How I Became A Freelance Editor

Ever since I was little, I’ve always loved books – reading and writing them. My sisters and I used to walk up to our local library and bring home about four or five books at a time, and keep them right up until the two week limit. This carried on right through secondary school, when I fell in love with reading YA fiction, both contemporary and light fantasy genres. I began writing on Wattpad when I was fifteen, and experimenting in different areas. I started writing the novel that I’m in the process of self publishing over the next few months, but a much, much earlier version of it. It will be ten years since I started writing the book by the time it’s published.

After studying English at A Levels, I decided, (while on a school World Challenge expedition to Mozambique in Africa, strangely enough) to study Creative Writing at university. I’d always wanted to work with books, but didn’t know exactly what route I wanted to go down. So I researched, and fell in love with the idea. I studied different courses, but had passed the application date by this time, so I applied for the following year, and found a course at the University of Bedfordshire. It ended up becoming the best decision I could have made. I absolutely loved university, and many of the friends I met there are still my best friends now. But it taught me a lot about the writing process, and the types of writing I loved. I developed a love for dystopian fiction, and it brought me the love for fantasy genres I love now. I started my Booktube channel while in my second year of university, and also started working for a popular bookstore called The Works. I later transferred to the Milton Keynes store, where I also met my partner now, and made many more of the close friends I still speak to now.

Since university, I had a few interviews for book publishing roles. I was interviewed for a PA role and a Sales Executive role in HarperCollins HQ department, and I was also interviewed twice at Bonnier Books, once for a coordinator role and once as a receptionist. In all of these roles, I was told I interviewed well but there were other candidates with closer experience to what they needed, which I could understand, as gutted as I was. I’d still love to get into the publishing industry now one day, if I could, but I’m so proud of my freelance editing role and how far it’s come.

I’ve worked in many different jobs and industries, mostly in sales and retail since university, but the role that led me to start my freelance editing business was The Sapphire Community Group, a charity in London where I was first a Literature Intern, and then the Head of Literature. This role really opened my eyes to the kind of role I wanted to work in. And if only it paid enough to give full time work, I would still be there because I loved it so much. I was instantly given the Literature Manager role, even as an intern, and was given the task of running an online blog for the charity, supporting other managers with recruitment and training days, attending events with the charity and also creating literature themed events for the young people that the charity aimed to support. But it was when I began editing creative projects and blog posts for the young writers associated with the charity that I really envisioned what I wanted to do. I’d given feedback to writer friends and peers during university, but this felt more rewarding because I was actually helping people with the editing I was doing. I wanted to do more and more of it, so I did my research and began planning how to run the business straight away.

I created the website, created an email account, researched starting a company online, and organised social media pages. I created posters, workshop questions and activities that I could provide for any writers I worked with. I emailed hundreds of bookshops and sent them my posters, asking them to display them in their stores to attract any potential writers looking for freelance editors. I’ve been doing this for two years now, and it’s all gone so quickly, but I’ve met so many lovely authors and read so many wonderful books since then.

You can find out more about my editing services and the types of books I’ve edited here: https://hookedonwordseditorialservices.wordpress.com/client-publications/

Fantasy books are my niche, especially YA, but I have also edited YA contemporary novels with sensitive themes, adult fantasy books, and Christian themed autobiographies and testimonials.

I offer developmental editing, copy-editing and proofreading services. Drop me a line if you think we’d be a good fit and we can talk about your project.