Curated Resources for Editors

Run by: Erin Servais and Jennifer Dinsmore

Cost: Free

Their mission is to enhance participants’ personal and professional lives by offering a fun environment in which to share and learn, commiserate and celebrate, and improve our editing and business lives through education and communication.

This community provides:

• Monthly tea parties: monthly get-togethers to chitchat about work and life
• Renegade coffee chats: monthly daytime chats on editing topics
• ETC reading cirlce: An innovative book club that alternatives between lively editing discussions and the magic of fiction exploration
• Loose-leaf learning: Hour-long educational events a few times a year
• TEAch-ins: Single-day mini conferences with four educational presentations and time to network

Run by: Jessica Brown and Sophie Playle

Cost: free

Editpreneurs is a friendly and supportive online Facebook community of freelance proofreaders and editors who want to connect and support each other to build successful and sustainable businesses that fit around their busy lives.

Every 10th of the month, they have self-promo day, where you can promote any offering you have that could help other editors.

Run by: Tara Whitaker

Cost: free 14-day trial. $57 a month or $570 a year.

This club offers consistent education, community support, and accountability to help your freelance business grow—all while having a whole lot of fun.

By joining, you get:

• A secure community space (that’s not on Facebook!) to troubleshoot, share, and meet other members
• A monthly book club focusing on the editing industry, professional development, and more
• Immediate access to Tara’s six-step Freelance Editing Business Framework workbook
• Regular support facilitated by Tara, including monthly Q&A calls, weekly coworking sessions, and a monthly self-care session
• New monthly educational trainings, including those from expert guest speakers
• Access to all past educational content such as trainings, guest speakers, and Q&As
• A private referral database only for FEC members
• A public member directory to help your next client find you
• An exclusive 25% discount on all of Tara’s offers
• And more

Run by: Linda Ruggeri and Brittany Dowdle

Cost: $49.99 a quarter or $174.99 annually

This is a community for editors who want a safe and inclusive environment to learn about and practice networking, who are ready to learn and willing to try new approaches, and who are serious about growing their business.

By signing up, you get:

• the opprotunity to practice and develop your networking skills
• 24/7 access to their provate community with forums for general discussion, sharing wins, sharing opportunities, and asking questions
• monthly online events  (2–3 hours), including group coaching and the Friends of the Studio speaker series
• live monthly office hours with Linda and Brittany (1–2 hours)
• access to the ever-growing Networking Knowledge Base
• 20% off coaching and brainstorming sessions

• Teas and Commas: The Foundations of Line and Copy-Editing Fiction (£299). This course is for editors new to line and copy-editing fiction or who have done some basic training but want to cement their learning.  It takes you through six modules: defining the job, manuscript structure and marking up, editorial tools, style and stylistic consistency, story-based consistency, and legalities.
• Development Editing: Fiction Theory (£299). This course is for editors who want to add developmental editing fiction to their skill set, who understand storytelling from a reader perspective and wants to learn it from an editor’s perspective, who are intimidated by the idea of developmentally editing fiction but excited at the prospect, and are an avid analytical reader who wants to turn their passion into something they can sell.
• Developmental Editing: Fiction in Practice (£199). This course is for editors who have a sound understanding of writing-craft theory, but aren’t sure how to translate this knowledge into a professional service or who already work as a developmental editor but want to freshen up their skills. The course has four modules: how developmental editing works, quoting and preparing the edit, writing an editorial report, editing the page, and a bonus section on finding clients.
  • Bundle and save. Bundle the 2 developmental editing courses for £399.
• Guiding Principles for Developmental Fiction Editing (£35 webinar). Do you feel overwhelmed by the idea of offering developmental fiction editing? In this 35-minute webinar, we’ll go over four guiding principles that will help you find your way.

Run by Susannah Noel, the EAA has various courses on the art of editing. Not all courses are always available, so be sure to check the site for current availabilities.

• Developmental Editing for Fiction. Designed for anyone who wants to learn the essentials of developmental editing for fiction or who wants a comprehensive refresher and reboot for their current developmental editing process
• Developmental and Line Editing for Nonfiction (Free webinar). Learn about the world of developmental editing and line editing for popular nonfiction books.
• Developmental Editing for Nonfiction Popular Books (course). Designed for new and working editors who want training in the skills of developmental editing of nonfiction books in the areas of self-help, health and wellness, personal growth, teaching memoirs, etc. Experience is not required.
• Copyediting Fiction and Nonfiction Books: Principles & Mechanics. The 6 lessons in this class cover what students need to know to get started as a copyeditor of fiction and nonfiction: style sheets, fact-checking, querying, and editorial judgment, as well as marketing and pricing. Includes a forum, access to a class library, and personalized feedback on an editing excerpt.
• Copyediting Group Mentorships. Students copyedit an entire novella or novel and compare their work to the instructor’s. Genres vary with each session. Students can ask questions and interact with their classmates in several live Zoom meetings. At the end, students receive personalized feedback on their editing, with a score from the Copyediting Evaluation Rubric. Includes a forum and access to a class library.
  

Jennifer Lawler used to teach for the EFA, and now she runs her own courses.

She has self-paced classes and instructor-led classes available.

Self-paced classes can be accessed for eighteen months after purchase and allow you to go at your own pace. Use answer keys to check your progress. If you have a question about the materials, you can ask in the monthly chat.

Instructor-led classes begin and end on specific days. Lessons are text-based and have weekly assignments with instructor feedback. The assignments have deadlines and the classes include forum participation but you don’t have to be at a particular place at a particular time to participate in the class.

• Editing fiction self-paced courses
• Editing nonfiction self-paced courses
• Editing fiction instructor-led classes
• Editing nonfiction instructor-led classes

• Introduction to Line Editing Fiction & Creative Nonfiction by Christina Frey ($300). In this class, you will begin developing your editorial eye to bring out the best in your clients’ fiction and creative nonfiction writing. We’ll cover recognizing authorial voice, tackling weak writing and pet phrases, and learning to listen to the flow of the narrative and dialogue in the context of structure and story.
• Intermediate Line Editing Fiction and Creative Nonfiction by Christina Frey ($300). In this class, intended for editors who have already completed Introduction to Line Editing Fiction and Creative Nonfiction, you will continue developing your editorial eye to bring out the best in your clients’ fiction and creative nonfiction writing.
• Structural Editing for Editors by Nicola O’Shea (AU$785). Starting with how to approach your first read, the course covers topics such as narrative voice and point of view, character arcs, plot and story structure
• Recipe editing 101 by Melissa Haskin ($497). A total of six 1-hour sessions on Zoom.  Are you an experienced editor looking to break into recipe editing? Have a knack for cooking and a love of food, but not sure where to start? Let Melissa be your guide to the unique and fun world of recipe editing! ​

• Editing Memoir by Tanya Gold. Understand what makes this genre tick. Learn how to help memoir writers shape stronger stories.
• Editing Poetry for Beginnings (for writers and editors) by Shelly Zevlever ($18.22). This short intro to editing course will have you feeling more confident about editing this mysterious, but fulfilling, genre.
• Perfect Handovers for Editorial Projects by Hazel Bird (£185). Efficiently deliver high-quality, customized handovers for your editorial projects to help your clients make the most of your service and increase the chance of repeat business.
• Handling Large Editorial Projects by Hazel Bird (£215).Stay calm at the helm of large or complex editorial projects. Avoid overwhelm and handle their unique challenges with methodical assurance.
• Essentials of Language Editing by Murugaraj Shanmugam (₹23,600). The course covers the essentials of three important components of copyediting – grammar and style, punctuation, and MS Word.
• Proofreading: How to Mark Up PDF Page Proofs by Denise Cowle (£79). With this course you will improve your efficiency by learning to make the best use of the available settings and tools.

• Guide and Template: Creating an Editorial Letter for a Nonfiction Developmental Edit by Suzy Bills ($9.95). When developmentally editing a manuscript, it’s standard to prepare an editorial letter that summarizes your overall impressions of the manuscript and details how the author can address the manuscript’s weaknesses. This guide and template will provide you with essential information on how to prepare an editorial letter.
  You will get a DOCX (26KB) file
• Punctuation 101 eBook and Workbook by Catherine Turner ($17).An e-book and workbook combo that’ll help you refresh your memory of punctuation rules, learn the punctuation mistakes you need to avoid making, and polish your punctuation skills so you can wow your readers and clients.
• Book Editor Profile Quiz by EAA (Free). This ten-minute quiz tells you what kind of book editor you are (Bookworm, Teacher, Grammar Guru, or Detail Lover), and points you toward the appropriate editing role for your strengths and interests.

Access all current blogs specific to running an editorial business. 

Current published blogs (constantly growing)

• Analyze Your Editorial Business with Confidence: Stop guessing what’s working in your editing business. Learn how to review your business performance with confidence so you can assess your time, income, client fit, and systems, then set aligned goals that actually move the needle.
• Crushing Your Editorial Busienss with a Clear Work Schedule: Struggling to stay on top of your editing workload? Learn how to manage your schedule with systems tailored for freelance editors—from setting realistic schedules to balancing admin and billable hours and building in buffer space.
• Clear Systems & Processes: Project Management Part 1:Learn how to implement clear project management systems and processes to streamline your freelance editing business. Discover essential processes for client intake, project organization, and completion to ensure smooth workflows and timely delivery.
• Creating Your Editorial Brand: A brand helps you be more recognizable, stand out from the crowd, and generate loyalty. Learn how to create the non-visual and visual elements of your brand as an editorial freelancer to attract the right clientele.
• Clear Systems & Processes: Time Management: Master time management with practical tips tailored for editors. Discover strategies to boost productivity, schedule your day, meet deadlines, and maintain work-life balance while handling the complexities of editing.
• Synergized Mentoring and Collaboration: The editing community is full of helpful people, so don’t go it alone. Ask your questions, get answers. Then go a step further and find others to mentor swap and collaborate with. Learn why and how to do this!
• Clear Systems & Processes: Client Management: Client management doesn’t need to be stressful and time-consuming. Create clear systems and processes and you’ll feel on top of your client relationships in no time. No more forgetting to send a client a message, no more wondering where you put their information … Instead, create your repeatable processes and stick to them.
• Clear Systems & Processes: Financial Mangement: Bookkeeping and filing taxes don’t need to be stressful. Create clear systems and processes and you’ll feel on top of your finances in no time. No stuffing receipts or invoices into a drawer or digital file. Instead create your repeatable processes and stick to them.
• Crushing Your Editorial Business with Email Templates: Email templates can save you a lot of time spent emailing so learn how to create them and what templates you may want to create for your editorial business. This blog also contains free email templates for you to download and modify.
• Crushing Your Editorial Business with Checklists: Editing is a cognitively demanding skill, and with so much to think about, it is easy to overlook tasks to do and edits to look for. Checklists keep you organized and on track. Learn the power of checklists and how to create and use them.

Beacon Point specializes in teaching other freelance editors how to better run their business. So for more webinars and courses, check out my courses page.

For topics not covered by Beacon Point, check out these resources.

• Marketing Your Freelance Book Editing Business  by Editorial Arts Academy ($149): This course is full of strategies and how-tos that will help you find and attract your ideal indie-author clients.
• Get Into a Long-Term Relationship with Your Clients by Michelle Waitzman (CA$70 webinar). Learn how to turn one-off or short-term projects into ongoing clients. Nurturing long-term client relationships will bring you steady work, make it easier to get enthusiastic referrals, and allow you to work more efficiently as you get to know your clients’ expectations, styles and quirks.
• Maximizing Productivity: How Editors Can Accomplish More without Working More Hours by Suzy Bills ($30 webinar). Whether working as employees or freelancers, editors benefit from maximizing their productivity. Some productivity strategies are relatively simple and straightforward, such as using Word shortcut keys. Other strategies are more advanced (and perhaps intimidating), such as using macros. Some other strategies seem counterintuitive—for example, taking breaks can actually help editors complete projects faster. This 71-minute webinar will cover these and other strategies to help editors increase their productivity, all while reducing some of the monotonous aspects of editing and increasing editing accuracy.
• Charge What You’re Worth by Molly McCowan (free course). This free, 9-lesson course gives you actionable ways to find your ideal freelance rates, say goodbye to the hustle, and build a profitable business that energizes you.

Remember Beacon Point has a Business Finance Tracker, Project Data Tracker, and List of Projects Tracker, along with three free resources (checklists, email templates, and review forms).

Check out these books, booklets, and resources to help you run your business:

• Freelancing 101 by Ruth Thaler-Carter ($17.24 booklet). Being an editorial freelancer takes certain professional abilities, personal attributes, and business skills. The authors address the most common questions asked by editors considering the freelance life, including the practical information about getting started in editorial freelancing, getting work, and getting paid
• Alternative Sources of Income for Freelance Editors by Susy Bills ($2.99 booklet). Whether you are a serial entrepreneur or just want to diversify your sources of income, you might be interested in establishing income streams that complement your editing business. This eleven-page guide discusses common options for expanding how you earn money, with a focus on passive income streams. Options that this guide covers include writing books, providing training, hosting podcasts, creating YouTube videos, and using affiliate marketing.
• The Freelance Editor’s Handbook by Susy Bills ($25 book). The Freelance Editor’s Handbook provides a complete guide to setting up and running a prosperous freelancing business, from finding clients to increasing productivity, from deciding how to price services to achieving work/life balance, and from paying taxes to saving for retirement. Unlike most other books on freelance editing, this book is founded on a business-success mindset: The goal isn’t simply to eke out a living through freelancing. Rather, the goal is to establish a thriving, rewarding business that allows editors to achieve their career goals, earn a comfortable living, and still have time for family, friends, and personal pursuits.
• Get the clients you deserve by Lori De Milto (free ebook). This step-by-step guide will show you how to stand out in a sea of freelancers so you can get the steady, high-paying clients you deserve.
• Improve Your Editor Website by Debbie Emmitt (£9.95–12.95 book). Clear, actionable advice to make your editor website a marketing powerhouse. Your website is your most effective promotional tool … if used correctly. Tap its full potential.
• Editing Contract Template by Tara Whitaker ($247 Word document). Finally—a contract template written specifically for freelance editors! Whether you’re a fiction or nonfiction editor, academic copyeditor, or any other kind of editor, using this contract template will make your freelance business legally legit without the hassle or expense of hiring an attorney.