As a coach for freelance editors, one of the most common questions I get asked is about how many hours a day editors should be editing. And the answer is one of my favorites—it depends! 

In this episode, we’ll dive into specific questions you need to ask yourself that’ll help you figure out how many hours you should be editing in a day. Because (surprise, surprise!) it varies greatly for everyone. Here are some highlights below:

• 03:49 – Looking at what a typical workday looks like for you, including downtime, interruptions, and caregiving requirements, and how they’ll play a factor in your editing hours
• 08:05 – One question that may seem funny and irrelevant but is super important!
• 16:01 – How you can use your editing hours to help determine your editing rate

*Disclaimer: The math I attempted in this episode makes zero sense. I’m an editor, not a mathematician 🤣

Connect:

• Book a free 15-minute call
• Join the Freelance Editors Club
• Tara on Instagram
• Tara on Facebook

In this short-and-sweet episode, we’re going to talk about what “booked out” means to you and if it’s something you even want to work toward (it might not be!). I want to stress that being booked out is not bad or wrong. And for anyone new here, when one of us succeeds, we all succeed!

In this episode, I’ll touch on the following:

• 03:20 – What does being “booked out” mean?
• 04:05 – Why it doesn’t help to play the comparison game
• 09:32 – How one of my coaching clients realized being booked out wasn’t even a goal for her

Connect:

• Book a free 15-minute call
• Join the Freelance Editors Club
• Tara on Instagram
• Tara on Facebook

*Content warning: This episode discusses depression, anxiety, and eating habits.*

When you’re a solopreneur and wear all the hats, you can get too much on your plate very quickly. It accumulates fast, sneaks up on you, and suddenly you’re stretched way too thin. Your energy, motivation, and capacity quite literally burn out. 

In this episode, I talk about my recent experience with burnout, some warning signs and symptoms to look out for, and provide you with some tips that helped me return to my version of normal. You’ll hear the following:

• 03:23 – Why I ignored the signs and kept adding to my plate
• 11:56 – Why it’s important to learn to recognize your signs and symptoms of burnout
• 13:08 – My two biggest takeaways from my recent burnout

Connect:

• Book a free 15-minute call
• Join the Freelance Editors Club
• Tara on Instagram
• Tara on Facebook

It’s the million-dollar question: Where does all our time go? To help answer that question, I’m going to walk you through my process for figuring out where our time goes, what we spend our time doing, and how we can “earn” some of our time back.

Here’s what we’re going to cover:

• What’s a time audit, and how I use it to see where my time is spent
• Getting real with the results of your time audit. Is this really how you want to be spending your time?
• How a time audit can help you discover areas you can redistribute your time

Discussed in this episode:

• Toggl
• Harvest

Connect:

• Book a free 15-minute call
• Join the Freelance Editors Club
• Tara on Instagram
• Tara on Facebook

It’s time to put on your CEO hat! I’m walking you through my monthly process of how I review my business in order to stay organized and wrap up each month.

We’re going to cover a lot in this episode, but keep an eye out for these highlights:

• 02:37 – How I ensure that a particular CEO task gets done every month
• 06:18 – The financial tool I use that gives me peace of mind
• 11:30 – The 3-2-1 backup rule that you may not have heard of
• 15:49 – A small trick that has been a game changer for me when it comes to decision-making and sticking to my goals

Discussed in the episode:

• The Visibility Method
• You Need a Budget (YNAB) (affiliate link)

Connect:

• Book a free 15-minute call
• Join the Freelance Editors Club
• Tara on Instagram
• Tara on Facebook

Tax season—that time of year dreaded by most. And while filing your taxes as a freelance business owner is a much different ball game than doing them as a W2 employee, if you get organized, stay organized, and follow my tips, tax time will go smoother than you think.

In this episode, you’ll learn the following:

• 04:37 – My number one tip to keep your finances organized from the beginning
• 08:07 – What’s a deduction, and what the IRS considers an expense
• 11:38 – A surprising expense that can be deducted from your taxes if you work from home (I had no idea!)
• 15:43 – Books are considered a business expense?! (Use your common sense and good judgment and ask your accountant first)

Discussed in the episode:

• California AB5
• IRS estimated taxes
• IRS Employer Identification Number (EIN) application

Connect:

• Book a free 15-minute call
• Join the Freelance Editors Club
• Tara on Instagram
• Tara on Facebook

It’s always helpful to get a glimpse into how others approach their editing projects. No two editors are the same, and there isn’t one right way to get the job done. So whether it’s for new tips, things you haven’t thought of, or just to make your process more efficient, I’m sharing ten prechecks I do at the beginning of every copyediting project I take on.

In this episode, you’ll learn the following:

• 03:35 – The number one rule I check for and we should all be following in 2023
• 05:58 – One tool in CMOS that is going to be your best friend
• 08:30 – How to get your hands on my 60-page Elevate Your Editing Resource Guide, which includes 300+ commonly confused words
• 10:43 – A quick way to switch out straight quotes and apostrophes for curly

Connect:

• Book a free 15-minute call
• Join the Freelance Editors Club
• Tara on Instagram
• Tara on Facebook

Whenever a new type of technology emerges, there’s always an initial surge of panic, followed closely by people worrying it’ll take over their jobs and their livelihoods are in jeopardy. Usually, once the panic has worn off, we can see a little clearer and be able to do our due diligence and learn more about the new trend.

Some juicy highlights from the episode are below:

• 04:55 – What the heck is ChatGPT?
• 07:58 – What can we use ChatGPT for?
• 10:19 – The outline for a romance novel created by ChatGPT
• 11:43 – Where does ChatGPT get its content?
• 18:00 & 19:50 – My opinion on whether or not ChatGPT is ethical

Connect:

• Book a free 15-minute call
• Join the Freelance Editors Club
• Tara on Instagram
• Tara on Facebook

As a follow-up to Episode 17, Goal-Setting Part 1: Reflection, this episode will take you through my process of creating intentional goals but with a slight twist (hint: it’s not actually about the goals).⁠ I’ve found this process incredibly effective, and it’s completely changed how I approach goal-setting in my editing business. My hope is that these tips will take the ick out of goal-setting and perhaps even make it fun.

In this episode, we’re going to discuss some of the following:

• 07:47 – How I use the Wheel of Life to help me set goals
• 13:39 – How many goals should we set for each month, quarter, or year?
• 17:20 – The most important part of this whole goal-setting process

Connect:

• Book a free 15-minute call
• Join the Freelance Editors Club
• Tara on Instagram
• Tara on Facebook

Trends in business are constantly changing, especially in the online business world. It can sometimes be hard to keep up. Based on current trends I’m seeing in the editing industry, I’ve created a short list of my predictions and hopes for freelance editors for 2023 and what you can expect to see more (or less) of.

In this episode, you’ll learn the following:

• 01:46 – What is the “cozy web” and how the Freelance Editors Club is part of it
• 05:24 – How the economy could affect the editing industry
• 09:32 – My wish for the upcoming year and what I hope continues to transpire within the editing industry

Connect:

• Book a free 15-minute call
• Join the Freelance Editors Club
• Tara on Instagram
• Tara on Facebook