OPTIMAL EDITORIAL SERVICES IS 3 YEARS OLD TODAY!

I became a freelancer because I felt I had nowhere else to go. I didn’t want to carry on climbing the greasy pole of promotion in fulfilment of the Peter Principle, and I’d had my fill of toeing the corporate line. Three years later, I feel I am learning from my initial mistakes and enjoying all the best bits about freelancing (freedom, flexibility and variety) while dealing adequately with all the boring stuff (finding work, chasing payment, dealing with the Inland Revenue, having to fix my own IT issues …).

Things I’ve learned along the way:

  1. No matter how good you think you are, clients will not be beating down your door from day 1.
  2. There are literally thousands of editors competing for work – never underestimate the power of a USP (I’m still working on that …).
  3. Professional Membership of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) has been invaluable in obtaining good advice, expanding my client base and sharing knowledge and skills.
  4. Printer cartridges are very expensive.
  5. ‘No’ is the hardest word to say.
  6. You’re no bunny until some bunny loves you (wait – how did that get in there?!).

Here’s to the next three years!

[Photo by Daria Obymaha: https://www.pexels.com/photo/birthday-cake-1684039/]