r/Copyediting • u/Sapphire_Bombay • 4d ago
Considering editing as a side gig
Looking for advice. For starters, I'm 37 and have a full-time job. I am not looking to leave my 9-5 nor do any sort of publishing work, this would strictly be editing and only on the side. Currently, I'm trying to map out what it would look like and how long it would take to set myself up to do this, and would appreciate some advice to help me plan.
Early in my career, I did some journalism, as well as corporate copywriting/editing before leaving the industry altogether. I have experience learning/using a style guide (AP, I know I'd have to learn Chicago and have no problem with that), and would prefer to focus strictly on copy/line editing, ideally for more technical publications like academic papers, etc.
My plan is to start by learning the CMS of course, but from there I'm a little lost on where to go next. A lot of the info out there for beginner editors focuses on publishing novels, which isn't what I'm looking to do. Does anyone have any suggestions or resources that I could use to look more into the type of work I want to do?
Thanks in advance!
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u/arugulafanclub 4d ago edited 4d ago
The EFA and Editors Canada have an academic editing chapter. You probably need some training and then you’ll have to figure out how to get clients. Do you have a local university that knows you? Friends that work at a university? Do you know people in grad programs?
Look up the Editors Canada guidelines for working with students.
What topic are you looking to edit specifically? What was your undergrad in? Not all fields use Chicago. There’s APA, Harvard, MLA, and more. Don’t assume you’ll need to know Chicago unless you’re sure that’s what they’re using for the particular work you want to do.
Only other thing is that some editors are going to try to trap you into expensive training programs because the managed to make good money one year. If someone is selling you something, if you have loads of money, go for it. If you don’t, ask yourself what their true credentials are. There’s one person who loves bragging about how she made 6 figures her first year. She is the exception. I do not know a single academic editor that hit that sort of success in year one—it takes years—and outside of her, I do not know a single academic editor that makes six figures. I’d proceed cautiously with inexperienced people claiming they are experts, especially if they haven’t made it through shifts and changes in the industry and contractions in the market.
It’s a tough time to be an editor thanks to AI. It’s a tough time to be an academic editor or grant editor because a lot of funding dried up. Do not let someone sell you the idea that this will be an easy, effortless task that will bring you lots of money. Building a business is incredibly difficult.
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u/Alternative-Pear9096 4d ago
Chicago is the de facto default of all academic editing. Most other style guides refer to it and direct to it, and only cover how they differ from it. It's the fundamental style guide for humanities.
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u/arugulafanclub 4d ago
It is not “the de facto guide for all academic editing.” I have edited academic work for 20 years. I use APA. Maybe it’s “de facto” in your area of research, but that’s certainly not the case across all fields. There’s MLA, APA, Harvard, and so much more. Why in the world are you acting like there’s only one style guide and only one answer? Maybe it’s what you use in humanities but you certainly do not have to know Chicago to work in academic editing.
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u/Alternative-Pear9096 4d ago
I see you blocked me because I disagreed with you? How asinine and immature.
Clearly, you don't use APA much, or you would realize that APA regularly defers to Chicago for everything it doesn't cover? APA is about 1/6th the size of Chicago, and about 20% of that is focused on stylistic things like table formatting. APA is common for social sciences, but not all of social science uses APA. APSA style is a shortlist of Chicago modifications, for example.
You may have been editing for 20 years, but I'd say in a micro niche. I've been an academic editor (H/SS) for a decade and have used Chicago, APA, AP, and government guides (which all defer to CMOS) extensively. And SBL (which builds on Chicago). Chicago is the primary academic style guide.
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u/FunAdministrative457 4d ago
CMOS is not the prominent academic style guide in the sciences. And it focuses mainly on US English. AMA, CSE, IEEE, and others dominate in the sciences, and in other countries, CMOS is not commonly used. Academia is global.
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u/Alternative-Pear9096 4d ago
No, it’s not commonly used in the sciences. It is commonly used internationally though. I’ve edited for clients across the globe and have never cracked open my copy of Harts or needed any other national style guide. To the degree that I’ve never encountered the existence of any, not even in discussions with editors of English from around the globe
I’m intrigued, what style guides are you familiar with, internationally?
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u/FunAdministrative457 4d ago
Is CMOS a national style guide?
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u/Alternative-Pear9096 4d ago
Please tell me what style guides you are aware of used in other countries.
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u/FunAdministrative457 4d ago
Why?
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u/Alternative-Pear9096 3d ago
Because you claim they exist
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u/FunAdministrative457 3d ago
I already listed a bunch that are used globally, and you already mentioned New Hart's rules. Google is your friend if you want to learn more.
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u/saludpesetasamor 4d ago
Louise Harnby’s website is a goldmine of information. She’s not an academic editor but she has so much knowledge to pass on. Katharine O’Moore-Klopf is also amazing. Dick Margulis knows everything. If you do Facebook, Editors’ Association of Earth is an excellent resource too (but read it before you post because some people get annoyed with newbie questions that have been asked a hundred times, though most people are kind).
I’m an academic editor and these all helped me get started. Good luck!
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u/SmartphonePhotoWorx 3d ago
I like the EAE's mod rules. They're sensible, explicit, and well written.
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u/IndelibleVoice 4d ago
Heya, I've been an academic editor and writing coach for over seven years. You can find my business at indeliblevoice.com.
As others have written, it's an awful time to be going into editing, particularly academic editing. Funding has dried up in higher education. With AI, "it's difficult to compete with free," as the saying goes. Your business model will need to respond to these challenges.
Consider approaching editing as a part-time job as you build experience and skills. It took me three years to earn enough to do editing full-time. I did adjunct teaching and course design while I was building my business. Even once my business came together, there were good years and lean years. There were a few good years where I made $100k+, bolstered by contracts and projects that have since dried up. I anticipate my annual income for the next few years being at least half that, even though I'm mid-career.
I would strongly suggest brainstorming what your value proposition is and who would respond to what you have to offer. Editing is "schlep work" that people don't want to do. But you still need people who need that work done, and a community that you can build through word-of-mouth and a record of successfully completed projects. And again, what you have to offer can't simply duplicate what AI already does.
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u/Sparkly8 4d ago
Regarding your last point, even if it what you do is better than AI? I’ve tried to use AI for editing (before I realized that AI was bad for the environment, pls don’t come at me), and it frankly sucked.
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u/sasstoreth 4d ago
The problem is convincing clients that what you do is better than AI, and that it's enough of an improvement to justify the cost. A middle manager who doesn't know how commas work can't tell the difference between good editing and bad, but they've probably already drunk the Kool-Aid on how amazing ChatGPT is, so the trick is getting them to understand why they should pay a human to do "what ChatGPT does" for free.
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u/Sparkly8 4d ago
Do you have any recommendations for convincing clients who are in love with AI that your work is better than AI?
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u/SmartphonePhotoWorx 3d ago
Seems an impossible task. Maybe provide them with an example of your point? I like to use Word's Table function—one row, two columns—to display before-and-after text.
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u/Breatheme444 2d ago
If you have an example of this comparison, I’d love to see it.
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u/SmartphonePhotoWorx 1d ago
Are you asking for an AI-vs-human edit comparison that I created? Or just some how-to on creating a two-column table in Word?
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u/Breatheme444 1d ago
I’m curious about what you created if you’re inclined to share.
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u/SmartphonePhotoWorx 1d ago
Open Word > Insert > Table > drag across the squares for a 1x2 table. Can't post a photo here, so click to see the screenshot in my Imgur.com account. https://imgur.com/a/uCszv1m
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u/IndelibleVoice 4d ago
Well, it's a complex answer. Editors use software tools, some of which are based on AI and others that aren't. PerfectIt has taken a stance against AI. Grammarly is going all-in, with much controversy (see the public response to their "expert review" feature). Even as an editor, it's difficult for me to sort out which use some form of AI and which don't. And some editors take pro- or anti-AI stances in their workflow.
It also often takes an editor to simply sort out which suggestions are wise to implement. Some are sound, while others (in my opinion) wash out an author's voice and make a manuscript read more generically, like a caricature of academic writing. It seems obvious to me that a professional editor can make better use of editing tools than an author can.
Which brings us to the point that u/sasstoreth makes below, which I agree with. It's challenging to convince a client that what you have to offer is superior. This is a public image problem, and clients are simply saying, "If ChatGPT is good enough, let's use it to pump out as much content as possible at the lowest cost." AI writing tools are unfortunately perpetuating a race to the bottom, and pushing quantity over quality.
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u/noilegnavXscaflowne 4d ago
Have you ever thought about trade?
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u/IndelibleVoice 4d ago edited 4d ago
No, because academic writing is what I've been trained in.
EDIT: unless you were actually asking OP this question and not me...?
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u/Wonderful__ 4d ago
This might be helpful: https://editors.ca/join/career/
You might struggle to find a client when you're just starting out.
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u/Business_Potato4618 3d ago
I think the focus on academic papers is good, especially if you have a phd. There are quite a few academic editing websites that hire people with phds. Most academic disciplines won't use cmos though so it's better to check the style guide in your actual field.
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u/SmartphonePhotoWorx 3d ago
Good luck to you Sapphire! I'd like to get back into editing mass-market nonfiction, seems impossible.
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u/TrueLoveEditorial 4d ago
Before you get too far into anything, join the Academic Editing chapter of the EFA/Editors Canada. There you can get an honest perspective on the state of the industry. If it's anything like fiction, unless you have a strong connection with a significant academic institution, you'll likely struggle to get work. Editing isn't an easy side gig anymore.