There are 3 things to consider: time, money, and style.
You’re a solopreneur or business owner and like to blog regularly. It supports your other marketing means, helps you strengthen the relations with your loyal customers and showcases your products – and let’s be honest, blogging is so much fun!
But should you take it to the next level and hire an editor or a proofreader for your texts? Here’s how I see it:
+ An editing round improves texts, always. It helps to have another set of eyes to notice your typos, repeating patterns or to simply tell you if your logic fails at some point. Every single one of my texts has gotten better through editing.
+ If you’re not a professional writer or an English teacher, the chances are that there are misspelled words, grammar errors or other small mistakes that can affect the professional image you’d like to portray. Getting rid of those makes your task easier.
+ Maybe at some point, you would even like to have someone help you with the content production? In that case, starting off with an editor or a proofreader can be a good introductory course to your style and brand.
But it’s not all cotton candy and rainbows in ‘proofreader land’.
– Setting up another step in your process takes time. You have to anticipate that step and plan for it. However, if you’re already batching content production as I had advised you to do in my earlier post, it makes this step easier.
– Your spontaneity and style might suffer though. It’s not a given to find a person who understands your personal style and knows not to tamper with it too much.
– It takes time to find a good proofreader, and of course it takes money to pay them. If you’re just starting out, you need to be mindful of your costs.
So… What did I decide? I did hire a proofreader. Partially because English is not my first language and I was afraid my linguistic quirks would repel my readers. But since I’ve got it going with lovely Angie, she has helped me out in so many ways! She pick ups my mannerisms and always knows how to replace them elegantly without sacrificing my writing style. She gives me confidence, because after her proofreading I can be sure that my texts are top notch and good to be published.
And she makes me keep my writing schedule! Having that structure is not always a bad thing.
Tell me, tell me, do you have a proofreader or other hired help?
Had never thought of hiring a proofreader (editor sounds much more… hands on and intense, and not something I’d want for blogs or articles but more for a book) – how did you find Angie? Any tips on how to start the search and identify the right person to work with?
Great questions! I found Angie via the co-working space we both worked at at the time. Here are some tips that have helped me:
– Talk with the person about the project, like in a job interview, to see if she or he shares your worldview.
– Try out with a small project at first to see if you’re on the same page.
– It also helps if you list your non-negotiables in beforehand.
– You need to trust your gut with this one as well.
What’s up to every body, it’s my first pay
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