You’ve written the book. It’s taken blood, sweat and tears but you know if it’s going to be a success you need to send your book to an editor. Or you’ve built your business, but you know that to make the right impression you need professional help with the writing. Unless you’ve done this before it can be a minefield of unknowns. You don’t know if you’re approaching the right person, leaving enough time, understanding the process or have enough money set aside for what you need. Let’s face it, it can be a bloody nightmare. But if you manage your expectations when hiring a copyeditor, proofread ..read more

The image of a freelancer There’s an image of a freelancer. You’ll have seen the one. A happy-go-lucky, tousle-haired professional, steaming drink by their side as they type into a laptop in the window of a coffee shop. They’re smiling. Oh, and there’s the one sitting in their kitchen, cup by their side, sleeping dog at their feet as they look at their phone. There may be a pile of papers nearby, or a pad and pen for when inspiration strikes. Or the one as they cross a street in an exotic location, messenger bag slung jauntily across their shoulder as they dodge traffic, laughing because they ..read more

How do books get published? It’s not really that complicated, but getting your book published can seem quite daunting to new authors. While this isn’t an in-depth look at book publishing, it should help you to break down the process and understand what happens at each stage. Bear in mind though, that publishers work their own way, and self-publishing can take you down some different paths. Also, if you’ve written a book, you must be realistic … not every book can, or should, be published. So whether you are a fiction writer, writing an academic text or non-fiction book, or creating a book for ..read more

A Relentlessly Helpful Professional When I heard that John Espirian was writing a book, I’ll be honest, I was a bit torn. I first met John on my very first day at my very first SfEP conference (now CIEP). I’d been editing for a while, but didn’t *feel* like an editor yet. I felt like a total imposter. I felt out of my depth and a bit like any minute someone was going to throw me out of the door for being a fake. Then John came over to say hello and put me at ease.  He’s got an infectious smile and an attitude that’s relentlessly helpful no matter who you are. See, it was there long before ..read more

You need to focus They’re your perfect customer. You want to talk to them. You know it’s easier to talk to your one perfect customer than to talk to a whole room full of them, so it’s good to get the idea of Mr Perfect into your head. (I’m using Mister, but it could just as equally be Mrs, Miss, Ms or Mx.) Knowing your ideal client also makes your information more relevant for your audience. Yes, I’m talking to you, the small business owner in the corner of the room who’s hiding from the rest of the folk because you feel like you’re an outsider. (By the way, you’re not an outsider, you’re perf ..read more

Writer, copywriter, copy writer, content writer. Like editors, there are a fair few names for them. There are subtle distinctions, like a copywriter usually focuses on marketing and advertising and a content writer usually focuses on content, such as blogs, ebooks and the like. But if you’re not one, you might not know which term to use, or which one you need. Don’t worry, copywriters are a friendly bunch and are there you help you. Why should your business use a copywriter? If you have advertising and emails you’ll know how difficult it can be to write and sequence everything. You have to ge ..read more

Editing. Where does it fit within your business writing? Why does your business need it? Do you ever really think about the words your business uses? Are they chatty? Serious? Formal? Informal? Does your business thrive on hard facts or on emotions? It really doesn’t matter. You see, until you realise the benefit, you’re never going to fork out a proportion of your business’s budget on an editor. We can help you hone your business writing skills and make your writing better for your intended audience. The investment when hiring an editor or proofreader can be worth every penny. A lot of bu ..read more

Over the years I’ve had a fair number of potential clients preferring to hire an editor who lives locally. Don’t worry, it’s not just me, it happens. This week I’ll look at why this isn’t necessarily a good idea. And why in some cases it can be. Working ‘closely’ with the editor Many people don’t understand the editing process (after all why would they, they’re not trained editors). Because of this, they think they need to sit down with the editor and work through the edit with them, or have regular face-to-face meetings. Even if you’re determined to hire a local editor and believe you won’t ..read more

A ..read more

A ..read more