As the holidays approach, I hear many people say, “I wish I had more time.” Although we tend to stay busy all year long, at the holidays our to-do lists seem to grow exponentially. And when you’re a writer, adding more demands on your schedule means you have fewer opportunities to work on your outlines, drafts, and proposals. We all know it takes time to generate ideas for stories or marketing materials. It takes times to actually generate the content. And it definitely takes time to review and edit your work. Wouldn’t it be great to get some of that time back?
Editing is time consuming. Hiring a professional editor gives you peace of mind and saves you more time.
You can.
Editing your own work is important, but it’s also really difficult since you’re so involved in the project. That’s part of the reason self-editing is so time consuming. At this point in the year, time-consuming tasks are not things we look forward to. Hiring a professional editor can remove some of the stress that’s associated with editing your work by freeing up your time. Instead of slogging through pages of your manuscript, checking for consistent capitalization or formatting, you’re free to work on whatever is next on your list, or you could just take a break. Let your editor work on your project while you focus on what’s most important to you, whether it’s dreaming up your next big idea, spending the day with your family, or getting those holiday cards in the mail. You now have time for that.
True Story
Recently, one of my clients sent me a project. As we discussed the timeline, she mentioned that she was going on vacation and that she wasn’t going to take her laptop with her. She didn’t want to be tempted to work. In fact, she didn’t even want to think about her manuscript. She just wanted to leave the draft with me and feel free to relax and enjoy her vacation.
I love that mindset. I love providing a service that gives people more freedom to spend time however they please. Taking a break and reducing stress are always important. Even the CDC and Mayo Clinic have suggestions on how to handle stress around the holidays. Both of them remind us that it’s ok to say no, to cut back, or to ask others for help and support. And that’s what editors are for! We’re not waiting to ambush you with our red pens and dictionaries. We’re here to help and support writers. We provide peace of mind and free time. As we’ve discussed in the past, editors are available to help you at every stage of writing in every field and genre for every platform.
Time for Help
I enjoy working with my clients to help make their projects as strong as possible. I love knowing that while I’m working, whether it’s for an hour-long project or a month-long manuscript, my clients are free to focus on what’s important to them. If you have a writing project that’s ready for a copyeditor or proofreader, let me know. I’d love to learn about what you’re working on and help make your writing bulletproof. So, what would you do with some extra time?