You're worth the investment: An interview with Erin Ogilvie
Hi Friend,
I love sharing the stories of people who have freelanced for years so newcomers to the profession can see what’s possible. But many of us started freelancing before social media was a thing (my career predates Facebook by a few months, making me approximately as old as time). While I can offer endless advice and perspective based on what I’ve been through, it’s also good to learn from what newcomers are doing right now to be successful.
Meet Erin Ogilvie. Erin is at the start of her freelance journey, having recently graduated from an editing program (full disclosure, it’s the program I instruct at through Simon Fraser University). Erin is also my social media genius, who runs the Instagram account for Happy Freelancing.
She exerts incredible power over me and is the first person to ever get me to record videos for social media, making her something of a miracle worker or possibly a hypnotist.
She’s also an example of what can happen when your network is working for you (I hired her after she finished my course because she wrote about being a social media manager and I could tell from her course submissions she was skilled). She’s also an example of finding the programs that teach you what you need to offer the services you want.
Why did you want to become an editor? What steps did you take on your journey to becoming an editor?
Erin: I started my editing journey as a writer! I began writing fiction books in 2018 between semesters at Humber College (for fashion and business; so not even in the same vein, but isn't that always how it is?). Since then, I've been madly writing and pursuing the goal of publication. However, I knew that starting out, authorship often doesn't provide enough of a nest egg to focus on writing completely. I'd found over the years through critiquing for writer friends that I enjoyed helping other authors with their stories, but more than that, I was good at it. So, through much research, I turned to editing.
In 2022, I began taking courses through Simon Fraser University's continuing education editing program. That took me through to 2023, where I also added specialized courses in fiction theory and developmental editing through Sophie Playle of Liminal Pages. I wanted to provide my clients with the best support possible, and that meant gaining an education in the skills I would need. Once I completed my courses, I took on some free clients to help refine my process and develop an accurate timeline. (I tend to take on more than I should, so having an idea of how long each service I was offering would take me was very important.) Then I dove in! I put my services up on my website, asked for client testimonials, and hoped for the best.
Once I completed my courses, I took on some free clients to help refine my process and develop an accurate timeline. (I tend to take on more than I should, so having an idea of how long each service I was offering would take me was very important.)
While it wasn't directly related to my steps to becoming an editor, I started a blog back in 2021 to help writers develop their craft. I've been adding to that over the years, to the point where I have a decent repertoire to pull from. While it doesn't have a huge following, I do think it helped because I already had a platform to speak from on writing and editing advice. I would highly recommend blogging for anyone starting out - even if you're not offering services yet.
How has the transition from student to freelance editor been for you?
A bit daunting! I think we all get to that point where we have to do something for real, on our own, and the ground feels a little shaky. But I come from a business background - I've worked with a lot of small businesses and start-ups from other areas of my life - so it wasn't out of the realm of familiarity to make that transition.
I also had the benefit of being very familiar with marketing (through school and previous work). Not many people know how to find their target market if they've never been in business or marketing before, but I already knew what type of client I was looking for. Because of my writing history, I also already had a lock on connections to those people.
So, I felt underprepared (even though I was likely overprepared), but it was a relatively smooth move from student to freelancer.
What has been the most surprising thing about freelance life?
On the (slightly) negative side: Probably how hard it is. I'm very optimistic, so I often drive full speed ahead and honestly believe that things will come quickly. I had expected to get a decent clientele in a couple of months. I really should have known better, given my work history! But I think the thing is it's not that people don't want to work with me or don't trust my experience, it's that editing is - rightfully - very expensive. And most can't afford to hire an editor, especially in this economy. While I had great connections, I didn't yet have the overlap of "ideal clients" and "ideal clients with the funds to pay me". That's also a big reason why I decided to offer payment plans up to 12 months, to make edits more accessible. But the clients come, slowly but surely.*
While I had great connections, I didn't yet have the overlap of "ideal clients" and "ideal clients with the funds to pay me". That's also a big reason why I decided to offer payment plans up to 12 months, to make edits more accessible. But the clients come, slowly but surely.
On the positive side: The most surprising thing is how much I love it. I know, that should have been a given when I decided to make it my career! But it's one thing to choose a path out of necessity and it's another to focus on a passion. My first passion will always be writing. I knew that I would need something to supplement that passion, so I turned to editing. But it's such a great feeling to take on this extra work, and even when tired, know that it was the right choice. It's such an amazing feeling to have people trust you with their words - sometimes ones that others will never see. I love working with books in any format and helping authors get their confidence back is a major plus for me.
What steps have you taken to find clients?
I was fortunate to already have a decent number of connections from previous work. Virtually all of those were through social media. I swapped my Instagram account to a business account to promote my writing back in 2018, and I've been building it up ever since. Most of my outreach has been through that platform. As far as intentional steps go:
- I paid for some social media ads
- I ran giveaways to offer free edits and build a following
- I reached out to my writer friends to spread the word (because let’s face it, word-of-mouth is the best sales pitch we will ever get)
- I asked those same friends to write me testimonials that I could put on my website
- I announced the news on my blog, social media, and newsletter
What advice would you give to someone starting on their freelance journey today?
Oh, so many things! Hold on, let me make a list:
- Find your people. Any freelance work can be lonely, so make connections with others in your profession. They can help you when you're lonely, answer questions, brainstorm, and spread the word. It's also a great resource if you can connect with people just outside your niche. I've had clients approach me for a proofread, but that's not a service I offer. I have friends who do offer it as a service. So I can refer those clients to friends of mine and vice versa. Sometimes it's even that I just don't have space in my schedule for a perfect client and I need to pass that work along to someone who can squeeze it in.
- Time your work. This was advice that I received from other editors when I was just getting started. It was integral in helping my process and learning how much I could take on. So I timed everything from editing to emailing to other admin work to get a feel for the lengths of time I should be charging for. It helped me set pricing too, to ensure I was getting paid at least minimum wage (hopefully more).
- Find ways to give your audience value. This means writing blogs, finding podcasts/blogs to make guest appearances, etc. Having a direct line to your potential clients is integral, and setting yourself up as an expert in your field early will only help to build your reputation.
- Build an email list. Unlike other connection points online, your email list is yours. You have full control over what it looks like, how frequent it is, and what content is included. Conversion rates on sales are typically higher than other media. It also gives a great opportunity to make personal connections with replies.
- Start before you're ready. I think every freelancer will tell you this, but sometimes you just need to dive in and do the thing. If we all wait until we're "ready" the time will have passed us by without ever acting on that dream. You know more than you think; you're worth the investment.
You know more than you think; you're worth the investment.
- Do what you can when it comes to self-promotion, but don't burn yourself out. It can be tempting to throw everything into freelancing when starting, but that often leads to burnout. Find the ways that you can handle connecting and focus on one or two. You don't have to do it all. In addition, social media is a great tool (it's the one I choose to use for the brunt of my marketing because I'm familiar with it), but the reality is that it offers very low conversion rates and it can often be a time sink for many businesses. I recommend using social media to be present online, build genuine connections, and be authentic. But you don't have to scream about your business from the rooftops every day. You don't have to jump on every popular trend. Find what works for you.
Last week I hosted our first coworking session and it was fantastic (and deeply productive). It did feel a bit like being in an office—we worked hard for half an hour and then got to visit, swap stories, and share advice for 10 minutes, before working hard again.
If you’d like to join us for this week’s session, simply reply to this email and I’ll forward you the link tomorrow (those of you who were there last week don’t have to confirm for this week, I’ll automatically send you the link).
Here’s to your ongoing freelance success!
Heidi