MY Editing Story
Happy #MondayMotivation, writers! 🖤
I thought I’d take the time to share MY editing story in the hopes of inspiring some of you today.
I’ve had several people ask me how I became proficient in editing. Throughout my college career at CU Boulder, I noticed that most of my classmates didn’t understand mechanical editing skills. I would take a red pen to their text before focusing on the story itself. Even when I got into advanced classes, I was constantly proofreading my peers so they would have the chance to learn for their next story.
The more I progressed through critiquing my peers in creative writing workshops, the more I learned about editing. But it wasn’t because of my professors. I was building myself into a better writer, editor, and formatter by analyzing the work of my peers. I was gobbling up information because I wanted to give the best and most helpful feedback possible. Becoming a freelance editor wasn’t even on my mind at the time. I was focused on growing for my own writing so I wouldn’t look like a fool when I pitched to agents. I also used it to help my critique partner with her wonderful stories.
The more I progressed through classes with the knowledge of how story worked and how things should be formatted, the more I realized I was good at it. As I neared graduating, I had this nagging thought in the back of my mind, telling me I should use everything I had learned during my writing journey to help other writers. I wanted to teach writers everything I had learned so they could bypass some of that struggle. I wanted to start my own business.
I decided to take the leap in June of 2021. I started my editing business right after snagging my first client.
Since then, I’ve worked with some amazing writers who sought me out in order to grow and better their stories. But I’ve grown with my clients as well. They’ve helped me learn just as much. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have thought to start offering payment plans to make editing more affordable. If it wasn’t for their feedback, I wouldn’t have made my business more attainable. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have a job that I love 🖤
Xo,
Ashley
