I haven't yet used this blog for personal things. I want it to be a professional space for writers to find useful information, not self-promotional stuff about me. But I think once a year I can make an exception.
A lot happens in one year—especially when you’re getting your freelance career off the ground, as I am—and I think documenting the slow and steady nature of progress is important to counteracting the idea of the “overnight success.”
So, if you’ll indulge me, I’m going to reflect here on my 2023: the professional experiences I’ve had, the mentoring I’ve received, the goals I’ve reached, and—last but not least—the books I read!
Graduation!
This spring, I hit a huge milestone: I graduated with my degree in Writing and Rhetoric and a minor in Creative Writing from the University of Utah! As a full-time caregiver, this has been a long and challenging road. I've known for years now that I wanted to be an editor, so during my degree program, I carefully focused my efforts on building my editorial skills, from taking editing-specific courses to completing multiple editorial internships. It was the first step of many towards building a successful career!
Denver Publishing Institute
Just a month and a half after graduation, I completed the Denver Publishing Institute’s Publishing Certificate course. Through this internationally-respected graduate-level program, I spent a full month under the tutelage and mentorship of top publishing industry professionals. A full half of the program focused exclusively on developmental and copy editing, and the other half covered the full gamut of the traditional publishing process, from acquisition, marketing, and publicity to book design, production, and legal issues. I formed so many amazing connections and met so many wonderful people during this intense program, and I’m thrilled to bring the knowledge and skills I gained directly to my clients!
Editorial Work
I’ll be honest, this first full year of business was slower than I’d hoped. I started off with a full roster of wonderful developmental editing projects, but then fell into a dry spell during the last half of the year. This frustrated me at first, to be completely honest. But as I moved into the work of developing my social media presence and fleshing out my blog (which is a lot more work than I anticipated!) I came to feel grateful for this lull. It gave me time to assess the types of editorial projects I really want to focus on. I also came to realize that building up my copy editing skills and portfolio is a top priority for me, as I’d love to start freelancing for publishers. To that end, I reached out to a publisher I met at the Denver Publishing Institute, who put me in contact with one of their Production Editors. I should start editing for them in early 2024, and I couldn’t be more excited!
Blogging and Social Media
Just three months ago, I had zero blog posts. I knew I needed to start, but quite frankly, I was scared to get started. But I finally gritted my teeth and committed to it, and now I’m up to 20-something published posts. It’s not as good as the 3-5 posts per week that I’ve seen recommended to gain real traction, and I definitely have not figured out the whole SEO game, but I’m posting regularly and I’m proud of the library of useful information I’ve built so far. I’m excited to see what happens on my blog next year!
As of right now, I’m at 25 likes and 37 followers on Facebook and 20 followers on LinkedIn. I’m not counting Instagram at the moment—I just started it a week before writing this post! I’m hoping to see some organic growth throughout 2024 as I speak at and attend conferences and continue to stay active on social media, but I’m truly curious to know how well my efforts will pay off. Will likes and followers turn into client conversion and paying work? Or will word of mouth continue to be the most reliable way to get work? We will see!
Books I Read
I read 38 books this year! I don’t think I’ve ever read this many books in one year before. I know many serious readers fly through 100+ books per year, but for me—a parent trying to get a business off the ground—38 is a pretty awesome number.
As you can see, I have a wide range of interests, from middle grade and YA to a broad assortment of nonfiction and all kinds of adult fiction. I enjoyed almost every book I read, but I particularly loved rediscovering novels-in-verse through Starfish, Rez Dogs, and Iveliz Explains It All, shifting my thinking about health and fatphobia through More Than a Body, and being so hooked by The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires that I literally had to stop everything in my life until I got to the end. Braiding Sweetgrass is just beautiful and poignant and eye-opening. And also, Anthony Doerr is brilliant.
Looking Ahead
I couldn’t be more excited for 2024. I’ve got big dreams and exciting plans already in the works, including speaking at conferences and seeking even more editorial training to increase the level of expertise I can bring to my clients.
What did you accomplish this year? What are you most proud of? I’d love to hear about it!
Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and Happy Writing!
Comments