ArbuckleEditorial

Getting to That One Task You Really Don’t Want to Do

Brandon Sanderson’s third Stormlight Archive book, Oathbringer, was published in mid-November, and I spent much of my free time that month rereading the first two books in the series so I could read the new one as soon as it came out. (If you’ve read them, you get it.)

During one battle-strategizing session in the new book—I won’t go into specifics lest I spoil something for a fellow devout reader—one of the characters expresses reservations about the possibility of their success in the engagement. The main stage of the clash will take place inside an enemy-occupied building, so there are multiple choke points—hallways—where the bad guys will have the upper hand. But the good guys need the building, so there’s just no way around it. They’ll have to make do, despite the choke points.

After working for several years as a manuscript editor at a university press, I decided to ditch the office and strike out on my own as a freelance copy editor and proofreader.

I read and studied books, blogs, and any other resource I could get my hands on, and I planned (though less than I maybe could have) before I made that decision, so I was comfortable with what I was getting into in the career switch. Still, I expected to learn a lot from experience—and I have. I’ve learned more still from editorial colleagues who blog, tweet, and share on Facebook their thoughts and questions about working as an editorial freelancer.