Summary:

Penultimate week of juggling day-job and paid editing work! It was pretty busy, but good overall, with some more potential long-term clients in the pipeline.

 

Monday:

I got some more work from the magazine client overnight so I did that first thing. Then I went back to the parenting book for a bit, before my accountability call with Claire from CP’s Day Off. This was incredibly insightful and useful, as ever – we talked about my plans for transitioning into paid editing as my only income, and how I was feeling about folding my personal writing projects back into the schedule.

I went out to scout out another couple of Enfield cafes – one was closed, but I settled in the other for the second part of my day.

This began with a sample edit for a possible developmental project on a fantasy novel, which I was very interested in.

I had lunch, then spent most of the afternoon trawling round Enfield, looking for other cafes to work in, without a huge amount of luck.

I went home, completed the next section of the children’s fantasy novel and also finished the rest of the sailing memoir, before deciding to call it a day.

Another document came through from the magazine client late in the evening, so I completed that, to finish the job.

 

Tuesday:

I reached the halfway point in the children’s fantasy novel, and submitted it for review by the author.

 

Wednesday:

I picked up a new, urgent editing project overnight, so I completed the two essays on the benefits of active learning in schools, first thing, and submitted them for approval.

The author of the sailing memoir came back with some queries, so I reviewed those and provided responses.

Later, I completed editing on the parenting book and sent it back to the author to review.

 

Thursday:

I managed to stay in bed until 7:30am and didn’t actually start on anything properly until 9am, which felt really late!

I wrote a review of the audiobook I’d finished the day before, then went back to start editing the second half of the kids’ fantasy novel. It was slow going, interrupted by a supposed potential client meeting that was cancelled at the last minute, an attempt at a Zoom call with Claire from CP’s Day Off that failed due to technical difficulties, and then the demands of the laundry.

I went into town to find somewhere to have lunch, which wasn’t particularly successful, and eventually settled in a cafe to try and get some more work done. Then, my shiny new laptop decided it needed to spend several minutes updating itself…

So, I broke out a physical notebook and brainstormed a new fiction piece for the first time in what felt like ages! I used my random story grids, my plot-generation tarot deck, and a turquoise pen. It was a lot of fun, and the subconscious crew came up with the first inklings of an idea. I sent them off to think about it for a while, and turned my attention back to paid editing jobs.

I started the second half of the abusive relationships book, which went a little better than what I’d tried to work on earlier.

Then, I did another set of scoring and feedback comments for the Ink & Insights competition, completing my first set of five.

I rearranged my schedule a bit, to be able to take the whole weekend off, and also provide space for any more urgent projects that might come up in the next few days.

Later, I had a video call with a prospective client about a potentially very long-running project, which was exciting.

 

Friday:

I was pretty tired today, but I completed and submitted the editing for the abusive relationships book. Then, I pushed everything else from today’s list back onto tomorrow.

 

Saturday:

I had a full day of editing work ahead, but I started out with a review of a book and of a game.

Then I set out to my new favourite cafe to settle in for a good, long session.

I received some feedback from a previous client on the work I had done for them, so I went through it again to improve the flow of the language and make it sound more natural.

Next, I started a project for the client I’d spoken to on Thursday. This involved editing some marketing materials as a sample of what I could provide for him long-term.

I completed the next chapter of the children’s fantasy novel and also the next scoring assignment for the Ink & Insights competition.

Later, I had a video call interview with a prospective client, and completed some short samples of editing for him to review.