Secrets to Providing Good Services as an Editor

by Stacey Kucharik

When I was a little girl, my mother asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up.

I told her, quite innocently, that I wanted to read for a living. She smiled at me indulgently and asked if I had a back-up plan.

I told her that I’d like to be a check-out clerk at the grocery store then; it looked like fun!

How I Discovered that I was Passionate About Other People’s Stories

For years, I fancied myself as a writer, spending hours scribbling in notebooks, writing allegories to tease my friends, and buying baby name books to find the perfect name for my characters. I wrote, I queried, I got some short stories published, but I was never able to “get it right.”

Throughout high school and college, I became a writing tutor to supplement my income. It was work I enjoyed immensely. I began to edit for fellow students in undergrad and was compensated minorly.

Then, I began editing for my local colleges, editing and proofreading academic paper and article submissions. Some business professionals asked me to review works before publishing and I proofread for some ad agencies and newspapers.

It was work, but it wasn’t what I wanted to do. Through this work, I realized my real passion; I wasn’t supposed to write books, I was supposed to edit them. I am passionate about other people’s stories.

How I Built My Own Editing Business

So, in 2008, I began to exclusively edit fiction and founded my editing company, Polished Print.

In order to build my reputation and network, I decided to attend graduate school and earn my degree in publishing with a focus on editing. It was the rise of self-publishing, and I earned a certificate in e-publishing, helping me become popular among the burgeoning self-publishers.

I started on some bidding sites (think Fivver) and quickly learned that if I were to become a professional, I couldn’t auction my services. I joined professional associations, attended conferences (eventually speaking and presenting at those conferences), and talking to as many authors as I could.

With some self-promotion, an active Facebook page, and a constant need to share my knowledge, I’ve built a business that I’m proud of, and I get to tell my mother that I’ve accomplished my goal. Sure, maybe self-checkout lines have taken one of my dreams away, but I now get to read (and make the books better) for a living.

If You’re New to Writing/Editing, Dabble in Multiple Genres

For the last dozen or so years, I’ve been a fiction-only editor. About 75% of the authors I work with are self-publishing, but I have a network of agents who send me manuscripts before submitting to publishers as well.

A few vanity presses send me work on occasion too, though they are in that gray area of traditionally published and self-published. I’ve worked with every genre of fiction imaginable; from the prevalent romance and mystery to the less common litRPG and cyberpunk.

If you are new to writing or editing, you need to dabble in multiple genres just like me. I spent years bouncing between fiction, non-fiction, writing, editing, literature, and fluff pieces. Why? Because you have concept in your mind and reality is always a little bit different.

One of my specialties is American English as a second language. I work with a slew of international authors who speak English but want to publish in America. American English is a conglomerate of languages, and certain references (like Boxing Day) don’t hold the same meaning to an American audience.

I have worked with authors from Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, and currently, Germany. These international authors speak “the Queen’s English” very well and their writing is generally superb, but they need a careful eye to detect the variations in spelling (gray/grey), grammar (toward/towards), and reference (Super Bowl Sunday only holding meaning in the United States).

Focus on the Quality of Your Service First

Focus on the quality of your service first. Everything else is secondary.

If you are passionate about your craft, then you will focus on your craft. You will want to work on your craft. You do whatever it takes to make sure your work is top notch. I was already getting paid to edit BEFORE I started my master’s degree program. I would regularly over deliver with clients to make sure my work was good and up to my standards.

If you are NOT passionate about your work, then you need to get a great marketer to “sell” new people all of the time, because nobody will come back to you and eventually the market demands will catch up and run you out of the industry.

When your service is good, the business will come. I’m a big advocate of free editing samples. You, as an author, need to know what you are buying, and a good editor is happy to prove her mettle. These free sample edits help me show my value to my clients and more than 90% of my prospects hire me after the free sample.

The More People You Help, the More Will Work with You

All of my marketing and outreach is built around showing my work. Whether it is showing how to write a query letter, highlighting common grammar mistakes, or an introduction into self-publishing mini course, it all shows extra services built into my editing and the quality of service that I provide.

Budding editors should be doing the same thing. Strike up conversations with authors. Create little articles and items of value to show how good you are. Take a little time to make it look pretty but spend most of your time on developing really valuable content. The more people you help, the more people that will work with you.

Our business slogan is “from concept to completion.” As an editor, I’m there for the author from the moment that we connect until the book is published or contracted. For this reason, I have many multiple-book authors.

I offer an active Facebook page full of helpful content for authors. Sometimes it’s about writing tips and techniques, and sometimes it’s about encouragement for writer’s block and sympathy for rejections. I offer more than just my professional services and offer authors courses to learn more about writing and publishing. My company offers promotions occasionally to build a package; for example, we have offered free formatting with an editing package.

How Lazy Editors Get Themselves Into Trouble

Formatting is the most profitable service that I offer. It takes a long time to learn how to do it well, but once you’ve got it down then it’s like riding a bike. The formatting market is fairly saturated, so it can be tough to find the work in bulk but it’s good work to have.

Most of the companies that specialize in it provide mediocre service. Everything needs to be custom. Don’t confuse lucrative with “I can get a computer to do it automatically.” That’s how a lot of lazy editors get themselves into trouble.

My largest jobs are full development edits. When authors feel lost and confused in their own editing process, they come to me for help developing their plot arcs, their characterization, and sometimes their conclusions.

It is by far the most time-consuming edit so it requires a larger investment from the author; however, it is very enjoyable process for me personally and helps make manuscripts into novels.

Other Services I Offer to Expand My Editing Business

I want to edit exclusively. However, at the end of the editing process, most manuscripts still need a proofread, so I offer proofreading services through my company as well. I also offer formatting services for both print and digital, and I sell prefab covers from my website.

Some authors are hesitant to invest in themselves initially and are looking for a smaller commitment to their novel, so I recently began offering courses online to teach authors everything they will need to know about self-publishing and traditional publishing.

We will be expanding these courses in the new year to include more writing specific topics like character development, dialogue, and plot development.

Helpful Tools for Editors

While I am editing, I use Microsoft Word’s track changes feature and comments for queries. Though it is a simple program, it’s surprising how little authors know about the tool. I also use Loom for video emails to create tutorials for authors who might not be very tech-savvy.

LinkedIn and Facebook have been invaluable to me to building my network. There are millions of budding authors out there. Too many for any one person to serve. It’s a lot of work to go out and network, but if you are motivated to find new people and make connections then there is plenty of work. If you are thinking about being an editor, then trying meeting (virtually) a few authors and just start helping them. If you love it, then dig in deeper. If you don’t, then maybe editing is not the right career for you.

Be bold and connect with new people. Most of them are just like you. They are struggling to find their way and are feeling uncertain about what to do next. I’m a big fan of collaborating. I can teach you something and you can teach me something. Let’s work together (in whatever capacity) and at the end of the day your book will be better and I will have one more notch in my belt.

Fill up your belt with experience and small, free resources to support authors. That’s my best tactic for getting new business.

I took courses to learn Adobe InDesign (the industry standard program for formatting). There are so many formatting problems during editing. You make one minor change in Chapter 1 and all of sudden Chapter 14 is written in reverse.

The Business of Editing: Taking Payments and Doing Taxes

In the very beginnings of my business, I only accepted cash or personal check, but that is very difficult to keep up when authors are not located nearby. Paypal is huge. There is no “silicon valley” where all of the authors go to live. Most of your clients will be out of state. You need to be able to do everything remotely.

I began using Paypal, Venmo, and Stripe to allow my authors more freedom of choice in their payment method, and (despite the fee PayPal and Stripe takes) it gives my invoices and payments a more credible look as well as protection and remediation if needed.

Starting your own business can be difficult because it’s not just about your ability to do your job, it’s about your organization in maintaining the business. I have a local CPA help me with filing taxes, completing 1099s, and any major financial issue that might arise.

I am averse to Quickbooks, though it would be an ideal application if I could learn to use it! Keeping track of expenses and income as well as keeping up with new leads of clients can be challenging. At the moment, I use a CRM called Hubspot and Excel to track the majority of my business leads and finances.

Advice for a Young Writer/Editor: Pursue Your Dream

Pursue your dream. Read EVERYTHING you can, write whenever you can, and when you’re ready, hire an editor!

* * *

Stacey Kucharik began her editing company, Polished Print, 12 years ago. She has worked with hundreds of authors to polish their manuscripts into publishable novels. Though her background began with academic editing, Stacey works with fiction authors exclusively and edits between ten and fifteen novels per year.

Stacey holds two Bachelor’s degrees in English with a focus on creative writing and Communications as well as a Master’s degree in Publishing with a focus on editing from Rosemont.

Polished Print aspires to educate authors and posts frequent educational videos about the publishing process and improving writing on Facebook. It has been Stacey’s pleasure to participate in several writing conferences in the last handful of years.

For more information on Stacey and her work, please see her website, or connect with her on Facebook. For more information on her courses, see Polished Print Courses.