I have said it before and I will say it again: Running an editing business is “feast or famine,” to use a tired cliché.

This summer has been one prolonged famine.

I have gotten a few small assignments here and there, so thankfully, there have not been any months where my earnings have been zero. But there have not been any large assignments since May.

So what have I been doing with myself during this dry spell? More than one would think.

First and foremost, I have been reaching out to potential new clients. I go on the websites of R1 universities in the US and find the contact info for the chair of their biochemistry (or similar) department. Then I send that person an email explaining my services and how my editing could increase the chances of their department’s papers being accepted for publication. I have contacted a great many department chairs in this way. Cold emails can be frightening, but they often are a necessity.

Another good use of my time this summer was my taking Kristine Thornley’s online, self-paced course in medical editing and AMA style, which was given through the EFA (one of my professional organizations). Sure, I had done some medical editing before, but during the course, I was so surprised at what I did not know. For example, an author must not use the term “baby”; they must use the term “infant” or “child” instead. Another thing of which I was unaware is that the apostrophe-s is not used in disease names; it’s Parkinson disease, not Parkinson’s disease. I learned a ton of information about tables and figures, as well. If you do medical editing or want to learn it, I highly recommend Ms. Thornley’s course. Students get 364 days to complete it, but I did it in four months.

Finally, I’ve been active on LinkedIn, posting original content and reposting others’ content and commenting. This is how I have been getting noticed (well, word of mouth has worked better for me, but a lot of people want to connect with me on LinkedIn).

Are you going through a “famine” right now? If so, how are you using the time to your advantage?