Freelance Editing? You Could Be Getting Into More Than You Bargained For

I’ve done some editing in my time. I still occasionally do some freelance editing. But I’d much rather do writing. This is because editing seems like it should be easier. Just go through and correct things? Okay! But there’s more than that to editing. Before you take on editing (or any freelance job), consider that freelance editing can be time-consuming and tedious. And more difficult than writing when it comes to agreeing on a price with your client. Laura Spencer at Writing Thoughts offers these 8 reasons that editing is harder than you think it is:

1. Estimating an editing job accurately is difficult.

2. You have to read every single word.

3. There’s always something subjective when it comes to editing — no matter how objective you try to be.

4. Editing a bad piece can actually take longer than writing a new piece.

5. Some clients get upset when you change what they wrote. (Even if that’s what they asked you to do!)

6. There can be leakage from someone else’s style into your style.

7. Too much time editing can result in your seeing errors everywhere.

8. Your writing, in turn, is often held to a higher standard when you are an editor.

It’s not hard to see why the editing jobs I take on are few and far between. What about you? Do you like freelance editing?