Freelance Editor for Hire

I know that in this economy, I'm lucky to have a job.  And, I'm even luckier that it's one that includes medical and dental insurance, a retirement plan, and generous holiday and vacation time, as well as compassionate co-workers (most of them, anyway) in a comfortable and collegial work environment (on most days, thank goodness). 

To be perfectly honest, however, from my perspective, my job does not include financial compensation that allows me to contribute to my personal savings on a regular basis, to be as generous as I would like with my tzedakah or to splurge every once in a while on a Broadway show, a vacation (even a short one that's not too far away) or an "I'll-pick-up-this-one-just-because" dinner with a friend or two.  And, while my modest lifestyle and carefully watched pennies help ensure that I am able to meet my expenses each month (despite my very deliberate decision to live in outrageously-expensive Manhattan), the chasm between my take-home income and my monthly outgo grows wider and wider and wider with each passing year.

Therefore, I recently decided to go in search of some paid freelance editing opportunities.  I’ve been doing it (the unpaid variety) for years, informally and successfully editing friends’ resumes, business correspondence, including cover letters, web content, blog posts, funding proposals, training materials and the like.  Using existing material (and the Track Changes function in Microsoft Word), I gently and carefully smooth out the bumps, retaining the original voice and message, while making the prose cleaner, sharper, easier to read and more powerful.  Now, I’m hoping to parlay that expertise and experience into something a bit more formal (aka the paid variety).

By way of testimonials, I can offer you these:

From the blog roll on The DCC:  “JanetheWriter Writes -- She is Good, You Should Read This One Too”

From a friend whose document I edited last week:  “I LOVE how you edit!! I had torn that letter apart, but you were way better than me!! :)"

And lastly, this from me (I know, that’s not a credible testimonial, but this is a start-up business and it's the most I can offer at the moment):  When it comes to the edits themselves, I always urge my friends to “take ‘em or leave ‘em.”  More often than not, though, they “take ‘em.” 

Want to know more?  You can read lots of my other work elsewhere on this blog, as well as here and here.

And so, my loyal blog readers and Facebook friends, I turn to you.  Should you or someone you know need a freelance editor, I’d be extremely grateful if you’d play matchmaker and help make a shidduch.  Just drop me an email with all the relevant details, and I’ll take it from there.

Thanks, friends, for helping me set things "write."