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What I’ve been up to in October

02 Nov

October is traditionally a quieter month after the student Master’s dissertation rush of August and September, and I have certainly seen a slight drop-off in workflow, although it’s still kept ticking along. I’ve …

Edited some PhD theses – some ongoing, some in their entirety; some large documents and a PowerPoint presentation for one ongoing client (discovering that, even if you can’t Track Changes, you can stick sticky notes all over the slides); quite a few blog posts for a new ongoing client who is not a native English speaker (picking up a lovely reference along the way); and all sorts of business and academic writing for my translator client.

Edited and proofread my usual American magazine’s quarterly publication and the MoseleyB13 local magazine.

Edited two articles for publication, ensuring they conformed to the journal’s style guide.

Set up a coaching relationship with one PhD student, where we talk via email every week about the new work he’s completed in an effort to get his thesis written up this year.

Transcribed interviews for my journalist client, who’s got some cover stories in women’s magazines as well as the usual music magazine pieces, and a new client who presents teleseminars and interviews on writing and marketing your work (learning a lot as I go along!).

And I also …

Ran my fourth Birmingham Half Marathon, with a personal best time!

Wrote some blog posts on starting your own business, including starting a proofreading business, pre-launched my new Libro Newsletter by telling people about it and inviting them to sign up, and placed some more guest posts.

Attended a Social Media Cafe, where I talked through a business problem with my peers – very useful.  I attended the Kings Heath Business Association AGM and will hopefully be helping out on their committee in the New Year, and I went along to the Entrepreneur meetup and met some more lovely, enthusiastic people with great business ideas.

Phew! I’ve also received the 22nd questionnaire response for my Iris Murdoch research project, and this month/December I will be applying to present a paper on it at the next Iris Murdoch Conference and writing up some results!

Coming up …

The Big Decision is coming up now: when to take Libro full-time. Working part-time while running the business is getting tiring, and where I haven’t had to turn any work away, I have had to turn down a few opportunities for networking and other events which could potentially drive some new business my way. I also want to be able to be more flexible for my clients as to when I can do their work, and have time for my partner and my friends! So … it’s decision time this month!

Libro offers copyediting, copy writing, proofreading, transcription, typing and localisation services to other small businesses, individuals and corporations. Click on the links to find out more!

 
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Posted by on November 2, 2011 in Business, Celebration, Copyediting, Jobs, proofreading, Transcription, What Do I Do?, Writing

 

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Proofreading as a career – some pointers

26 Oct

Sometimes I feel that people think “proofreading and editing” is one of those things that anyone can do, that’s a good fall-back position if you’re looking around for something to bring in a few pounds.  I think it’s a common misconception that if someone is well-read and good at spelling, that’s going to transfer into something out of which they can make a career.  There is a bit more to it than that, and as I’ve had several people ask about it, it’s got to the point where it feels useful to put something down that I can direct future enquirers to.  So, if you’re thinking about being a proofreader and you don’t know quite what it entails, read on …

Get your terms right

If you think you want to be “a proofreader” then you probably don’t know what one is.  Sorry to be blunt!  But a proofreader is a very specific kind of job, where you check materials that are just about to be published.  It’s not going through a manuscript for a novel and commenting on it (that’s copyediting) or making suggestions on changes (that’s substantive copyediting) or checking the facts in an article (that’s fact-checking) or writing up an article from bullet points (that’s copy writing).  For more on all this, see my post on proofreading and copyediting or my skill set series.   OK: so what you want to be is a copyeditor.

Get the skills

It’s not that easy correcting someone’s grammar and making their sentences work.  Sometimes, it isn’t actually that much fun.  Of course I enjoy it, but see below for why it takes a particular kind of person. And you do need to have the theory behind the practice solidly backing you up.   One way to get the knowledge is to go on a course.  Do not look at any other courses apart from those run by the Society For Editors and Proofreaders or the Publishing Training Centre.  Yes, there are lots of other courses advertised in the paper, etc.  These are the two that the industry in the UK recognises, that publishers send their editors on.  The courses and exams are quite expensive, but so are the other ones.  SfEP has a useful test on its website that might help you decide whether you’re suited for this work.

An admission: I’m not a member of SfEP and I don’t hold their qualifications.  But, and this is a route you will need to take too, I have lots and lots and lots of experience.  Most of that experience, pre-Libro, was unpaid – editing and indeed proofreading for local publications, author friends, typing theses back in the old days before everyone had a computer.  Writing.  Writing press releases and marketing material.  Working with UK and US English.  I’m nearly 40.  Most of my working life has involved this kind of stuff.  Oh, and the English Lang & Lit and Library and Information Studies degrees helped a bit, too.

If you go into this business, you will still need to take specific tests from prospective clients, even if you have qualifications.  I tend to pass these tests with flying colours, so I can get away with not having the exams.  If I was doing this again, and I didn’t have any experience, I would take those exams.  I’m going to learn Indexing one of these days.  I’m going to take the courses and exams for that: oh yes!

Are you suited for the work?

You might want to have a look at my previous post on deciding if you’re suited to freelance work at this point. In general, freelancing in whatever area you choose will have common points.  Particular to editing are the facts that: you can’t usually do it with other people around, as it’s really concentrated work; it can be a bit repetitive if you’re working on one huge text or lots of things on the same subject (if you get into student work, clients tend to recommend you on within the same course); you really don’t get to choose the subject you’re working on, and it’s fairly rare to be something that you’ll be interested in on its own merits. There are plus sides to these points, of course: if you enjoy being alone, the first is fine, and you can take your marketing work, blogging, etc., to the local cafe; it can be soothing to press on with the same thing hour after hour; and you get to learn an awful lot about an awful lot of subjects, which can be handy for pub quizzes and the like!

And you’ve got to be happy to do this, day in and day out.  You might have to miss a cinema trip with your friends.  You might be poorly – but there’s not really sick pay as such (we’re lucky to have the NHS in the UK, of course – in other countries this point is even more important). Again, these are general points. In summary from the editing side of things: you need to be good at concentrating; nit-picky; good at going for hours with no distractions; good at finding odd topics interesting enough that you’re not wandering off to Twitter every five minutes; good at keeping to deadlines (it’s often someone else’s deadline you’re affecting if you run over time).

Dealing with clients

OK, I do have great clients who come through recommendation and send me work reasonably regularly.  But I still had to prove myself to them in the first place, and I still have to send in my invoices on time and do the work when I say I will.  You will need to be able to justify what you’ve done to someone’s work, make their work demonstrably better, come in to their deadlines, keep them informed.  It’s not just a question of sitting nicely at a desk and playing with a sentence or so, just like gardening isn’t all wandering around in a big hat with a trug, snipping at a rose every now and again. You need to market yourself, be cheeky, throw business cards at all and sundry – you can’t just sit back and expect the work to come to you.  Which brings me to my next point …

Building things up

It’s over two years since I launched Libro.  Only now am I thinking of going full-time.  Much of my work comes through repeat business (hooray for repeat customers) and recommendations.  But that’s hard work in itself.  If someone is kind enough to recommend your services to a friend, you have twice the pressure: do a good job for the client and make sure you don’t ruin their trust in the original client who recommended you.  You have to do a really good job to get these recommendations, in the copyediting that you do and in the customer care and marketing that you do.

I have found myself diversifying over the years, so I now do transcription, writing, localisation from US to UK English and all sorts of other things. Do you have skills you can add in to your basic offering, that form a good portfolio (copyediting and clowning might work, but would be difficult to market, perhaps).  The other way to go is specialisation.  I’ve done this with my localisation work, building a reputation as someone who is good at turning US into UK English, and I know copyeditors who are very well-known in their field of, for example, editing medical journal articles.  But you need an outside speciality you can bring to bear on your copyediting work if you want to go down that route (for example experience in other jobs, your previous education …).

Is this for you?

So, a summary.  If you really want to make a go of a proofreading career, which we now know is actually a copyediting career, you need to:

  • enjoy working on your own
  • have a high attention span and a very high boredom threshold (I’m not saying that the work is boring: I love it; some people would be bored silly by it)
  • write a very high standard of English (oh yes, and everything else that you send out into the world has to be perfect or people will spring on it with glee!)
  • do a fairly expensive course or have demonstrably high levels of experience
  • be prepared to work very hard
  • be prepared to work on stuff you do not find interesting
  • be prepared to do all the usual freelance stuff of losing your weekends and evenings “just to turn this project round”
  • be prepared to do marketing and customer care and maths stuff as well as playing with the order of words to make the most elegant sentence
  • have other skills you can diversify into
  • or have a very particular skill you can specialise in

I don’t want to put people off, I really don’t.  But hopefully this has given you some insight into the kind of person you need to be to do this kind of work, and the kind of work it actually is.  Think of copyediting as a positive choice rather than a fall-back position, and you’ll be fine. Drift into it, and you might get some work and payments, but you might be happier somewhere else.

 
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Posted by on October 26, 2011 in Business, Copyediting, Jobs, New skills, proofreading, What Do I Do?

 

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What I’ve been up to in September

05 Oct

September is another traditionally busy month for Libro, although again, like in August, I’ve had a good range of non-seasonal work as well as the expected deluge of Master’s dissertations. So, what has this proofreader, editor, writer, typist, transcriber and localiser been up to in the past month … ?

Copyedited at least 21 Master’s dissertations and three whole or part PhD theses (including one which was dictated into Dragon software, giving some interesting new issues to look out for!).

Copyedited several texts that have been translated into English from another language by native speakers of the other language, to make sure they flow well and conform to either British or American English standards.

Transcribed tapes for my long-term journalist client (an interview with a writer), and some new clients including a Chinese company who has outsourced transcription of tapes by American career coaches to me, and a company involved with helping writers market themselves.

Edited and written text for websites for a cleaning company and a faith-based charity.

Edited various company policies and tender applications for another long-term client.

Written some articles on retail display shelving for a fairly new regular client who has kindly been Tweeting my praises on Twitter.

Localised online content for the UK market for a football game, an exercise company and a big corporation that I can’t name because I was working for an agency on that one.

Edited and proofread the usual Yacht Club publications.

In non-paid work news, I’ve also …

Written a website (a very simple one in WordPress) for a locally based charitable organisation.

And I also

Attended a Social Media Cafe, where I was told I was an “oracle” who kept connecting people with one another! and went to my first Kings Heath Business Association breakfast.

Phew! I’ve also received the 21st questionnaire response for my Iris Murdoch research project, and I should be back on track applying to present a paper on it at the next Iris Murdoch Conference and writing up some results soon!

Coming up …

More of the same, really … well, fewer dissertations, but I’ve got some PhDs booked in to finish off and then it’s ongoing work with my regulars and hopefully picking up some more bits and pieces. And, of course, planning when and how to take Libro full-time!

Libro offers copyediting, copy writing, proofreading, transcription, typing and localisation services to other small businesses, individuals and corporations. Click on the links to find out more!

 
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Posted by on October 5, 2011 in Business, Celebration, Copyediting, Jobs, proofreading, Transcription, What Do I Do?, Writing

 

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What does a copy-typist do? What is copy-typing?

04 Oct

Do you have sheaves of handwritten notes from a training course or presentation you’ve attended? Maybe you like writing longhand and have completed a novel. You will find a copy-typist useful if you have a lot of typing to do from handwritten documents, especially if you don’t type very fast, or you just don’t have the time to sit down and type it up.

These days, I usually work from scanned handwritten documents, rather than the documents themselves, although I will happily accept the documents on paper too. Quite often, my copy-typing projects come via Virtual Assistants, who can easily outsource a single project like this to someone like me, if they don’t have time to do it themselves or would rather be doing something only they can do for their client.

I’ll then type it up – I usually correct spellings and put in the punctuation as I go, but I don’t have to, it depends what the client wants me to do!

I started off my freelance career years ago, typing up people’s PhD theses from their handwritten versions. It surprises me that, x years later, I still type for people; but there’s obviously still a need for it, and it’s a good thing to outsource.

Other useful articles on this blog

Copy-typing hints and tips 1: What it is, what it looks like and how to charge

Copy-typing hints and tips 2: How do I do copy-typing work?

 
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Posted by on October 4, 2011 in Business, Jobs, Skillset, What Do I Do?

 

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Why running a business is like running a marathon

21 Sep

I’m gearing up for running the Birmingham Half Marathon for the fourth time this October, as well as working my way towards doing Libro full-time, and it’s struck me that my two parallel endeavours do have, well, a number of parallels.

Oh, and yes, I know a half-marathon isn’t a marathon (although many people don’t seem to realise). A half-marathon, and a part-time job and a part-time business, are all I’m managing to fit in at the moment. Once I’m full-time with Libro, I intend to look at training for a full marathon.

So, why is running a business like running a (half) marathon?

You need to prepare first

With both running and business, there are certain things you should do before you even set foot on road / fingers on keyboard. With running, it’s a question of maybe checking with your doctor first, then getting a sports bra (for the ladies) and some decent trainers.  When you’re setting up a business, you need the basics (a computer, the right software, a phone, initial stock), registration with the relevant tax office (the HMRC in the UK) and perhaps a short course (I recommend the HMRC “Becoming Self-Employed” one).

You have to build up gradually

People are often amazed when I say I’ve been out for a 10-mile training run at the weekend. But I didn’t start off doing that: I started off, years ago, on a walk-run programme – walking for 2 minutes and running for 1 minute, for 15 minutes. Gradually I built up until I was running continuously for 15 minutes, then a few more, another mile … and there I was, able to trot along for 10 miles (or more) at a time.  Similarly, with the business, especially in my line of work, once you’re set up it’s a question of doing some work, getting some recommendations, doing some more work …

Don’t go mad buying stuff

When you start running, you don’t need ALL the kit. Bra and shoes, yes; something reflective if you’re going out in the dark, but you can go out in tracksuit bottoms and a t-shirt at first. Once you’re up and running and you know you’re going to stick with it, then is the time to get the wick-away tops and the fancy socks.  When setting up a business, you don’t need to buy a new desk, even complicated invoicing software – stick to the basics and buy more when you’ve really had time to assess what you need.

Seek the company and advice of others

I love running on my own – I can cogitate, relax, go into a meditative state, enjoy music that you might not expect of a sedate lady runner … but I have also benefitted hugely from the companionship – often online – of other runners. You can swap tales, encourage each other, get tips and hints, and help other people (see below).  In business, carefully-selected forums and networking groups can help you learn about best practice and different ways to do things, as well as helping you sell your services. And if you want to get out there with real, live people, then you can join a running club or a networking group and really profit from getting together with other people.

Diversify

As well as running, I go to the gym to work out with weights, cross-train and take spin classes.  When I’m running, I do different sessions – speedwork, tempo runs, long slow runs. All of this has improved my all-round fitness and my running in general. I know this, because I just achieved my second-best half marathon time ever … on a training run. With my business, I started off concentrating on a few key tasks, but increased the range of what I offered as I went along, and have ended up with a diverse group of customers and an interesting set of jobs.

Make time (and an effort) for others

I think this one is really important. As a runner who is perhaps not a “natural” and has reached achievable goals, I have tried to encourage other people to follow in my footsteps. I’ve encouraged a few other people to start running, and make time to answer their questions and support them in their goals. It was wonderful to run the Birmingham Half last year with Anna, who I’d taught to run over the year – in fact she beat me by a good way, and I was so proud of her.  In business, I try to give something back by helping other people, helping out at the Social Media Surgery, etc.  Maybe you can offer someone work experience, take on an apprentice or become a mentor.

Be ethical and a good example

This one is tied in to the point above, really.  I try to be a good ambassador for running. I don’t spit in the street and I try not to barge into people. I’m visible to traffic, cyclists and other pedestrians, and I always say thank you when someone moves out of the way for me. In the same way, I work ethically, don’t take short cuts and try to be courteous and helpful to everyone I come across in the business context.

Be in it for the long run

As I said above, you don’t just launch out running 10 miles in one go. Running is something I would like to stay with for a long time. I want to be one of those little old ladies gamely doing the marathon aged 80. I build up slowly, plan my running and make sure it’s sustainable. Similarly, with Libro I plan ahead for the next stage and try to make sure it’s sustainable, with a good mix of regular clients and one-offs.

Look after yourself

Run or train every day, miss your sleep, and fail to keep an eye on your nutrition, and you’ll soon find your running goes to pot. Work every hour there is, ignore your family and eat rubbish at your desk, and you’re likely to find yourself a bit lonely and possibly unwell. Balance is key in both areas (actually, I use the running to keep the balance in the rest of my life, so the two are inextricably entwined for me).

Enjoy it!

Lastly: if you’ve chosen a sport to take part in or you run your own business, you should be enjoying it, at least most of the time! These are things you’ve chosen to do. If you’re not enjoying it, stop, have a little think, work out why you’re not enjoying it, and take steps to change that.

I hope this has been useful. Can anyone add any more similarities?

Libro offers copyediting, copy writing, proofreading, transcription, typing and localisation services to other small businesses, individuals and corporations. Click on the links to find out more!

 
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Posted by on September 21, 2011 in Business, Jobs, Organisation

 

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What I’ve been up to in August

07 Sep

August is one of Libro’s traditionally busy months, along with September, mainly owing to the looming deadlines for student undergraduate and Master’s dissertations.  But this past month, I have been busy with much more than dissertations, although those have been active too.

Deep breath! Ready … in August I have …

Copyedited 28 dissertations / theses or parts thereof (sometimes people send me them chapter by chapter, with gaps of time in between while they write the next bit).

Copyedited some documents translated into English to make sure the (British or American) English was fluent-sounding and appropriate (another long-term client who’s been concentrating on a project translated out of English over the summer – it’s good to have him back!)

Proofread a few tender applications and company policies for a regular client.

Typed up 2 inverview transcriptions for my ongoing journalist client and one set of interviews for a student’s dissertation.

Polished a freelance training expert’s web text and copyedited several blog posts for her too.  Worked on web text for a retail shelving company.

Written 2 advertorials for my retail shelving company client to be published in September in a trade magazine.  Also written 5 features on local businesses in the Black Country for a local website.

Written up Terms and Conditions for a web designer based on previous Ts & Cs for his other services (to be checked by a lawyer, of course!)

Recorded myself reading a list of English names for a website where you input a name and hear someone from their country saying the name (!).

Localised webtext for a large software company and a dealer brochure for a cult automotive company, both working from American to British English.

In non-paid work news, I’ve also …

Helped  my mentee with his webtext, social media presence and hopefully found him a mentor in his particular line of business and written some explanatory text for a student starting up a new business, that can be used for webtext or a press release.

Helped at a Social Media Cafe and attended Birmingham Entrepreneurs’ Meetup and Social Media Cafe networking events; also attempted co-working at a cafe with no wifi (more on that later when I’ve written up the review!).

Had two guest posts published on other people’s blogs – this is something I love doing (so do ask if you’d like me to write something for your blog!) and hosting (so do ask if you’d like to contribute to this blog!) and published 4 freelancer/businessperson Saturday interview features.

Phew! I’ve also received the 20th questionnaire response for my Iris Murdoch research project, although I’ve given myself study leave for August-September so I can concentrate on Libro busy times rather than trying to write up research at the same time!

Coming up … more of the same really – I’ve already written some marketing materials, worked on some dissertations, started another transcription and localised a newsletter!

Libro offers copyediting, copy writing, proofreading, transcription, typing and localisation services to other small businesses, individuals and corporations. Click on the links to find out more!

 
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Posted by on September 7, 2011 in Business, Celebration, Copyediting, Jobs, proofreading, Transcription, What Do I Do?, Writing

 

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Networking and social media marketing

17 Aug

Today I’m going to talk about social media and live networking and why they’re similar in so many ways.  If you run a business, here are some hints about how they work and how you can also help fellow businesses to use them. If you have friends who run businesses, see how you can help them extend their reach and help more people.

Whether I’m talking to an individual at a networking event, tweeting a link to a blog post or updating my status on Libro’s Facebook page, I’m (hopefully) addressing two audiences.  The first is the person I’m speaking to. And the second is the people to whom they could potentially carry my message.

Networking events, co-working sessions, Twitter followers, Facebook friends – what they have in common is that each is a network.  Think of it like pyramid selling or chain letters but in a good way.  X knows 2 people who know 2 people each, that’s 4, each of those know two people and that makes 8 – even if some of them know each other, the network doubles each time.  Or rabbits. It’s a bit like rabbits, too …

These networks are more diverse and varied than you might at first think. Even if you’re close to someone in your life, history or profession, it is unlikely that your network overlaps with theirs completely.  Some examples …

  • My partner of 12 years – I have 353 friends on Facebook, he has 115, but we only share 62 of those people.
  • A Birmingham friend interested in the same things as me has 161 friends – and only 80 of them are shared with me.
  • An old University friend who is a freelancer like me has just 8 mutual friends out of a total of 239.
  • Similarly, Libro has 115 individual “likers” plus 8 businesses, so I make sure I share some of my Libro updates with my wider circle of friends.
  • It’s the same on Twitter – I’m pretty sure that not all my friends’ followers are following me (although it’s harder to extract the figures there), so if I retweet a business’s message, my 833 followers will see their message, and if they retweet mine, theirs will know about me.

When I’m at a networking meeting, I’m aware that the person I’m talking to is not always likely to want to buy my services.  But it’s very likely that, if I’ve made a good impression on them, they will remember me, and when they come across someone else in their social or business network who needs something that I offer, they will recall my details and pass my information on.  There’s lots of research on how to ensure that happens, but the general principle stands.

In the same way, if I tweet or put up a Facebook update about something Libro’s doing, the people who see it directly from me probably know all about what I do, or they might not need a proofreader or transcriber right now.  But if they “share” the Facebook post or retweet the tweet, who’s to know who out of their wider circle might find it useful?

Much of my work comes through personal recommendation, usually from previous clients, but also through networks of friends and associates.  This isn’t a plea to share and retweet my stuff, though … it’s a general reflection on how you can help your friends with businesses small and not-so-small to grow their networks and get known about.  Even large organisations need this – I was talking to someone from a museum just the other day, and he was bemoaning the lack of likes and shares on their Facebook page. Which is, by the way, good, engaging and interesting.

Hopefully this post has made some entrepreneurs, and most importantly their friends, aware of just how important the power of networks can be to their businesses.  Share a post or a tweet by a friend, a charity you support, a business you like … and someone in your network of contacts might find just what they need!

—

Postscript: Given the riots in the UK that happened just after I posted this piece, and the discussion on social media surrounding them, I thought I should say a few words on that subject. Social media – Twitter, Facebook and the like – are just another communication medium, like newspapers, letters and the telephone. Even if some newspapers print vile things, it doesn’t mean newspapers in themselves are dangerous and evil.  Poison pen letters don’t lead to calls for paper and pens to be banned. Personally, during the riots, I saw many good things come through Twitter, in particular. My local pub and other people in my area tweeted out reassurances that all was quiet. The police and the Resilience Team sent out messages of calm and information, and we retweeted those to help damp down unsubstantiated rumours. I heard about the cleanup campaign through Twitter and would never have known about it without that medium. So don’t worry that you’re helping perpetuate some kind of evil empire if you retweet a message about a decorators or editor – it’s just a communication channel!

 
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Posted by on August 17, 2011 in Business, Jobs

 

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Thank you to my fab clients

11 Aug

I just wanted to say a quick public thank you to my fab Libro clients.

Yesterday, I put aside my Libro work to go and join a team of volunteers who were cleaning up Birmingham after the rioting the night before. I was glad that I could move things around and get out there and help without having to ask a boss!

In the middle of the clean-up yesterday (and as soon as my Blackberry worked again!) I managed to pick up a few messages about new and ongoing jobs. I explained to each person, briefly, what I was doing, and that their work would get done, just not quite as quickly as they would  normally expect (no deadlines would be missed, of course).

Every one of them replied back with support and understanding. Libro is one person – me – and I do try to provide an ethical, honest and open service, including keeping people informed. Yesterday demonstrated that I have the right clients for this approach – I really appreciated their understanding.

Thank you.

By the way: Birmingham was quiet overnight; hoping it will stay this way now.

 
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Posted by on August 11, 2011 in Blogging, Jobs

 

What I’ve been up to in July

03 Aug

It’s the beginning of a new month – and Libro was 2 years old on Monday, so Happy Birthday Libro, first of all!  I’m doing better than I could have imagined when I set it all up in August 2009; well, we all know I love my job by now … and I’m building up a good base of regular clients but still with the time to do one-off projects as well.  The variety in my Libro life has increased dramatically; originally I was just offering proofreading and copyediting but now I do writing, transcribing and even good old copy typing for all sorts of people, from academics to journalists, working on websites to novels to advertising materials to … well, anything to do with words!

Anyway, here’s what I’ve been up to in July …

Well, first of all, I went on holiday! Just a quick week in the Lake District, staying here, which is a hotel I can heartily recommend, especially for those on special diets.  I had a bit of a break from Libro work; I did have a few bits of work in but I took a laptop and managed to get them out of the way in the early mornings (and I didn’t mind being interrupted slightly).  Apart from that it was all very relaxing, but a lot of walking meant I got enough exercise not to get twitchy, and I even took Matthew out in a rowing boat on Lake Windermere!

The rest of the month was nice and busy …

I transcribed two interviews for journalist Jude Rogers (and she kindly tweeted about my services to her followers – social media exposure really helps my business – which I think I’ll blog about soon!)

I carried on coaching my Taiwanese client through the final stages of her Master’s dissertation – not long to go now and I’ll miss working with her.

I did various bits and pieces for my lovely physiotherapist client, Kate, including a final proof-read of her new brochures and e-book and a section on her new colleague for her website.

My American PR company client sent me various projects, including the usual bi-monthly magazine and an advertising leaflet to copyedit and proof.

A previous client came back to me with another medical journal article to work on, with more to come …

And I wrote pieces on local businesses and a downloadable brochure about retail shelving for two clients who came to me through recommendations.

I’ve also been busy networking, attending the Birmingham Entrepreneurs meetup and the Social Media Cafe this month.  I’ve met lots of interesting people through these two regular meetings, and while networking often doesn’t generate direct sales or offers of work (although sometimes it does!), it’s worth remembering that everyone on whom you make an impression is likely to remember you and perhaps recommend you when they hear of someone who needs what you provide. I’ve also ended up with an unofficial mentee; I’ve been helping one of the entrepreneurs with his website, advertising materials and marketing strategies, which is a nice way of giving something back.

As we go into August, the dissertations and theses are starting to build up already (get your booking in now if you’re a student with a dissertation due in August, September or October!) and will join my regular clients’ projects in what are traditionally my busiest months of the year.  I’ve got some time booked off my part-time job towards the end of the month to make sure I’ve got the time to devote to Libro.

I’m concentrating on building up a set of troublesome pair and business-related blog posts so I can just publish as I go through my busy weeks, and there are still opportunities to take part in my Freelancer Chat interviews, which are proving popular with my interviewees and readers alike.

Libro offers copyediting, copy writing, proof-reading, transcription and typing services to other small businesses, individuals and corporations. Click on the links to find out more!

 
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Posted by on August 3, 2011 in Business, Celebration, Copyediting, Jobs, proofreading, Transcription, What Do I Do?, Writing

 

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Outsourcing for fun and profit

19 Jul

Today I’m going to talk about outsourcing.  Did you know that you can save your own time and money by outsourcing some of the everyday tasks of your business or even your work life if you’re employed by somebody else?  Maybe it’s not something you’ve thought about before, so I’m going to run through some ideas.  I’ll also tell you in another post how to tell if it’s worth outsourcing something or not.

Tasks you can outsource

The main point of outsourcing is to get someone else to do tasks which you’re either not so good at, or which actually cost more for you to do yourself than paying someone else to do them.  We’ll look at how to decide on the cost factors next time, but for now let’s look at the tasks you can outsource …

  • Accounting and bookkeeping – this is a classic.  If you have a very simple business model, like I do – no car, no additional premises, not VAT registered, sole trader, only one person working for the business – then you can get away with doing your own accounts.  But if you’ve got anything more complicated going on, it’s well worth using a bookkeeper or fully-fledged accountant to keep things under control.  A bookkeeper will be able to keep track of your profits and spending, record your receipts, etc., and an accountant can advise you on how best to minimise your tax burden.  Some companies will even set up your business for you in the first place!
  • Human resources and staffing – it can be worth using a recruitment firm to handle selecting and taking on new staff for you.  And then they can advise on any HR issues – sick pay, maternity pay, dismissals, grievances … and there are companies who will handle your payroll for you, too.
  • Sales and marketing – maybe you’re great at what you do, but you’re not so good at those sales calls and marketing techniques.  Calling in a specialist telemarketing, sales or PR and marketing expert can be well worth the money you spend on them in terms of the return you get from all those extra customers they bring in for you.
  • Telephone answering – there are many companies out there who will provide different levels of phone answering for you, from offering voice mailboxes to answering the phone as if they are working for your company themselves.  This means you can advertise a landline number and have it diverted to your mobile, or have someone answer it when you’re busy, or when you want to switch off for the evening.
  • Secretarial services – Virtual Administrators and Secretaries can provide remote or in-office solutions for you.  If you need an admin assistant but don’t need one full-time and are worried about the costs of employing people, use a VA to either come in and sort out your office systems or provide support for you offsite.
  • Transcription, copy typing, etc. – If you’re not a trained secretary or a fast touch-typist, it’s often well worth your while to use someone outside your business to do your typing.  I can get through a transcription in three times the length of a tape (i.e. it’ll take me 3 hours to type up 1 hour of transcription).  That might seem a long time – but I type fast and use special software.  Try typing a few minutes of tape and see how long it takes you … then outsource away!  I recently did some transcription work for an academic studying how students reacted to their courses, so this definitely works for the employed as well as the self-employed.  It’s the same with copy typing – paying someone else to type up those scribbled conference notes or handwritten novel will usually get it done far more quickly than you could do yourself.
  • Additional services you’d like to offer through your business – speaking from experience, I offer copy writing and proof-reading via web designers who are expert at designing websites but would prefer to concentrate on design and functionality and outsource providing or checking the content to me, and all of my services via VAs who use me to mop up overflow work and additional services they don’t offer personally.  In both these cases, the outsourcer can concentrate on doing what they do best, while offering a fuller service to their own clients.

Points to remember

A couple of points to remember here:

  • Choosing a partner – word of mouth can be vital here.  Ask other small businesses what they do and who they use.  Have a look at the company’s references – I make sure I maintain a page of up to date references from users of all parts of my service, and whoever you look at using should have something similar to show you.  Make sure they’re up to date and, if possible, have some details like names and information on the work undertaken (I keep most of my clients’ surnames off my references page but can provide some more detailed testimonials if required).
  • Confidentiality – a reputable company will always keep your business confidential anyway.  I never mind signing a confidentiality agreement if that’s what makes my client feel more secure – and it’s a question worth asking when you’re selecting someone to outsource to.
  • Contracts – always make sure you have a signed terms and conditions document so you both know what to expect from one another.  I have a standard one I use with web designers, for example, and another standard one for people who are part of a particular franchise I work with a lot.  Just makes everything plain and simple for all to see.
  • Extending the service you’re getting – if the person you’re outsourcing to doesn’t seem to offer a service you’re interested in, just ask.  They’re likely to know someone they can recommend, or they might outsource it themselves! I work with some VAs offering additional services like writing and typing – so it’s worth asking your trusted company before going off and searching again.

In Part 2, we’ll look at how to work out if it’s financially worth outsourcing …

Libro offers copyediting, copy writing, proof-reading, transcription and typing services to other small businesses, individuals and corporations.  Click on the links to find out more!

 
4 Comments

Posted by on July 19, 2011 in Business, Copyediting, Jobs, Organisation, proofreading, Transcription, What Do I Do?, Writing

 

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