Freelance Services

There are a variety of services that freelance professionals can offer. Sometimes, clients contacting these professionals do not know exactly what services their manuscripts really need. Therefore, freelance professionals need to be knowledgeable in services, including those they do not offer, so they can educate and direct the client to the appropriate professional.

In Editing 101, we review the following services: ghostwriting, critiquing, developmental editing, copyediting, and proofreading.

Though many professional freelancers specialize in only one or two of these services, they should know how all of these services fit in the entire publishing process. Potential clients should be able to ask the following questions and receive educated responses even if the freelancers do not offer the particular service:

• What is the difference between critiquing and developmental editing?
• What is the difference between copyediting and proofreading?
• Where does proofreading occur in the publishing process?
• I have written my book, and it is in pretty good shape because my grammar is very good. Do I really need a copyedit?

As a professional, I focus on editing, indexing, and proofreading, but I also perform critiques. Because of this, I offer more services than many other freelancers. However, I do not provide ghostwriting services. Even so, when I speak to new or potential clients, I am able to discern what services they need. If I determine that we are not the right fit for one another, I have enough knowledge in the publishing industry to be able to recognize this, educate the client on the manuscript’s true needs, and direct the client to a more appropriate professional.