In today’s episode I talk with Katrina Oko-Odoi, PhD, co-owner of the dissertation editing and coaching agency, Editing Worm. Katrina earned her PhD in Literature from UC San Diego and began freelance editing while she was in grad school. Observing various challenges of academic life, from departmental politics to student behavior, Katrina realized early on that she wanted to have more control over her career and her life than a traditional academic job would offer.

So she and her husband started their company, Editing Worm, in 2011. Over the last 13 years, Editing Worm has grown into a boutique editing and coaching agency that employs five freelance academic editors and two research methodologists who guide graduate students through the dissertation-writing process and through graduation.

In our conversation, Katrina shares her journey from graduate student to freelance editor and fully fledged entrepreneur. Here are a few steps she recommends to new business owners that we discuss in this episode:

🖋️ Join a community of entrepreneurs (even if they’re not editors or academics) to learn the ins and outs of business ownership

🖋️ Assess your level of interest in academic editing and your writing skills and start small, by taking on one or two projects to see if you really want to make this a career

🖋️ Don’t worry about competition between editors; there’s enough work out there for everyone

🖋️ Specialize and establish your niche

Finally, Katrina tells us what she thinks about whether or not AI tools will pose a threat to academic editors in the years to come.

To work with Katrina and the editors and coaches at Editing Worm, go to: https://editingworm.com/

You can also connect with Katrina on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrinaokoodoi-contentwriter/

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