.

9. How soon should freelancers begin looking for their niche?
As soon as possible. It makes targeting your best clients much easier. Even just deciding if you want to do fiction or nonfiction is a great first step.

10. Is it important to establish yourself as a freelancer first, to get some clients, or should you jump right into a certain area? What is the better way to go? Why?
There are merits to both approaches. Establishing yourself as a freelancer first can be appealing when going after new clients. See what you’re good at, what you enjoy the most—that will help narrow down the kind of work and client to go after. Then, you are already established as a freelancer and can go after some specialty, niche clients. However, there is something to be said for clearly stating your niche and going after ONLY that. It establishes you as serious, credible, focused, and professional, plus you get to do the work you want to do right away.

11. What should freelancers know about themselves? For instance, I have been freelancing four years now and I still don’t know what my niche is. What do I need to think about?
What projects you enjoy working on the most (and least). On what projects you do your best work (and work you’re not proud of). The kinds of projects repeat clients bring to you. Who your ideal client is. The kind of work you want to do and aspire to do. Where you want to be in 5 years. How much you want to charge (more important than you might think for defining a niche!!). Your experience and interests (include hobbies and things you enjoyed studying in school).

12. After you’ve established a niche, is it okay to change niches? Would it be better to add to your niche, or should you settle on one area? Why?
I think it is ok to change niches, but an evolution might work better than an abrupt change (or at least, that’s how I’d approach it). For instance, I do a lot of scholarly books and some textbooks. Say I wanted to get into desk references (encyclopedias, other very large reference volumes on single topics). I would probably have more success moving into this niche by checking my history to see if I’ve already done something like this, perhaps getting a recommendation from the client, and actively seeking more such work—without cutting off my existing work flow. I also might be open to taking a class and just asking for similar projects before I “weed out” anything that doesn’t fit that niche. This gives me time to grow and learn and get my base settled.

I have added to my niche, rather than limiting myself to one area—it keeps it interesting. I have cut out some areas (computer books, vanity press, and I no longer really do travel books, though I miss them). I tend to identify “topic specialties” rather than different niches.

13. Is there anything you want to add? Have I forgotten an important aspect?
Hardly anyone is a “generalist” these days, and it makes you MORE attractive to clients to have some sort of niche, as you can then be seen as an expert or at least experienced in some area. You can really get your foot in the door by having a niche.

You can also have a client niche: not just topic, but the kinds of clients you serve. Generally, I work with large scholarly publishing houses (for a number of reasons), rather than individual authors. This pays off in multiple ways for me: (1) publishers have more money and more work than an individual author will. (2) Publishers talk to each other, and my name gets passed around via word of mouth quite a bit. (3) Publishers really respect my work and won’t argue with it (the way an author sometimes will). (4) Publishers have similar systems for working with freelancers. There are many more reasons, but suffice it to say I’m quite happy with this client niche.

14. Final words?
A niche can be broader than you might think and still be useful. For years, I got by on “nonfiction copy editor” as my niche. Narrowing your niche after a while is also good, as it helps you target the right projects and customers. Look for professional groups that might support a niche, such as the American Medical Writers Association, Women in Scholarly Publishing, Int’l Society for Technical and Managing Editors, Society for Technical Communication, Council for Science Editors, and so on (there’s LOTS of these groups). You can learn from these groups about specific topics and techniques that can help you. Get familiar with any specialty style guides in your niche. For instance, when I did travel guides, it helped immensely to have a Geographical Dictionary and a Food Lovers’ Companion. For scholarly editing, I MUST have a copy of Chicago Manual, APA Style, and Merriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary.

Next: Katharine O’Moore-Klopf answers the niche questions.