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How I Became a Freelance Editor
by Kathy Ide
© 2005


"If you could do anything for a living, what would it be?" my husband asked when I lost my office job due to tendon injuries.

"Write," I answered instantly. I'd been writing in my spare time and had sold some articles, short stories, and play scripts. "But I can't make a living at it...at least not yet."

"What would your second choice be?" he asked.

Almost immediately I responded, "Helping other writers."

A friend of mine ran a critique service, and I'd been doing some work for her. I found it extremely rewarding, and the authors I worked with raved about how much better their manuscripts read with my changes. I'd always been able to easily spot typos and errors in punctuation, grammar, and spelling. I seemed to have a knack for seeing how someone's writing could be tighter, where a scene needed more "showing" instead of "telling," and how to improve character development, consistency, and pace. And I loved encouraging other writers.

My husband said I should see if I could make a living at that. I approached my Workers Compensation coordinator with the idea.

Her brow puckered. "No one would hire an editor without a college degree. Sorry, but that's impossible."

Believing that God specializes in things people think are "impossible," I accepted the challenge. I have now been a full-time freelance editor for seven years. I work at home, with a wonderfully flexible schedule, and I make more money now than before. I love my work, and I wouldn't go back to my old job for anything!



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kathy Ide edits, critiques, and proofreads fiction and nonfiction manuscripts including short stories, play scripts, screenplays, devotionals, articles, and book-length works. She also speaks at writers conferences across the country. She is the author of Christian Drama Publishing, Polishing the PUGS: Punctuation, Usage, Grammar, and Spelling, and the soon-to-be-released Typing without Pain. Her works have been published in numerous magazines, compilations, and script collections. For more information, check out her Web site: http://www.KathyIde.com

Copyright © 2008. All rights reserved. Content on this site may not be archived, retransmitted, saved in a database, or used for any commercial purpose without the express written permission of Kathy Ide.

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