The topic of this week’s blog is a little more frivolous and self-indulgent than usual, but I know I’m addicted to “day in the life” type content myself, so I thought it might be interesting to at least some people!
I hope it gives a bit of an insight into what I get up to on a typical working day – as well as some of the lesser-exposed aspects of running an editing business as a self-employed person.
So if you’re thinking about becoming a freelance editor and wondering what we do all day, or if you’re an author wondering what’s happening on the other side of our email chain, or if you’re simply curious about how other people live their lives… this blog is for you!
7:30 a.m. – Wake up and morning routine
I do have an alarm set on my phone, but I’m usually woken before it goes off by my cat Freya (see adorable picture below) jumping on my pillow or scratching the side of the bed. I play with her for 15–20 minutes before serving her breakfast. Then, and only then, can I start to think about coffee and human food! I usually sit and eat with my husband, who also works from home. Some mornings we might also run some errands or go for a quick walk before I get settled in at my desk.
9:00 a.m. – Reply to emails and enquiries
The first thing I do each morning is check my inbox, replying to any emails from existing clients and from potential clients too. I also work through my Reedsy inbox, if I have requests to respond to there. Some days this might only take a few minutes, but others it might take more than an hour!
I love hearing from potential clients and do everything I can to be helpful, even before we’re officially working together. That means tailored advice, personalised responses to emails (rather than templates), and free sample edits too, where appropriate. I often have to remind myself to balance this helpfulness with not spending too long on enquiries – mainly because I don’t get paid for any time I spend on this work. And that’s why I need to get started on…
9:30 a.m. – Client work
One of things I love most about running my own business is that I get to decide who I work with, and I’m lucky to have such a variety of interesting, engaging projects. So client work might be copyediting a fantasy novel for a big-five publisher, developmental editing a horror novel for an indie author, or proofreading a graphic novel or comic for a writer/illustrator.
If I’m working on more detailed sentence-level editing (line editing, copyediting, proofreading) or writing an editorial report, I find that I need to be at my desk to “lock in”. I usually work either in silence (music with lyrics can really put me off my stride!) or with an atmosphere or soundscape on as background noise. Lots of my work is done to the sound of thunderstorms!
If I’m working on bigger-picture editing (manuscript assessment or developmental edit) and my main job for the day is reading and making notes, I sometimes go to a local coffee shop or even just get comfy on the sofa. It’s a very different vibe.
1:00 p.m. – Lunch
Working at home means I can actually cook at lunchtime, which I’m really grateful for. If I’m pressed for time or just lacking energy, it might be leftovers or sandwiches, but often I’m able to cook something tasty from scratch! (Don’t worry, Freya gets treats either way!)
2:00 p.m. – Client work
After lunch, it’s back to work. A lot of the time that means returning to the same project I worked on in the morning, but sometimes it’s helpful to mix it up and do a different type of editing in the afternoon to keep my brain on its toes!
There is a limit to how long you can focus intently on the detail of a manuscript before your performance starts to deteriorate and you might make more mistakes. Editing organisations generally agree that it’s around five hours per day, but obviously that varies from person to person. You might have noticed (if you’ve glanced at the next heading) that I spend around six hours per day on client work. I find that this works for me!
But even after those focused editing hours, there’s more work to do…
4:30 p.m. – Admin, marketing, business development, and networking
Running your own business comes with plenty of other tasks that aren’t part of the work you’re paid to do, but that are just as important if you want to continue to make a living.
For me, this includes:
- Admin: things like logging my income and expenditure in preparation for tax season or updating my website.
- Marketing: things like writing blogs(!), posting on social media, or arranging guest posts with other editors or editing and writing organisations.
- Business development: working towards offering new services and resources for clients, or undertaking professional training to keep my skills up to scratch!
- Networking: catching up with other editors and writers on online forums and Discord channels, but occasionally face-to-face or Zoom catch-ups too. This happens throughout the day really, but I do try to limit my time on social media, so I tend to log on to chat once my work is done for the day!
5:30 p.m. – Planning
Before I wrap up, I make myself a to-do list for the following day and run through my schedule for the next few weeks to make sure I’m still on track with all my client work and any personal projects.
It might seem like planning should be straightforward: book in one job at a time and finish it before starting the next. But it often doesn’t work out like that. Most projects are booked a few months in advance, but I might also get last-minute requests or changes in scheduling which mean I end up working on two or three projects at once. That means I need to plan my time carefully to make sure I can devote the necessary energy to each one. (It also means sometimes working weekends to deliver everything on time!)
5:45 p.m. – Exercise
After sitting on my butt all day, I really need to stretch my legs by the time I finish! Sometimes this is just going out for a walk with my husband, others it’s dancing or yoga. It’s always much easier in the summer, but can be a real challenge in the long, cold, wet British winter!
7:00 p.m. – Dinner
Time to start making dinner. Usually, one of us will play with Freya while the other cooks, so she gets some more play time before her own dinner.
8:00 p.m. – Evening plans
I try to read at least a couple of chapters of something each night (which isn’t always easy when you’ve been working with words all day!), but I also relax by going out with family or friends, watching movies and TV, and gaming. At the time of writing, I’m absolutely obsessed with Red Dead Redemption 2!
Obviously I also have to fit in any life admin and chores here too.
11:00 p.m. – Bedtime
It’s time for bed!
After doomscrolling for a little while (thanks Reddit and TikTok!) I’m usually just about sleepy enough to drift off before midnight. Plenty of time to dream about obscure punctuation marks before I’m woken up by the cat again!
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