2020 Be a Better Freelancer® conference is a hit!

By Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, Owner

An American Editor

The 15th annual Be a Better Freelancer® conference, held virtually in October 2020, continued the partnership between Communication Central, the An American Editor blog, and the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors (NAIWE) as co-host and PerfectIt as lead sponsor.

Another sponsor was new to the conference: The Six-Figure Freelancer and its author, Laura Pennington Briggs.

We had several hundred registrations for our first all-virtual event and more than 100 actual participants. There was only one technical glitch — a huge relief! — and that was quickly resolved, thanks to the skills of NAIWE executive director April Michelle Davis.

Session topics included an exciting array of current tips, resources and insights about business basics, expansion, self-publishing and more.

For most of the past 15 years, “Be a Better Freelancer”® has been the only conference specifically for freelancers in the editorial world — writers, editors, proofreaders, indexers, desktop publishers, graphic artists, photographers, website creators, etc.

The 15th annual Communication Central-NAIWE Be a Better Freelancer conference offered a strong emphasis on opportunities in the self-publishing realm, as well as resources for overall business success, productivity and expansion. Sessions were consecutive rather than concurrent.

The conference event was online and free to all. Recordings of sessions are available at $30 each after the event; here’s the link to purchase any or all session recordings: https://naiwe.selz.com/categories/be-a-better-freelancer-conference

We plan to return to the full in-person format with concurrent sessions in each timeslot in 2021 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Thank you to everyone who participated, especially our knowledgeable and generous speakers, and our sponsors.

Topics and speakers included the following.

Startup Essentials and Business Basics, Ruth E. Thaler-Carter
If you’re thinking about launching a freelance communications business, there’s a lot to do before making your plans known to the world and in your first few months. Get the basics of structuring and announcing your freelance writing, editing, proofreading, indexing, website, book production, graphics or other publishing-related business from a freelancer who’s been leading the way for many years.

Getting Your Self-Publishing Client to a Finished Product, Dick Margulis
Opportunities for an editor to break into traditional book publishing are vanishing, but they continue to expand rapidly in self-publishing. Independent publishing is now an established and accepted part of the publishing industry. In this session, you will learn how to help your independent author–publisher clients produce the high-quality books they want. Learn how you can work with and guide independent authors in a way that is fair to them and worthwhile for you. The session will be an overview of the independent publishing process, including ethical, financial and practical considerations, to help you figure out where you can fit into the process in a way that works best for you.

This session will provide a comprehensive and detailed summary of the steps and skills entailed in producing a book that meets commercial standards. Armed with this knowledge, you can guide your client toward intelligent decisions about who should do what. The self-publishing author is a publisher. Publishing a book is a business activity. Making a book is a craft activity. Self-publishing should not be do-it-yourself publishing, and you can partner with others to produce the book so the (self-)publisher can focus on marketing, sales and distribution — their proper role.

Perfecting Your Process with PerfectIt — Beginner Level, Daniel Heuman
No one became an editor because they like checking for consistency of hyphenation and capitalization. Thankfully, there is a faster way to do it! PerfectIt is an add-in for Word that speeds up checking while still leaving you in control of every decision. Thousands of editors around the world use PerfectIt to fix these small details so they can focus on the work that matters.

This session is primarily for complete beginners who have never used PerfectIt before. It will cover what the software can and cannot find, with an overview of all the styles and checks that it can run. It will show you how suggestions vary by location, and every location and suggestion needs to be checked for context. It’s open for users on Macs or PCs.

Perfecting Your Process with PerfectIt — Advanced Level, Daniel Heuman
Spending hours checking that every detail conforms to a style manual is time-consuming and can distract you from the most important work of substantive editing. There is an easier way! This session will show how you can use PerfectIt to select a style sheet, build your own custom style sheet and check your preferences. The session will explain how to use PerfectIt’s advanced functionality with a focus on custom styles and custom checking. It will show how you can share style sheets with colleagues and set up a different style sheet for each client and every style that you work with. This will be an advanced workshop that is primarily for editors who already use PerfectIt on a PC with Windows.

Questions and answers; general networking

Success in Working with Self-Publishing Authors, Katherine Pickett
With the continuing surge in self-publishing, more and more editors find themselves working with self-publishing authors, and many of them have no idea how the publishing process works. Although many editors have worked with writers for a long time, the needs of self-publishers are different, and anticipating those needs is key to good results. This session will help you avoid the pitfalls and find success when working with self-publishers. Topics include:
• Where to find self-publishing clients
• How to estimate time and cost of projects
• Why and how to set boundaries
• How to protect yourself from scam artists
• Areas of job growth
• Where to find additional resources for self-publishers

The Magic of Macros, April Michelle Davis
The more we can do to increase efficiency in the writing, editing or proofreading process, the more valuable we are to employers and clients, and the more we can earn. Get the scoop on creating and using macros in Word to make your workflow faster, more efficient, more accurate and more productive from author and editor April Michelle Davis, executive director of NAIWE and a proven expert in this important approach tool.

Editing Fiction in the Independent Arena, Carolyn Haley
More and more authors are publishing their own novels these days, whether solo or through a service. Most of them want — and need — editors just as much as their traditionally published peers, but there’s no formal infrastructure to support them, making indie publishing a free-for-all for both authors and editors. This session will address your questions about being an independent editor serving independent authors. Send your questions in advance for discussion during the session.

Bigger and Better — Expanding an Existing Freelance Business, Ruth E. Thaler-Carter
After your freelance business has been up and running for a while, it’s time to think about how to make it more successful. Should you offer additional services? Look for new sources of clients? Get more training? Become more visible? Learn about ways to “grow” your business from Communication Central owner and conference creator Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, who has expanded her freelance business from writing only to providing editing, proofreading, websites, public speaking and event planning.

Questions and answers; general networking

The Business of Being a Business, April Michelle Davis
It takes more than good writing skills, a sharp eye for typos, a love of reading, the ability to alphabetize, a cellphone camera, etc., to be a successful writer, editor, proofreader, indexer, graphic artist or any other freelancer. Succeeding means taking seriously the concept of being in business. You can be brilliant at what you do and still fail if you don’t set up your freelance effort as a business and treat it as a serious venture. Find out how to incorporate key business skills and tools to make your freelancing a success.

Speaker bios

• Writer and editor April Michelle Davis (www.editorialinspirations.com) is executive director of the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors (NAIWE) and an expert in macros, Word and business-organizing resources.

She is the chapter coordinator for the Virginia chapter of the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA), and past chair and website administrator for the Mid- & South-Atlantic chapter of the American Society for Indexing. She has published two booklets through the EFA, A Guide for the Freelance Indexer and Choosing an Editor: What You Need to Know, and a young-adult novel, A Princess in Disguise.

Davis is a lifetime member of the ACES: The Society for Editing and a contributing member of the Christian Proofreaders and Editors Network.

She has a master of professional studies degree in publishing from George Washington University;  a bachelor of arts degree in English from Messiah College; and certificates in editing (University of Virginia), book publishing (University of Virginia) and professional editing (EEI Communications).

Before starting Editorial Inspirations in 2001, Davis was an assistant editor at the National Society of Professional Engineers and a program assistant for the American Prosecutors Research Institute.

• Carolyn Haley lives fiction as an editor, author, reader, and reviewer. She has been editing professionally since 1977 and as DocuMania (documania.us) since 2006, working with publishers, packagers, and indie authors. She also has written three novels, which have been published both traditionally and independently (carolynhaley.wordpress.com). She is also the fiction columnist for An American Editor.

• Daniel Heuman is the CEO and founder of Intelligent Editing (intelligentediting.com), and developer of PerfectIt, which is used by thousands of professional editors around the world. He has spoken at conferences of Communication Central, ACES, the Chartered Institute
of Editing and Proofreading, Editors Canada, SENSE, the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA), and many other organizations.

• Dick Margulis (www.dmargulis.com) focuses on thoughtful editing, appropriate design, expert production and comprehensive project management for publishers of all sizes. He learned to set type at an early age and has been studying and practicing typography ever since, becoming a go-to resource for colleagues and independent authors interested in book publishing and memoirs. He is the co-author with Karin Cather of the invaluable book The Paper It’s Written On: Defining Your Relationship with an Editing Client, which he and Cather developed after presenting a session about contracts at a past Communication Central conference.

Margulis has more than four decades of experience in helping companies and authors communicate effectively, internally and externally. He has made significant contributions to client projects such as corporate identity, including logo design; user manuals and technical documentation; web and intranet sites; books and magazines; and much more. He is known for his deep understanding of and skill in typography and book production.

• Katherine Pickett is the owner of POP Editorial Services, LLC (www.POPediting.net) and author of Perfect Bound: How to Navigate the Book Publishing Process Like a Pro.

She worked in-house with McGraw-Hill Professional and Elsevier Inc. for seven years before starting POP in 2006. Through POP, she offers copyediting, proofreading, and developmental editing to authors and publishers across the country. She is an active member of the EFA and president of the Montgomery County chapter of the Maryland Writers’ Association. She has been educating writers and indie publishers about the book-publishing industry since 2008.

• Ruth E. “I can write about anything”® Thaler-Carter started Communication Central in 2006 to serve and bring together colleagues at all stages of their freelance careers. She is the author/publisher of “Get Paid to Write: Getting Started as a Freelance Writer” and author of “Freelancing 101: Launching Your Editorial Business” for the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA), with a new 2020 edition including contributions by Robin Martin. She presents webinars and in-person sessions on freelancing, the basics of editing and proofreading, websites for freelancers, and related topics for the EFA, NAIWE, Cat Writers Association, American Copy Editors Society (ACES; she was one of the first ACES freelancers), Association Media & Publishing, Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), Writers and Books, International Association of Business Communicators, and other professional organizations, including the UK’s Society for Editors and Proofreaders.

Thaler-Carter is an award-winning freelance writer, editor and proofreader who has been published and worked on projects internationally, nationally, regionally and locally. She writes, edits and proofreads material in everything from the arts to the metric system to animals, education, communications, statistics and more.

Often called the Queen of Networking for her extensive involvement in professional organizations and ability to connect colleagues with projects, resources and each other, she is the NAIWE Board of Experts member for networking; Resources chair of the SPJ Freelance Community; newsletter editor and chapter co-coordinator for the EFA; communications director for the St. Louis chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators; and more.

If you need more …

If you have questions, feel free to contact Communication Central here or use the contact form.

Read conference Testimonials here

Advertisement

Saving the world from major typos

By Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, AAE Owner

One of the delights of hosting a conference for colleagues is the opportunity not just to meet and connect with people in person, but to share anecdotes about our business adventures, challenges and successes. In conversations during the opening day of Gateway to Success, this year’s Communication Central/NAIWE Be a Better Freelancer^® conference,  I had a chance to reminisce (and chuckle) over what I consider my two major contributions to civilization through a sharp editorial eye. You might get a kick out of them — and have similar triumphs to share!

The first involved a visit home to Rochester, NY, years ago to see my parents. I had only officially been working in editing for a while, but had always had a pretty good eye for errors. I was driving past the park near our family home when I focused on the huge granite sign with letters at least a foot high, literally carved in stone, and realized that it said COBBS HILL RESEVIOR.

Now, that sign had been there for a long, long time. I can’t tell you how long, but it seemed like something that had always been there. I had walked, driven or taken a bus past it zillions of times, but never really looked at it until that moment. And I guess no one else had, either!

I called the city parks department, public works and I think the mayor’s office, trying to find someone, anyone, to report this to (this was long enough ago to predate e-mail, websites, etc., although I really wish it didn’t; I’d love to have had a photo for Facebook!). I don’t remember who I finally reached, but the next time I came home, presto: Somehow, the stone sign had been fixed! I think there was a plaque of some sort covering the original carving, but however it was done, I can say that I helped fix a typo that was … carved in stone. And my correction also had that standing!

The other was almost as satisfying, if not as permanent or visible. When Wayne-the-Wonderful and I went to Rochester for our wedding (I always wanted to be married at my parents’ house), we went to the town hall for our marriage license. I started to sign the form, but couldn’t help actually reading the thing. And … I found several typos. In the official marriage license form that had been used by the town, and possibly other New York locations around the state, for quite a few years.

I said to the town clerk, “I can’t sign this. It has typos in it.” “But that’s our official form.” “I understand that, but I can’t have typos in my marriage license. I’m a professional writer and editor, and I just can’t do that.”

This went on for several minutes, with Wayne not knowing whether to laugh, cry or leave; probably wondering what kind of a persnickety nut he was planning to marry, but prepared to stand by me as needed. I finally marked the errors and said, pleasantly but firmly, “Our wedding is on Saturday morning. I don’t care how you do it, but we’ll be back at 9:10 a.m. on Friday, and I expect to have a marriage license with no errors in it that we can sign. We’ll see you then. Thank you.”

Sure enough, when we went back at the end of the week, there was a corrected certificate for us to sign. It was my understanding that they typed up a fresh copy (this was before the days of MicroSoft Word) and used it as the new master for the license. No one else might ever have noticed, or cared, but I am proud to be responsible for — AFAIK — the town of Brighton in Rochester, NY, providing couples with error-free marriage licenses from that point on.

We all catch errors that affect meaning and comprehension, and that would have made our clients look foolish at best to their reading publics (my favorite in the more-common arena of catching errors in publications was noticing a reference to “food panties” in an article about food pantries (not edible underwear). Not many of us have the opportunity to see our work carved in stone or be responsible for fixing something as important as a marriage license. Such moments are wonderful personal triumphs that make all the hassles, arguments over usage and frustrations worthwhile.

What momentous edits have you made? Tell us about it!

Conference update – deadline for hotel rate, special offer for AAE subscribers

We have a new hotel contact for “Gateway to Success,” the 2019 “Be a Better Freelancer”® conference, who has reminded me that the deadline to use our rate for hotel rooms is September 10. This year’s conference, co-hosted by Communication Central and — for the first time — the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors (NAIWE,) and sponsored in part by Intelligent Editing, home of the popular PerfectIt consistency-checking tool (thank you, Daniel Heuman!), will be held October 11–13, 2019, at the Chase-Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis, across the street from gorgeous Forest Park and in the heart of a vibrant, walkable neighborhood of shops, restaurants and even a national chess museum, with a movie theater right in the hotel!

The conference program includes breakfast and lunch on the 11th and 12th, with dinner outings to be arranged as separate activities.

While the early bird deadline has passed, AAE subscribers may use the NAIWE/former conference attendee rates to save on registration. Full details of sessions and speakers can be found at http://www.communication-central.com or http://www.naiwe.com.

Hope to see lots of you there!

Check out the topic and speaker lineup for 2019 Be a Better Freelancer® conference

By Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, AAE and Communication Central owner

For those who have been eagerly awaiting information about Gateway to Success, Communication Central‘s 14th annual Be a Better Freelancer^® conference, you need wait no longer! Here’s the lineup of topics and presenters; specific days and times will be announced soon, along with detailed speaker bios.

The conference will be held October 11–13, 2019, at the Chase-Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis, MO. Hotel rooms are $150/night (plus taxes) and are comfortably shareable. (The conference rate is in place starting on Thursday, October 10.) The conference runs from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Central time on Friday and Saturday, October 11 and 12, with continental breakfast and lunch included, and 9 a.m.–12 noon on Sunday, October 13, with coffee and tea provided. Dinner outings at nearby restaurants will be organized for the group, but are not included in registration.

This year’s conference is cosponsored by the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors (NAIWE) — an exciting first-time partnership. To register, go to https://naiwe.com/conference/ or www.communication-central.com.

The central location should be appealing for colleagues who have been interested in previous Communication Central events but found the East Coast location a challenge. We look forward to welcoming you to the Gateway City and an exciting panoply of resources to make your freelance efforts more productive and profitable!

Friday, October 11, and Saturday, October 12, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
• You Oughta be in Visuals: Make Your Social Sizzle to Fire Up Your Freelancing, Walt Jaschek
Most of us are “word people,” but nowadays, it’s more and more important to promote a freelance business through visual media as well as the standard networking, social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.), website, press releases and other traditional efforts. Video content is expected to make up 80 percent of all Internet traffic by the end of 2019. Learn how to use video, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, podcasting and similar visual outlets to get the word out about your skills and services. This lively session will get you excited about adding visual elements to your promotional efforts.
• Finding and Working with Independent Authors, Dick Margulis
Independent authors might be the best, and fastest-growing group of, clients for many freelancers to work with, especially because many will pay for skills and services in editing, proofreading, design and layout, and publishing. Learn how to build up your freelance business by finding clients in, and structuring effective, profitable working relationships with, this sector of the publishing world.
• New Angles in Editing, Marilyn Schwartz
Those who revere Amy Einsohn’s classic Copyeditor’s Handbook will be thrilled to know that the University of California Press has published a new fourth edition, substantially revised and updated by Marilyn Schwartz, along with a new companion workbook prepared with co-author Erika Bűky. The Handbook has long served as
a valuable resource for writers and an essential reference for editors and proofreaders at every stage of their careers and in all areas of editing. Get the insider’s take on both the timeless wisdom of this beloved text and some critical new angles in editing that are explored in the revised edition and its accompanying Workbook.
• Working with Word/Acrobat, April Michelle Davis
Whether we like it or hate it, Microsoft Word remains the big dog on the word-processing playground and we all have to use it for writing, editing and proofreading work because it’s what most of our clients use — but using it effectively still presents challenges for many freelancers in publishing. Acrobat is also becoming a standard for not only proofreading, as it was originally designed for, but editing as well. Learn how to make the most of these essential tools, including practical tips and shortcuts/macros, educating clients unfamiliar with the programs, and rescuing documents from those dreaded crashes.
• Build a Better Website to Promote Your Freelance Business, Meghan Pinson and Ruth E. Thaler-Carter
It’s become common knowledge that freelancers need websites to build and support their business efforts. Find out why, and learn how, with tips on how to name your site, what to include, what not to do, how to make your site — and your business — look their best, and how to generate traffic through effective search engine optimization. If you don’t have a website yet, this session will get you started. If you already have one, this session will help you make it better at promoting your business and laying the groundwork for better interactions with clients.
• The Art of Persuasion: How to Get Paid What You Deserve, Jake Poinier
Getting paid what we’re worth is a challenge for freelancers both new and established. There always seems to be a new twist in how clients try to pay less than we expect or think we have earned. Pick up on practical, effective insights into positioning yourself with clients to ensure you generate the fees, rates and overall income that your experience and skills deserve, including tactics for increasing rates from current clients, developing referrals and more.
• Get it in Writing!, Dick Margulis and Karin Cather
The very idea of a contract for freelance editorial work scares many of us silly, so we often agree to projects without having agreements or contracts in hand. That can work — but it can backfire. The authors of The Paper It’s Written On (developed as a result of a previous Communication Central presentation) — one long-time freelance editor/book developer and one attorney/editor — will walk you through why a contract is important and what to include in one.
• The Business of Being in Business, April Michelle Davis
It takes more than good writing skills, a sharp eye for typos, a love of reading, the ability to alphabetize, a cellphone camera, etc., to be a successful writer, editor, proofreader, indexer, graphic artist or any other freelancer. Succeeding means being serious about the concept of being in business. You can be brilliant at what you do and still fail if you don’t set up your freelance effort as a business and treat it as such. Find out how to incorporate key business skills and tools to make your freelancing a success — or a bigger and better one.
• Effective Résumés for Freelancers, Rose “JobDoc” Jonas
Even in these days of online visibility through websites, LinkedIn profiles and similar ways to tell the world how great you are in your freelance niche, you often still need a résumé. Crafting one that works is a challenge, especially for those turning to freelancing after (or while still) working in-house. Find out what does and doesn’t work so you have the right document at hand whenever you need it.
• Your Best Publishing Option: Traditional, Hybrid or Entrepreneurial, Roger Leslie
As a freelancer, you decide how your books come to life. Knowing the key elements of book production, marketing and distribution direct you to the best publishing option for you. Choosing the publishing route that best suits your time, money and energy empowers you to do what you love most as your business and brand grow from a colleague whose goal is to help you “Live the Life You Dream.” Writers can use this session to get their work published; editors and proofreaders will find the session helpful in understanding how to work with aspiring authors.
• What Freelancers (Can) Do, Panel Conversation
You don’t have to be a writer or editor to freelance. Learn about opportunities for proofreaders, graphic artists, website developers, indexers and other types of freelancers — and resources they can use for success.

Sunday, October 13, 9 a.m.–12 noon
Freelancing 101: Launching and Managing Your Freelance Business, Meghan Pinson
Freelancing is a dream for so many people nowadays, and the “gig economy” is only expanding as time goes by. Learn when and how to launch and manage your freelance business to minimize the risks and maximize the advantages, along with tips about balancing work and family, among other important considerations.

2019 C-C conf Registration

2019 C-C Conf Topics and Speakers1

A new year brings new ventures

By Ruth E. Thaler-Carter

Here we are in early February and I’m just now wishing all of you a successful new year in 2019. I’d blame my new cat, but it really isn’t her fault, adorably distracting though she has been. I could blame the gratifying flow of new work I’ve been handling, but that isn’t a very good excuse. I’ll just say mea culpa, happy new year and I’ll be better at posting for you from this point onward.

Our big news is that An American Editor founder Rich Adin has done me the honor of handing off ownership of the blog to me. (This new level of responsibility should give me the necessary push to post more often and more regularly!) It has taken a few weeks to get all the business aspects and new contact details organized, but it looks like everything is all set. Rich will continue to contribute articles on occasion, so we won’t lose access to his experience and insights, which continue to be valuable to colleagues at all levels of editorial work.

This is also a good moment to let all of you know that Communication Central’s 2019 “Be a Better Freelancer”^® conference, “Gateway to Success,” will be co-sponsored by the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors (NAIWE), and will be held from October 11–13 in the “Gateway City,” St. Louis, MO. This will be the 14^th annual conference for Communication Central, now based in St. Louis, and the first such event for NAIWE, now under the skilled leadership of April Michelle Davis. The central location and NAIWE partnership should mean that more colleagues can attend to benefit from networking together and learning from each other. I’ve been wanting to try a Midwest USA location for a while, and am looking forward to welcoming colleagues to my new hometown.

AAE subscribers will again have access to a special discount on conference registration (details to come shortly). We are putting the program and speakers together and may open registration even before the program is fully in place.

Again, may this new year be one of success, prosperity and personal fulfillment to all of our subscribers. Let us know if you have any specific questions or concerns about your editing life, and we’ll do our best to help you deal with them.