Tag Archives: awesome clients

#SaystheEditor: March Madness

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Up until March 1, I would have told you that March is historically my second-worst month, in terms of client demand (or, in business words, income).

Around mid-month this year, I started saying that I was hopeful the curse of March was ending.

And now, I can definitively say it did. Best March on record. I have worked on a lot of different manuscripts for a lot of different clients and … you guys know the drill. You know how much I love what I do, and how much I appreciate what my clients bring to my desk.

Spread the word. My new windows are in progress — it’s been a comedy of errors worthy of the Three Stooges (and last week, there were three of us) — so I still have to pay them off.

Lots of changes on the horizon, good things, opportunities for clients and friends and people who just want to drop in and promote themselves, no strings attached. I just need the time to implement it all!

(Yes, maybe it’s a time management issue. Maybe it’s a bit of burnout, I’ve been working so hard. Maybe it’s that clutter has built up in my life and on my desk again and that’s dragging me down. Who knows? I’m too busy to stop and figure it out!)

Book your dates for May and beyond ’cause April? Pretty darn packed, too, and yes, I’m doing the happy dance. All this good fiction about to hit the market!

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#SaystheEditor Mid-Week Ethical Dilemma

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Yep, summer’s approaching. Clients are starting to pepper my inbox on a daily basis. I’m surprised I still have dates left for June, July, and August, so if you’re thinking you need an edit, better jump. I know I’ve said this before, but June’s around the corner. What are you waiting for?

This week, I am working on a fabulous literary-leaning (but not quite literary) proofread for an author whose last novel I worked on (actually, the first of our relationship) was great until I got to the end… and then it knocked my socks off. I’m having a ball with this new one, even if parts of it hit close to home. Friends and family have remarked that I’m a bit down this week, a bit edgy. Blame the power of the written word for that one!

But something else interesting happened last weekend. A client contacted me and asked if I could do a rush job for her. Even if she wasn’t one of the few I know in real life, I’d have said of course. I even figured out Dropbox and Word on my iPad so I can work in a more portable setting and get extra time in and yet not be trapped in my office for days on end. (I do like it in here, although I’ve decided it needs a paint job ’cause the stark white walls I am currently facing give off too much glare.)

The question I’m playing with, though, is this: because I’m putting an awful lot on hold for this rush job — I’m a single mom, remember, so a lot of what’s getting put on hold is time with my kids — do I start charging a separate fee for a client in a rush? I don’t want to charge for everything including the sneeze while writing the book, and I do what I do because I simply adore it, not because it’s going to make me a millionaire. Sadly. I have no objections to being the one who pays child support. Yeah, I know: I’m a long ways from testing that theory. Check in when faced with that reality!

Tell me what you guys think. Do you favor a Rush Job Fee? Why or why not? I’m truly debating this one…

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