Summary:

Very full week of paid editing this week. I’m missing working on my own fiction projects, but plans are afoot to get back into that before the end of the month. Plus, new laptop and new writing locations!

 

Monday:

I still woke up early, but it was half an hour later than the day before, which was an hour later than the day before that. So, I hoped this meant I was getting back to more normal sleeping hours.

The final article from the magazine client had just come in, so I edited that and submitted the whole lot for approval.

I’d also received feedback on my TL;DR submission, so I worked on that and resubmitted the final version. It felt weird working on my own fiction, after only working on client projects for over a week.

I completed editing to the end of Part 3 of the sailing memoir and submitted the manuscript so far to the client as an update.

Then, I ventured out into the world to a new cafe near my flat, ordered a latte, hooked myself up to the wi-fi and carried on editing the thriller. An exciting project, for an exciting situation! It was good to be out of the flat and in new surroundings, though my hourly rate went down a bit, since my laptop proved to be really slow.

After a mediocre sandwich and a refreshing iced tea, I returned to the sailing memoir to start on the final Part 4. But my laptop decided not to play ball – it seized up completely, forcing me to abandon my cafe session.

I went home to the reliable, old PC and started work on a new project, editing the introduction and some other sections of a self-help journal.

My magazine client from earlier came back with some queries on one of the articles I’d edited, so I gave it another run-through and then resubmitted it.

I had intended to do more on the thriller and the sailing memoir today, but I was pretty knackered by this point. So, I reminded myself not to be Boxer, rearranged my schedule for the rest of the week, and logged off for the day.

Much later, a prospective client contacted me to discuss further terms of a potential project and we had a video call to talk about it. It resulted in official confirmation of the project, so I now have plenty to be working on over the next couple of weeks!

 

Tuesday:

One of my assigned TL;DR writers came back to me with the final version of their story, so I reviewed it and gave my score to the curator.

I also wrote a review of a book I finished over the weekend.

I edited another section of the thriller, which was getting really thrilling towards the end!

This was all before I logged on to my day job at 8am, as I’d had another very early start. I was really hoping this whole not sleeping thing was only temporary… At least, once I stop doing my day job (two weeks on Friday!!), there won’t be as much pressure to work so many hours and I can relax a bit.

Later, I managed to fit in finishing the thriller, which I really enjoyed overall – and ended up being a very reasonable pay rate, since it was so much quicker than I expected. I submitted it for approval, and hope to get more work from that client.

After work, I had a catch-up with Hannah and used our focus time to start a new editing project. This one was a non-fiction book about abusive relationships.

 

Wednesday:

A previous client got in touch overnight, asking me to do a small amount of extra work on a project I thought was finished, so I did that first thing.

I moved on to a pair of rhyming children’s stories, which needed careful proofreading.

Later, I started a new project for an existing client, editing a non-fiction book about a team of British engineers setting up computer systems in the USSR in the 1970s.

Next was an extract from another parenting book, by a different client to the previous one!

 

Thursday:

Everything was very carefully scheduled today, to allow me a trip into central London to meet a friend for lunch.

I managed a good eight hours of sleep, by going to bed before 10pm!

So, I felt reasonably refreshed and awake to start work by 8am.

First on the list was continuing the memoir about installing computer systems in the USSR, which contained a lot of really interesting historical information, as well as the actual story.

Next, I completed the next section of the abusive relationships book, which was very well-written and informative.

Third on the list was starting a children’s fantasy novel, about a woman inheriting a magical house. It was a lot of fun, but required more punctuation and formatting editing than I’d expected.

Later, a previous client came back to me with some requested changes to the document I’d worked on for her before, so I addressed those.

Then, I logged off and set off into London to meet my friend!

When I got home, I’d received two invitations to pitch for Upwork projects, which I declined due to lack of time. I’d also received the final version of a story from one of my TL;DR submission writers, so I read through it again and completed my scoring.

 

Friday:

After another really early night and a decent amount of sleep, I got up early and did some more paid editing before logging on to my day job.

I completed a short job I’d won the day before, editing a letter introducing the writer to their new boss.

Then I carried on with the book about installing computer systems in the USSR.

Later, I completed my next judging assignment for the Ink & Insights competition.

My last assigned TL;DR submission came back in its final version, so I completed my scoring.

 

Saturday:

Today was meant to be a complete day off. But I’d been shoving editing the latest podcast episode to the bottom of the list ever since we recorded it, so I used the morning to tick that off. I had been thinking of suggesting to Dave that we maybe take a break from the podcast, as it had been starting to feel like a chore and we were both finding it difficult to fit it in. But I quickly rediscovered how much I love re-listening to our episodes while I’m editing them, and decided against it.

 

Sunday:

I started with a review of the film we went to see the night before – actually in the cinema, for the first time in 18 months!

I had chased up the MacMillan Kids editing test the day before and received instructions almost immediately, so I completed and submitted that first thing. It was really tough!

Then I moved on to another Ink & Insights competition submission I’d also received the day before, asking me to complete my scoring urgently.

A previous client sent me another piece of rhyming text for a picture book, so I proofread it for punctuation and sent it back.

After that, I headed out into the world with my new laptop to try another cafe near the flat.

I started out by completing the USSR computer systems book and submitting it for approval by the client.

Then, after fortifying myself with an excellent omelette, I dived back into the abusive relationships book, trying out listening to instrumental music while I did so, as the cafe was a bit loud. I got past the halfway point, so I submitted the manuscript so far, for the client to review.

Lastly, I did another section of the children’s fantasy book, then called it a day.

The laptop performed fantastically well, and the cafe proved a great spot for an extended writing session.

So, a very production week overall – I’m just trying not to panic that the currently scheduled paid editing jobs all run out on Saturday…