Many people with a knack for bringing out the best in content and excelling in grammatical skills choose to become editors. If you have also chosen the same career path, you have some big decisions to make ahead.
The decisions you make early on in your career can help you for years to come. It is best to give them a lot of thought and consideration before finalizing them because they hold the potential to make or break your spirit on the editing journey.
Here are some important decisions every editor must make early on.
Choose a Focus
There is not just one type of editor you can become. In fact, there are many types of editing you can choose from. Whether you prefer to specialize in developmental editing, copy editing, fact-checking, or proofreading, it is best to decide and practice your focus early on.
Early work in your area of focus can help you create an attractive portfolio for your career ahead. You can also choose a combination of different types of editing as a focus. There are no limitations for someone with a passion for growth.
Select a Genre
Every editor has a preferred genre or type of book that they love to edit. If you are not sure, you may have to read works from different genres to see which one you enjoyed analyzing the most.
Whether you choose fiction books or academic texts to edit, focusing on a single genre can help you practice editing it more and hone your skills to become even better at what you love. Over time, you will be recognized as an authority among those industries.
Select Your Rates
The next big decision to make is to consider your editor salary. Your pricing structure must be based on factors such as your experience, level of editing, and industry standards.
If you are just starting your journey, you can also edit work for your friends and colleagues for free to build your portfolio. This way, you will have some samples to show what you have to offer to your clients.
Even if you set lower prices at the beginning of your career due to a lack of experience, do not worry. It will not stay the same forever. You can increase the charges for your services as you gain more hands-on experience and ensure client satisfaction over time.
Define Your Workflow
It is important to define your workflow before you start working as a professional editor. Sit back and wonder what tools you will use for your work and in what order you will use them to improve your client’s work.
Following that, see which platform is the best to maintain communication with the authors and whether it is fit for sharing files, arranging meetings, and sharing your screen with the clients while editing.
You can also draft a document to define your workflow so that the authors always know at what stage of editing their content stands at a certain point in time. It can make work easier for you and give your clients a sense of surety while working with you.
Create Your Contracts
A professional editor must never work without a contract. This document helps editors secure their rights and develop clear terms for their clients. Your contract can also be altered for specific clients to meet mutual needs and standards.
Every contract must include clear agreements outlining the scope of work. In addition, you must also make sure to add timelines, payment terms, cancellation policies, violation terms, and revision processes for your clients to agree to while working with you.
Manage Client Relationships
Everything must be managed with professionalism, and the goal of ensuring client satisfaction must always be the center of focus for editors. One important decision every editor must make is deciding how they will manage client relationships.
Every editor must streamline the process of managing collaborations with their clients and dealing with client feedback. This process will not only help you keep your content organized but also let the clients know that they are valued.
Craft Marketing Strategies
You must craft a process of how you plan to promote your services. The great thing is that there are no limitations in our technology-driven world. If you are really determined to get the word out about something, putting in the right efforts and using the best platforms will surely help you achieve your goal.
It is important to define a process of how you will promote your editing services early on in your career. You can choose one or a combination of different opportunities, such as networking, social media platforms, content marketing, and several other channels.
Ensure Continuous Learning
Another important decision you must make early on in your career as an editor is that there is always more to learn. Any professional who wants to grow in their field must understand that you can grow further if you have the will.
Always put efforts towards staying updated on industry trends and discovering the latest tools that can help you provide better services to your clients. Learn new editing techniques, join workshops, sign up for seminars, and read extensively.
In addition, you can also sign up for editing courses where you can learn more from masters in the industry to hone your skills even further. These courses can be a great addition to your portfolio and make you stand out among your competitors.
Scale Your Business
Editors do not work in a vacuum. There are so many people associated with them and you must understand the bigger picture of things. If you want to scale your business, there are many opportunities for you to discover.
You can scale your editing business by hiring other professionals, such as subcontractors, growing your network, and following industry trends to discover room for growth. Every big and small step counts in making a more successful tomorrow for passionate editors.
