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This episode is all about book editor visibility.

tl;dr: For most editors, visibility is an optional strategy, not a necessity

Tune in to hear how:

• Visibility isn't something you have to do if you're an editor.
• You can have a fallow season without pressure to be visible.
• The pressure to be consistent can have negative mental health implications.
• Referrals are a significant source of clients for editors.
• Not all visible editors are successful
• Building relationships is often more effective than audience building.
• Social media visibility can help if you're selling low-ticket offerings or editing for self-published authors.
• It's possible to run a successful editing business without social media.
• A focus on depth in client relationships rather than quantity can work well.

Support the show

Queer-owned business. AI-free editing and consulting. Conscious language advocate.

💎Book an editorial assessment: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com/book-an-editorial-assessment

🌈Second World Editorial: Speculative fiction editing and writing: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com

🎓The Narrative Craft: Cultural anthropology developmental editing and consultancy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/

💎Need a transcript? Here you go: https://thefreelancer.buzzsprout.com/

🥰 Check out my fiction newsletter for stories, opinions, and tips on how to survive publishing without exploiting yourself or others: https://thenarrativecraft.kit.com/e8debf1dd5

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In today's ep I'm chatting with Vesna Kurilic of Shtriga Books again!

Today we discuss inclusive language and nonbinary gender in Croatian language and fiction. We explore how culturally specific the discussions around conscious and inclusive language are, and what challenges other contexts face with different approaches toward languages.

Then we get onto grammar. In Croatian, which has three grammatical genders, you flag the speaker's gender much more often than in English. We explore what this means for getting your head around nonbinary pronouns, and what that means for Croatian spec fic!

Shtriga Books: https://shtriga.com

Milena Benini: https://www.croatian-literature.hr/zzindex_sing.php?tekst_id=609&menu_id=1

Support the show

Queer-owned business. AI-free editing and consulting. Conscious language advocate.

💎Book an editorial assessment: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com/book-an-editorial-assessment

🌈Second World Editorial: Speculative fiction editing and writing: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com

🎓The Narrative Craft: Cultural anthropology developmental editing and consultancy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/

💎Need a transcript? Here you go: https://thefreelancer.buzzsprout.com/

🥰 Check out my fiction newsletter for stories, opinions, and tips on how to survive publishing without exploiting yourself or others: https://thenarrativecraft.kit.com/e8debf1dd5

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In the last episode of 2025, I discuss how the year went from a business and marketing perspective.

2025 was a big experiment in running my business without social media.

Things didn't go exactly to plan—tune in to learn which part of my business suffered, the big decisions I made at the end of the year, and find out how much I earned exactly in 2025.

I finish with some predictions for 2026. YAY!

Support the show

Queer-owned business. AI-free editing and consulting. Conscious language advocate.

💎Book an editorial assessment: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com/book-an-editorial-assessment

🌈Second World Editorial: Speculative fiction editing and writing: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com

🎓The Narrative Craft: Cultural anthropology developmental editing and consultancy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/

💎Need a transcript? Here you go: https://thefreelancer.buzzsprout.com/

🥰 Check out my fiction newsletter for stories, opinions, and tips on how to survive publishing without exploiting yourself or others: https://thenarrativecraft.kit.com/e8debf1dd5

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How does publishing work outside the Anglosphere?

In today's ep, I'm chatting with Vesna Kurilic, owner of Shtriga Books – a small press in Croatia publishing queer speculative fiction.

We discuss how things work differently in Croatia, the yawning gulf between literary and genre fiction there (compared with in the Anglosphere), and what Anglo-American publishing could learn from Croatia and vice versa.

You can check out Shtriga Books here: https://shtriga.com/

Support the show

Queer-owned business. AI-free editing and consulting. Conscious language advocate.

💎Book an editorial assessment: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com/book-an-editorial-assessment

🌈Second World Editorial: Speculative fiction editing and writing: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com

🎓The Narrative Craft: Cultural anthropology developmental editing and consultancy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/

💎Need a transcript? Here you go: https://thefreelancer.buzzsprout.com/

🥰 Check out my fiction newsletter for stories, opinions, and tips on how to survive publishing without exploiting yourself or others: https://thenarrativecraft.kit.com/e8debf1dd5

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Why do you read stories? What keeps you turning the page?

Wish fulfilment is one possible answer! Tune in to hear other reasons, alongside a chat about wish fulfilment in romance and dystopian fiction, the story problems it can create, and how wish fulfilment links to the oppression of marginalized groups.

Enjoy!

Links mentioned:

Call of the Camino: https://www.suzanneredfearnauthor.com/copy-of-where-butterflies-wander-1

Falconsaga: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222253066-falconsaga

Mythcreants (candy and spinach): https://mythcreants.com/blog/the-best-characters-eat-their-spinach-and-their-candy/

Mind-melding with fictional characters: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/time-travelling-apollo/202104/mind-melding-our-favorite-fictional-characters

Support the show

Queer-owned business. AI-free editing and consulting. Conscious language advocate.

💎Book an editorial assessment: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com/book-an-editorial-assessment

🌈Second World Editorial: Speculative fiction editing and writing: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com

🎓The Narrative Craft: Cultural anthropology developmental editing and consultancy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/

💎Need a transcript? Here you go: https://thefreelancer.buzzsprout.com/

🥰 Check out my fiction newsletter for stories, opinions, and tips on how to survive publishing without exploiting yourself or others: https://thenarrativecraft.kit.com/e8debf1dd5

Send a text

This week's ep is all about how we balance our editing, coaching, and writerly selves and businesses! 😍

We discuss the query trenches, writing routines and habits, whether you need to be a writer to coach writers, and lots more besides!

Here are a few things we mention:

Karen's coaching: https://www.karenaparker.com/book-coaching

Mythcreants community: https://www.patreon.com/Mythcreants

Mythcreant's idea of a magnum opus: https://mythcreants.com/blog/six-tips-for-writing-your-first-novel-and-series/

Karen's Captured Phantoms fund and 25 ways to resist in 2025: https://www.karenaparker.com/blog/25-ways-to-resist-in-2025

My Pay-It-Forward fund: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/pay-it-forward-fund

Support the show

Queer-owned business. AI-free editing and consulting. Conscious language advocate.

💎Book an editorial assessment: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com/book-an-editorial-assessment

🌈Second World Editorial: Speculative fiction editing and writing: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com

🎓The Narrative Craft: Cultural anthropology developmental editing and consultancy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/

💎Need a transcript? Here you go: https://thefreelancer.buzzsprout.com/

🥰 Check out my fiction newsletter for stories, opinions, and tips on how to survive publishing without exploiting yourself or others: https://thenarrativecraft.kit.com/e8debf1dd5

Send a text

This week's ep is all about lit mags! ✨

If you're exploring this space and trying to figure it out, this podcast ep is for you.

I discuss how to find the right magazine for your story, the importance of reading widely, and the realities of rejection in the submission process. 

I also explore the culture and industry of literary magazines, including issues of elitism, gatekeeping, and the value of punk/DIY publications. 

Here are a few resources I recommend you check out:

Chill Subs: https://www.chillsubs.com/

Writer Beware: https://writerbeware.blog/

ALLi Watchdog: https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/watchdog/

Taco Bell Quarterly: https://tacobellquarterly.org/

Hustle Culture versus the Literary Academy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/post/two-cultures-in-publishing-hustle-culture-vs-the-literary-academy

My lit mag wins so far: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/books-short-stories-andrew-hodges

Support the show

Queer-owned business. AI-free editing and consulting. Conscious language advocate.

💎Book an editorial assessment: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com/book-an-editorial-assessment

🌈Second World Editorial: Speculative fiction editing and writing: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com

🎓The Narrative Craft: Cultural anthropology developmental editing and consultancy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/

💎Need a transcript? Here you go: https://thefreelancer.buzzsprout.com/

🥰 Check out my fiction newsletter for stories, opinions, and tips on how to survive publishing without exploiting yourself or others: https://thenarrativecraft.kit.com/e8debf1dd5

Send a text

Welcome to Season 2! Yay!

Today's topic is decolonizing fiction craft, and I'm chatting with the book coach and fiction editor Karen Parker. We cover everything from the hero's journey and remakes to the Iowa Writers' Workshop and how NOT to workshop. Come hang out with us :)

Here's Karen's coaching – if you're ready to start pitching your novel, or you've tried and failed so far in the query trenches, come join their coaching cohort from September:  https://www.karenaparker.com/book-coaching

Here's a piece by Karen on Jane Friedman's blog: https://janefriedman.com/sensitivity-reading-in-speculative-fiction-why-it-matters-more-than-you-think 

Here are some of the links mentioned in the show:

Ben Bacon:  https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-64162799

Orly Goldwasser:  https://museum.imj.org.il/en/exhibitions/2016/pharaoh-in-canaan/pdf/alphabet-en.pdf

 Felicia Rose Chavez:  https://www.antiracistworkshop.com/the-antiracist-writing-workshop

 Clarion West: https://www.clarionwest.org/resources/workshop-methods/

Support the show

Queer-owned business. AI-free editing and consulting. Conscious language advocate.

💎Book an editorial assessment: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com/book-an-editorial-assessment

🌈Second World Editorial: Speculative fiction editing and writing: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com

🎓The Narrative Craft: Cultural anthropology developmental editing and consultancy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/

💎Need a transcript? Here you go: https://thefreelancer.buzzsprout.com/

🥰 Check out my fiction newsletter for stories, opinions, and tips on how to survive publishing without exploiting yourself or others: https://thenarrativecraft.kit.com/e8debf1dd5

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Story structure is one issue fiction editors love to disagree about. At one end of the spectrum, some promote rigid templates, while others say "anything goes."

In this episode, I cover ...

• the problem with rigid approaches to story structure
• why I dislike Save the Cat! and the Hero's Journey
• why you should think about story structure but not get hung up about it

Enjoy!

Links from today's ep!

• Hustle culture versus the Literary Academy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/post/two-cultures-in-publishing-hustle-culture-vs-the-literary-academy
• How universal is the Save the Cat beat sheet?: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/post/the-save-the-cat-beat-sheet-a-cultural-anthropological-approach
• Club Ed course – Plot and Story Structure: https://www.clubedfreelancers.com/product/editing-for-plot-and-story-structure-sep-8-oct-5-2025/
• Romancing the Beat: https://www.campfirewriting.com/learn/romancing-the-beat
• The Hero's Journey: https://www.jcf.org/learn/joseph-campbell-heros-journey
• The Heroine's Journey: https://gailcarriger.com/books/hj/

Support the show

Queer-owned business. AI-free editing and consulting. Conscious language advocate.

💎Book an editorial assessment: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com/book-an-editorial-assessment

🌈Second World Editorial: Speculative fiction editing and writing: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com

🎓The Narrative Craft: Cultural anthropology developmental editing and consultancy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/

💎Need a transcript? Here you go: https://thefreelancer.buzzsprout.com/

🥰 Check out my fiction newsletter for stories, opinions, and tips on how to survive publishing without exploiting yourself or others: https://thenarrativecraft.kit.com/e8debf1dd5

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Psychotherapists and counsellors often feature in TV, film, and books. While there are all sorts of good story reasons to include them, they often do unrealistic things like sit in very nice offices and break boundaries with clients!

In this episode, I discuss therapists in fiction with Aimee Walker, a counsellor/psychotherapist turned romance editor. We chat about some recent bad examples – including the therapist in Dept. Q – and look at why writers might choose to include a therapist in their book or TV/film script.

You can find out more about Aimee Walker's fabulous coaching and editing business here: https://aimeewalkerproofreader.com/

Dept. Q: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27995114/

The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy: https://www.bacp.co.uk/

NEW: Support this podcast on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheFreeLancerPodcast

Support the show

Queer-owned business. AI-free editing and consulting. Conscious language advocate.

💎Book an editorial assessment: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com/book-an-editorial-assessment

🌈Second World Editorial: Speculative fiction editing and writing: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com

🎓The Narrative Craft: Cultural anthropology developmental editing and consultancy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/

💎Need a transcript? Here you go: https://thefreelancer.buzzsprout.com/

🥰 Check out my fiction newsletter for stories, opinions, and tips on how to survive publishing without exploiting yourself or others: https://thenarrativecraft.kit.com/e8debf1dd5