The Modern Editor - Editing Tips for Freelance Editors

I can’t believe I’m typing this, but we’ve made it to the final episode of The Modern Editor of 2025. Naturally, I decided to use this episode to reflect on what I’ve learned this year, both personally and in my business.

I could easily talk about all the things that went wrong and the goals I didn’t hit this year, but I want to focus on the good instead. Two things can be true at once: The world can feel like it’s on fire, and I can be excited about my business. I can feel proud of what I’ve built and also wish it were growing faster.

I think it’s important to hold space for the good and the bad, but celebrating the good doesn’t mean you're ignoring the bad. So without further ado, let’s celebrate the best of 2025.

• (4:07) Lesson One: The Importance of Systems
• (7:00) Lesson Two: It’s Okay for Priorities to Shift
• (9:53) Lesson Three: My Business Comes After My Family and Loved Ones—Always
• (11:25) Lesson Four: Things Are Going to Take Longer than You Expect or Want
• (13:48) Lesson Five: Find Something Outside of Your Business That Lights You Up
• (16:05) Lesson Six: Action is Always Going to Win

• Grab the Editing Contract Template
• Join the Freelance Editors Club

Do you have clear professional boundaries for your business? In this episode, we discuss what boundaries you should have as an editor, why they’re important, and how you can enforce them using contracts.

Disclaimer: This is not legal advice. I’m not a lawyer, but I am related to one, and we created an editing contract template that you can use with your editing clients. Find it here.

This episode originally aired on 9/25/24 as episode 37.

• (1:48) Do Boundaries Destroy Creativity?
• (3:28) The Basic Definition of a Contract
• (4:58) Adding Boundaries to Your Contracts Through Scope of Work
• (6:52) Setting Boundaries With Payment Arrangements
• (8:36) Creating Boundaries Around Deadlines
• (10:42) Boundaries Around Communication
• (13:15) Setting Boundaries Around Generative AI
• (15:31) Defining Boundaries Around Acknowledgments
• (18:31) How to Handle Contract Termination
• (19:52) Introducing My Editing Contract Template

• Episode 7: Why You Need Boundaries in Your Business
• Editorial Freelancers Association
• Editors Canada
• The Paper It’s Written On book
• My new Editing Contract Template

• Book a free 15-minute call
• Join the Freelance Editors Club
• Book a 1:1 coaching session

As today’s fast-paced world races toward AI and hyperproductivity, I find myself wanting to slow down and take a different route. However, every once in a while, I start to second-guess myself. Am I making things harder by not maximizing every minute of my life? Should I be doing things faster?

This is a topic that’s been on my mind for a while, so I wanted to open up an honest discussion about it in this episode of The Modern Editor. Specifically, let’s talk about when friction can be good for our lives and editing businesses.

• (1:42) Does Convenience Drain Meaning Out of Life?
• (4:30) How Friction Adds Humanity to Our Editing Businesses
• (6:27) Experience Can’t Be Rushed
• (7:22) You Don’t Need to Take Friction Out of Your Business
• (8:10) When Friction is Unhelpful
• (10:10) There Are No Shortcuts to Experience
• (12:20) Find Your Community in the Freelance Editors Club

• Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman
• Tiny Habits™ Method

• Grab the Editing Contract Template
• Join the Freelance Editors Club

Are you utilizing email marketing for your editing business? Unlike social media, your newsletter subscriber list is something you own that no one can take away from you. 

In this episode of The Modern Editor, we’re getting back to the basics of what a newsletter is, what it entails, and whether or not you need one for your business. Listen in as we explore a powerful communication tool that can help free you from the social media circus.

• (1:10) What is an Email Newsletter?
• (3:35) Do You Need a Newsletter?
• (5:36) Newsletter Ideas For Freelance Editors
• (7:00) The Importance of Consistency
• (8:12) How to Pitch Your Services in Your Newsletter
• (11:57) Keep Your Newsletter Simple in the Beginning
• (13:36) Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Start a Newsletter
• (17:53) You’re In Control of How You Market Your Business

• Kit email platform
• Silver Scribe Editorial Services

• Grab the Editing Contract Template
• Join the Freelance Editors Club

Is social media marketing the right marketing engine for your editing business? In this episode of The Modern Editor Podcast, we’re wrapping up our series on social media, so make sure you catch up on the first two episodes where we dive into the pros and cons of social media and how to market your business without it.

I’m sharing my favorite lessons and giving you a behind-the-scenes look into what’s happened with my business since I’ve been off social media for the past month. 

Are you considering adjusting your use of social media in your editing business? My guest on this episode of The Modern Editor Podcast, Amelia Hruby, logged off social media for good in 2021 and hasn’t looked back. Now she teaches other business owners how they can still succeed without social media marketing.

Listen in as she shares her journey from Instagram content creator to podcaster and self-published author. Amelia shares her aha moment when she realized that her relationship with social media wasn’t healthy anymore, and how she avoids FOMO when it comes to keeping up with her friends.

Disclaimer: We’re not saying you need to get off social media or avoid social media marketing. Instead, we’re encouraging you to take a look at your relationship with social media and make a conscious choice about how you want to use it. 

If you’re anything like me, your relationship with social media is a bit on the rocks right now. So let’s talk about it: the good, the bad, and the ugly of social media marketing for your editing business.

Listen in as I share about my hot-and-cold relationship with social media, my plan for moving forward, and some reflection questions to help you navigate your own relationship with social media.

We’ve all been there: You start working with a new client and it immediately feels like a bad fit. You might have missed or ignored some red flags that predicted this situation. Don’t beat yourself up; you’re not alone and can learn from these experiences.

In this episode, we’re discussing the top client red flags that have me running for the hills. We’ll also go over some common beige flags and tips for avoiding these situations as much as possible.

• (1:09) Top 11 Red Flags to Avoid
• (18:06) New Client Beige Flags
• (21:09) How to Prevent Red Flags
• (26:58) Don’t Be Afraid to Say No

• Editorial Freelancers Association directory
• ACES directory

• Grab the Editing Contract Template
• Join the Freelance Editors Club

Does your editing business need a reset? In this episode of The Modern Editor Podcast, I’m sharing six quick-and-dirty ways to freshen up your business for the back-to-school season. But don’t worry, this episode can still apply to you even if back to school doesn’t impact your schedule, or if you’re listening to it at a different time of year.

These six easy tips will make you feel reinvigorated, more organized, and get you starting off a new season on the right foot.

In 2021, I took a major leap of faith and launched the Freelance Editors Club, an online community where editors can learn and grow their businesses. I’m amazed at how far our community has come since then, so in this episode of The Modern Editor Podcast, we’re looking back at the history of FEC.

Listen in as we talk through how it all started, where the membership is at today, and the exciting things in store for the future. 

• (1:27) How the Freelance Editors Club Came to Be
• (9:00) From Then to Now: What the Freelance Editors Club Offers Today
• (12:27) What’s Next For FEC?
• (16:16) FEC Member Wins
• (22:00) Try FEC For Free For 14 Days

• Neva Talladen: Otherwordy Editorial
• Audrey Hodge: Hodgepodge Solutions
• Philippa Hammond: Philippa Hammond Editorial
• Deborah Taylor: The Blue Pencil
• Rosalinda Alcalá: Word Bouquet

• Grab the Editing Contract Template
• Join the Freelance Editors Club