Me, at the Humane Society: Could I borrow a cat?
Humane Society: What? Why?
Me: I'm giving two presentations tomorrow, and I think having a cat that hangs out on my desk during them would help.
HS: Yeah, we don't do that.
@editrix-rachel.bsky.social
@editrix-rachel.bsky.socialMe, at the Humane Society: Could I borrow a cat?
Humane Society: What? Why?
Me: I'm giving two presentations tomorrow, and I think having a cat that hangs out on my desk during them would help.
HS: Yeah, we don't do that.
@carolinavonkampen.comNicole's offboarding includes:
Editorial debrief within 2 weeks of delivery: A follow-up conversation so author and editor can go deeper, talk through any questions they have.
Email that's a thank-you for working together and a offboarding survey
@carolinavonkampen.comReframing her marketing helped Nicole in these ways:
🌟 Inbound client opportunities through her newsletter
🌟 Increased community through LinkedIn and social media
🌟 Marketing became a manageable part of my business
@carolinavonkampen.com🔘 What’s one thing you’d like to do to become more visible to clients?
🔘 Where do your clients currently find you?
🔘 What’s something you already do to contribute to the editorial community?
🔘 How could you build on something you’re already doing?
@carolinavonkampen.comBecome a community resource by sharing what you know!
#ACESVCON26 #VCON26 #freelanceeditor #amediting #freelancing
@carolinavonkampen.comThe solution? Build a marketing ecosystem, not a campaign.
Action: Create community, not content.
For example:
🧠 Editor meetings yield new thinking
🧠 Client experiences yield better strategies
🧠 Reading teaches new craft skills
@carolinavonkampen.comThe solution? Build a marketing ecosystem, not a campaign.
Reframe: Show up like a member of the community, not like a salesperson.
Action: Turn individual efforts into a mutually supportive ecosystem. For example: turn your newsletter into LinkedIn and Instagram posts.
@carolinavonkampen.comProblem: Clients don't see me because...
🫣 I don't know what to say
🫣 I don't know where to say it
🫣 I don't have time to create anything new
🫣 Self-promotion feels bad
The solution? Build a marketing ecosystem, not a campaign.
@carolinavonkampen.comTracking your opportunities and win rates lets you:
✔️ See at a glance how much work you're putting in
✔️ Have a reliable snapshot of how your business is doing overall
✔️ Focus your attention on specific opportunities for improvement
@carolinavonkampen.comNicole's Google Sheets workbook includes an opportunity tracker that tracks how many proposals you've sent so you can see your "win rate."
@carolinavonkampen.comWhat documents do you re-create frequently? For example: style sheets, contracts, editorial letters, offboarding letters. Could you make them into a template?
@carolinavonkampen.comTogether, we'll examine practical systems that replace repeated decisions with repeatable workflows.
We'll explore three areas of practice:
Create Consistency:
Create Visibility
Create Momentum
@carolinavonkampen.comNext up at #ACESVCON26: Everything Except the Editing: Building Systems for a Cohesive Editorial Practice by Nicole Hardina.
#vcon26 #amediting #freelanceeditor #freelanceediting #freelancing
@carolinavonkampen.comGreat resource: Amelia Winter's presentation "Know What You’re Getting Into: How to Vet Projects for Sensitive Themes" from @editorscanada.bsky.social:
webinars.editors.ca/webinar_reco... #ACESVCON26 #VCON26 #developmentalediting #editing #fictionediting #amediting
@carolinavonkampen.comIf an author needs sensitivity or authenticity reading, you can send them to
Editors of Color database: editorsofcolor.com/database/
Indigenous Editors Association: www.indigenouseditorsassociation.com
@carolinavonkampen.comGreat tip from @tanyagold.bsky.social: Once you've written out an explanation of why a trope is harmful, save that as a template so the next time you run into that trope, you have a template to start from. Makes it easier to give that feedback if it's prewritten!
@carolinavonkampen.comTanya tries to have authors do sensitivity/authenticity reading before an author does developmental editing.
@carolinavonkampen.comHow to talk to writers about harmful tropes in their book during a dev edit:
"There's something in your book that's not coming across as you intended. Here's why this is a problem, and here are some ways we could fix it."
#ACESVCON26 #VCON26 #developmentalediting #developmentaledit #devedit
@carolinavonkampen.comIt can be hard to talk with a writer about harmful tropes in their book.
But almost always, the writer is grateful that you mentioned it because they didn't do it intentionally and don't want to put something out in the world that does harm.
@carolinavonkampen.comHow do you identify harmful tropes while developmental #editing?
Assess the manuscript before taking on the project and look for potential triggers/harmful tropes. Then you can either decline the project or set aside more time to work on it if it'll be a difficult read.