#WednesdaysAreForWriters and Editors

Writing is a tough business. There’s a lot that goes into the writing of anything, from a book to this blog post. The publishing world would not be as difficult and intricate as it is if any part of writing were actually simple. And the publishing world does not go round without some of its most integral people: The editors. Today, SOOP announces a new addition to our Services Marketplace. Sarah Macklin from the United Kingdom joins us here at SOOP to offer her editing services free of charge. So, readers. Read on and meet Sarah!


Sarah Macklin

Sarah Macklin joins SOOPs Services Marketplace as an editor

To any of you who don’t know me, which is fairly likely, I am Sarah Macklin, based in the UK, and, until September, I am providing free editing and proofreading services.

Yes, you heard (read?) me correctly: free!

I am very new to the editorial business and I always knew it would be a long struggle to find clients. Not only is advertising expensive, but so are the training courses for editors, the books I have to read and the website I am running. A lot of investment needs to go into the adventure I have undertaken, but I’m hoping it will be worth it in the long-term. I understand that I am sacrificing a lot by advertising free services. It means that I’m not earning any money whilst I set up my business and, therefore, this means I balance my freelancing with a job. It’s hard work,but I’ve wanted to edit since around the age of fourteen and I won’t let many things stop me from achieving what I want to.Chester

I did consider finding an editing job in a big city such as London, Cambridge or even Manchester, as these are the main cities in the UK that have successful publishing houses such as Penguin and Random House. However, I like peace and quiet and moving to a big city would disrupt such peace. I don’t like the stress that comes with a big city: the stress of travelling, waking up so early in the morning to make sure you have enough time for the commute, working in a busy office. This kind of life is not something I’m interested in. This made me think. If I can’t work in a publishing house in a big city, I can look at editing jobs near me in Chester. However, Chester is a small city and so there aren’t too many editing jobs around.

I am a very motivated person and that’s what made me decide that the freelance route was the one to take. I’ve always been happy working from home, either revising or writing book reviews for my blog. I set timetables for myself and I always stick to them. I knew, in many ways, going freelance would be the hardest route. At least in a publishing company you can start at the bottom and work upwards, always being paid for your efforts. But with my business, I will only get paid if there is work coming in and even then my rates are extremely good value. But I’ve always said if I’m doing this for the money then I’m doing it for all the wrong reasons. I’m doing what I love, and if I can earn money from it then that’s just a bonus!

My promotion of free services will last until September, when I will start charging an hourly rate for editing. My hourly rates are still very reasonable – beginning at £15 per hour – and these charges are merely to fund further training courses and self-training books, and to enforce the upkeep of my website and my blog.

If you are interested in any of my services, you can find my website at www.sarahmacklinediting.com or email me at: [email protected]

To find out more about me and my book reviews, you can visit my other website at www.sarahelsleyblog.wordpress.com

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