Launching into a Freelance Career

Suzanne Meyers, ELSCaroline Define

From Suit to Pajamas: The Road to Becoming a Freelancer

Brief Personal Background

BA in English/Writing Worked at LWW (now part

of Wolters Kluwer) as production editor in both Journals Department and Medical Education Books Department.

Quit in 2004 to take a 6-month road trip and start freelance career.

All of my work initially came from LWW and the contacts I had made at LWW.

However, things change in 7 years.

Change: Ready or Not… Most major publishing houses do not hire freelancers directly anymore,

except in some cases for journals. Examples: LWW, Wiley. Full-service composition companies have largely taken over this role.

Example: Aptara, which is an exhibitor at this CSE meeting.

Also, outsourcing to other countries (e.g., India), both management and editing, is occurring and may increase in the future. Freelancer must be able to adapt to change. How:

Become a member of an organization like the CSE; it can help you keep abreast of changes and find out who is hiring.

Be flexible and open to trying new technology; the more you learn, the more you can offer; keep current with latest style guideline editions (AMA, CMS, APA, etc.).

Stay aware of the changes; talk to your work contacts about developments in their companies, because changes trickle down and will affect you.

Show Me the Money! Where there is work, there is pay.

Publishing companies, particularly for journals LWW, Wiley, Elsevier

Full-service companies, for books and journals Cadmus, Aptara, PreMedia Global (latter two are exhibitors)

Societies that self-publish journals American Society of Clinical Oncology (Journal of Clinical Oncology),

American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Universities that publish

Johns Hopkins University Press Organizations and government agencies

WHO, UN, FDA

Survey Says… Now that you know where the work is, how do you get it? Northwest Independent Editor’s Guild survey results on

freelancers’ methods of obtaining new clients: Referrals from other clients/editors: 84% A guild website (member dir/job board/list serve): 40% Cold-calling: 21% -- includes cold-emailing Networking event: 19% Own website: 18% Advertising: 4%

Sample Job Listing Cadmus Publisher Services Group, a worldwide leader and provider of

content management and production services to scientific, technical, and medical journal publishers, seeks freelance copyeditors for complex scientific, technical, medical, and social science journal content.

Applicants should have experience editing complex material, including tables, in Microsoft Word. A thorough knowledge of AMA, CSE, or APA style is required.

All applicants must be able to commit to working a minimum of 10 hours and/or editing 100 pages/week.

Please submit both your cover letter and resume.

Aspects to Consider When Contemplating a Freelance Career

The Good…Advantages of a freelance career

Freedom: you are your own boss Pay (maximize your time) Tax write-offs: home office, Internet, etc. Flexibility if you have a family Set your own hours You can never be fired or laid off Save on commuting time and gas You can wear your pajamas

The Bad…Disadvantages of a freelance career

Social Security tax: have to pay all No health insurance through company No match for 401k Slow/heavy periods are stressful: work uncertainty

(is there enough) in slow periods and time management and overwhelming workload in heavy periods

No paid time off for sick days or vacation—if you don’t work, you’re not paid

Marketing

Why Market Your Services?Relying on word-of-mouth referrals gets you

only so farEven long-standing clients can go out of

business or change directionsDon’t wait until work dries up to find new

clients Marketing should be ongoing Incorporate marketing into daily workflow

Marketing VehiclesWebsiteSocial mediaDirect e-mailsE-mail listsProfessional organizations

Marketing VehiclesWebsite

Professionally designed site Good search engine optimization

The better your keywords are, the more easily search engines will find your site

Frequent updates (blog) Make site more attractive to search engines Show your expertise to potential clients

Linking from other sites

Social Media Twitter

Keep your tweets professionally focused Expand networking possibilities Follow organizations, publications, and individuals to keep

up with your field

LinkedIn Create detailed listing: public resume Maintain connections with existing contacts Follow contacts as they change jobs Participate in groups and discussions

Facebook Create page for your services “Like” or become fan of organizations and companies

Cross-pollinate Create blog post, tweet the URL, publish on Facebook Post tweets on blog Link blog to Facebook and LinkedIn profiles Comment frequently on other blogs to increase traffic to your

site

Direct E-mails Targets

Existing contacts Vendors Authors you’ve worked with Former colleagues Potential clients (search LinkedIn for second-/third-degree

contacts)

Send initial e-mail to announce services/availability Send periodic follow-ups

Remind existing clients of past work Offer services for future projects

E-mail lists Subscribe to Copyediting-L, Freelance-L,

FreelanceWritersEditors Access job postings Participate in discussions to increase your exposure

and promote your knowledge

Professional organizations Join CSE, AMWA, BELS, Editorial Freelancers Assoc.

Grants you access to job postings, message boards, and freelance directories

Launching into a Freelance Career

Suzanne Meyers, ELS www.suzannemeyersediting.com

Caroline Define