The Nomad Editor: Living the Lifestyle You Want, Doing Work You Love

by Tyler R. Tichelaar, Kathy Kuczek (Illustrator)

Is your English degree collecting dust? Wouldn’t you love to work from anywhere, engaged in work you enjoy, while working for yourself and meeting all your financial needs?If you find this combination of freedom and interesting work appealing, The Nomad Editor will give you the tools you need to put your language skills, degree, and imagination to work for you as a freelance editor. And because the self-publishing revolution continues to expand, editors are needed now more than ever. Work is abundant, and The Nomad Editor will help you find it.Join Tyler R. Tichelaar, PhD, author, editor, and owner of Superior Book Productions, for an up-close-and-personal look at what it takes to be a freelance editor.In The Nomad Editor, you will discover how •Acquire the basic skills and knowledge of an editor•Determine what to charge•Set up your own business•Market your skills to compatible and lucrative clients•Provide outstanding value•Avoid clients who would eat you alive•Juggle multiple projects and meet deadlines•Never work for someone else againBest of all, you’ll be able to set your own hours, work from home or anywhere you want, supplement or replace your current income, create financial stability for yourself and your family, and do work you’ll love. Plus, you’ll know you’re making a difference by helping to bring entertainment and education to millions.Your new life of freedom as a freelance editor awaits you. Just open this book to claim it.

216 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 22, 2019

Reviews

[Johnna Sturgeon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tichelaar's The Nomad Editor offers a useful overview of many aspects of the business of freelancing, and covers a couple topics I haven't seen in other handbooks. It is aimed primarily at freelancers working for authors directly and doesn't cover any aspect of working with publishing houses. Probably for that reason, Tichelaar gives detailed attention to techniques for marketing your editing services. His coverage of this topic is more extensive and helpful than most I've seen. The Nomad Editor also includes entire chapters on dealing with difficult authors, growing your business beyond the solopreneur stage, and, commendably, "Giving Back."

However, it is a pretty short book at 184 pages and Tichelaar's treatment of the actual craft of copyediting is quite weak. For instance, while he does discuss the use of style manuals and compiling one's own personal manual, he says nothing about creating a style sheet for each individual book. Perhaps this is due to the fact that he works with many self-publishing authors, so the process of editing, compositing, and proofreading differs somewhat from that used in publishing houses.

Despite its brevity, there is also a lot of fluff and self-promotion in The Nomad Editor. The entire first chapter is Tichelaar's narrative of how he became a freelance editor, and while not without interest, he spends thirteen pages on a topic authors of similar how-to books get out of the way in two or three. Another five-page chapter describes the projects and authors Tichelaar is most proud of working with.

Despite these reservations, The Nomad Editor is worth reading for its treatment of the business side of freelance editing. This is especially so if you're primarily interested in serving authors directly, but many of his marketing strategies and pricing techniques would be applicable to any freelance editor or proofreader.