My love-hate relationship with printers

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Printers. Just about everyone who has a computer needs one. How else would we make hard copies? How else would we create things to pin to our bulletin boards? I could go on forever.

I love printers (specifically our HP DeskJet 4155e).

I love them because they can take blue, yellow, magenta, and black ink and combine them to form a vast pallet of colors.

I love them because they are fast. I am old enough to remember the slow, noisy dot matrix and daisywheel printers of yore. The one at my home is an inkjet.

I love them because it is not too difficult to install and change their ink cartridges. If I can do it, anyone can—even if I sometimes have to refresh my memory by viewing a YouTube tutorial. My mother bought a Brother printer a little over a year ago and I installed the cartridges in it without any problems.

I love them because they connect to my laptop via Wi-Fi, without messy cords and cables dangling off desks and waiting on the floor to trip me.

I love them because they do their job without audibly saying, “Don’t tell me you’re printing this!”

That being said…

I hate printers.

I hate them when the paper jams. Granted, this rarely happens with ours, and I don’t think most modern printers jam much, if at all.

I hate them when the cartridges run out of ink. This always seems to happen when I am printing something very important, and it is why I always order ink ahead of time so I can keep new cartridges handy.

I hate them when they go offline for a reason I cannot figure out to save my life.

I hate them when they stop being supported by their manufacturer and refuse to print in color or to print correctly. Then I need to buy another whole printer. Planned obsolescence.

How about you? Do you love printers or hate them? Or both?

How to behave in discussions

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If you are in a professional organization, chances are the organization maintains a discussion list or board (I’ll say “discussion list” for the rest of this post, even though I mean both). Such a list is an invaluable tool for sharing and getting great ideas, telling the occasional (appropriate) joke, and encouraging others, to name some. One of the professional organizations of which I am a member has a wonderful discussion list, the posts on which I read regularly. I also post on the list occasionally, when I have something important to say or have a question.

However, there are some people out there who make a discussion list harmful. These are the people who dress others down in front of thousands of other members when a mistake or an offense is made. They are the people who insult others and start fights. In the horrific summer of 2020, I witnessed a discussion list go into major meltdown.

How do the members of a professional organization keep a discussion list safe and comfortable for everyone? In my opinion, they do so by following the “three B’s and a T.”

Be respectful. Remember that not everyone shares your opinion. Remember that the people on a discussion board might not look like you, have your financial status, or even come from the same country as you, so do not assume that they think just like you do. Also, remarks or jokes that are critical of others—whether they look like you or not—are inappropriate and have no place on a discussion list.

Be kind. If, for example, an upset novice editor posts on the discussion list about how they  shortchanged a client by accident, don’t jump on the list and scold them, telling them how they should have used such and such timekeeping software and plugged in their brain. Instead, give them helpful suggestions along with an “I’m sorry this happened to you.” Right now, they need sympathy.

Be fruitful. By this, I mean that if you have a great idea about how you made something work for you, share it. Others on the discussion list will be grateful and may even thank you in a post. You can also pick up great ideas from others who share them.

Treat others the way you want to be treated on the discussion list. This one goes without saying.

If you are or have been on a discussion list or board, what has been your experience?

Background sounds, anyone?

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Different people (not only editors) listen to different kinds of background sounds while they work.

As for me, I prefer silence.

I do not like sounds in my vicinity while I am editing. I do not want the dishwasher, clothes washer, or dryer running while I work. I do not like hearing the grim sound of leaf blowers or lawnmowers outside my office space window.

And I especially do not like the white noise emitted by the heating/air conditioning vent that occupies a space on the wall directly above my work desk.

The world, however, does not revolve around me, and others have different preferences.

I had a roommate in college who liked to listen to music while she studied. Vocal music distracts me from working; however, because my roommate was such a sweetheart, I let her indulge herself with—gulp—country music. Not my preference by any means, but I tolerated it for a semester.

There were others in college whose tastes in background sound were even more offensive. They loved to blast hard rock or alternative rock music while they worked. Unfortunately, their music would inevitably be shared with me, since the dorm room walls were thin. That was when I would grumble and head to the library.

I have to say that at the moment I am typing this post, I feel rather hypocritical because I am not writing it in silence. I have classical music coming from the desktop computer behind me, courtesy of YouTube. I heard it said decades ago that instrumental classical music is the only music that actually enhances a person’s work or studying. I believe it. I love instrumental classical music (as long as the piece isn’t too loud) and right now it is relaxing me and fueling my brain as I write.

What do you like to listen to while you work, if anything?

A website is what you make of it

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If you are a freelance editor (or freelancer of any kind), chances are you have a website for your business. If you don’t have one, you really should—at least in my opinion. But this week’s blog post is not about why you should have a website. It’s about the essential things to have on it.

There is always, of course, the Home page. This needs to pique the interest of potential clients. There should be visual elements, such as pictures, to break up the paragraphs. (Having a photo of yourself is optional.) Just make sure you have permission to use the pictures! The Home page should also explain why your services are necessary to the client. For example: “Why should you have your writing copyedited?”

The Services page is also one of the most important. It explains exactly what you do. Be specific here; do you copyedit, line edit, or do developmental editing or ghostwriting? Some freelancers list their fees on the service page, while others choose not to.

The About page is where you list your credentials and show the client why you are good at what you do. You can also slip in a sentence about, for example, your hobbies (“When not reading or writing, I enjoy traveling.”) This paints you more as human rather than an editing machine.

The Testimonials page shows all the praise clients have given you. My advice is to ask for a short testimonial from every client who is happy with the work you have done for them. Do this right after the job is done, so that the client remembers you and your work clearly.

A blog is optional for a website, but having one and updating it regularly shows that you are diligent. You must be disciplined about blogging and do it once a week (or however often you have decided) and not just whenever you feel like it.

If you are a freelancer, what have you found is essential to put on your website?

Care of your LinkedIn profile

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If you are a freelance editor, or if you are a business owner of any kind, I am certain you have a profile on the social media platform known as LinkedIn. Even if you despise Facebook, X, or other social media sites, you know you need a LinkedIn profile because that is where potential clients will go to find out if you and your business are legitimate—and hopefully decide to work with you. Your profile needs to not only be there, but be impeccable.

In this post, I will discuss how to maintain your profile so that it will attract people and let them know that you really know your trade.

First, your picture should be up to date. It should look professional—no selfies from the night in Ocean City when you and your friends were drinking. A professional headshot is best, and many portrait studios will take one for a price. You do not want to leave the photo field on LinkedIn blank. Most people will dismiss a profile that has no picture.

Other items that should be regularly kept up to date are “About,” “Experience,” “Education,” and “Featured.” You should visit your LinkedIn profile about once a month and pay special attention to these sections. Update them as necessary. If you uploaded your resume in the “Featured” section, for example, and it is no longer up to date, then run, don’t walk, to Word, update your resume, and replace it.

A note about the “Experience” section: If you filled it in simply by posting your chronological resume, that will not impress anybody. For each role, it is best to write a short paragraph showing not only what you did, but what you accomplished by doing it. For example, in the entry for one of my volunteer positions at a church, I wrote, “My main role here was that of editing various works which the church produces, such as Bible study booklets, weekly programs, and informational materials. Thanks to my work, the church’s documents were crisp and professional in appearance.”

Don’t forget to collect as many recommendations as possible and list any honor societies you were in and any awards you have.

I wish you the best in your client- and work-seeking endeavors.

“You can tell who the lazy ones are.”

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Many of us freelance editors exercise our right to mental health by taking major holidays off. “Major” holidays, according to society, include Christmas, New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Memorial Day, and Labor Day (the latter three being US holidays).

However, what about the holidays on which the US federal government is closed, but many people work? The holidays like Presidents Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Juneteenth, and Veterans Day? It rather begs the question: Should a freelancer work on those days?

Before I answer this question, I feel the need to post the opinion of a scientist who once visited my alma mater and talked about the people who worked in his lab (which was part of a federal agency): “You can tell who the lazy ones are. They’re the ones who don’t show up on federal holidays like Presidents Day and Veterans Day.”

I don’t necessarily agree.

When it comes to freelancers, I believe that if there is a deadline of any kind, the answer is yes—a freelancer should work on these kinds of holidays, treating them like work days. I am, of course, speaking from my personal experience as a woman with no children. If a freelancer has children who have a day off school on such a holiday, they may need to rearrange their schedule so that they can care for and spend time with their children. After all, family comes first.

Another thing that I believe comes before work is a freelancer’s beliefs. If they wish to celebrate Juneteenth or Martin Luther King Jr. Day or Veterans Day in a meaningful way, they should be able to rearrange their schedule so that they can. (And by “meaningful way,” I do not mean drinking to excess the night before and/or sleeping late in the morning.)

What is your point of view about this?

Getting a hand up

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Have you ever obtained an advanced degree?

Specifically, a PhD or an MA/MS (although I know there are other kinds of advanced degrees)?

If you are a freelance editor trying to get more work, you have a possible avenue in your graduate school alma mater.

And if you wrote a thesis or dissertation, you are obviously an expert in your field.

Therefore, as long as you are an impeccable editor, you are qualified to edit research manuscripts (prior to publication) in the field that you studied.

It took me two years after hanging out my shingle as a freelance editor to realize this. At that time, the idea came to me that I was able to edit research papers in biochemistry, since I have an MS in that subject. So where was the most logical place to turn? My graduate school alma mater.

I began by contacting a number of professors I knew from my department, whom I knew would remember me. One of them responded and put me in touch with a faculty member who was in charge of an editor pool that the university was assembling. The faculty member interviewed me via Zoom, and an editing relationship was born.

To date, I have edited research manuscripts for faculty from the university on topics from biochemistry to medicine to neurobiology. I have been honored and privileged to work on these papers and to get to know different authors in the school. I have been given several accolades from them and from the faculty liaisons (there are now two) who decided to take me on as a freelancer.

Prior to my contacting my alma mater, I was randomly contacting biochemistry departments at different universities and selling myself as a thesis/dissertation editor. I did get to edit one very interesting biochemistry master’s thesis as a result, but that is the only success story for this endeavor. Most of my efforts were met with silence, and silence is the new “no.”

It feels good to hear “yes,” doesn’t it?

If you are an editor with an advanced degree, in what subject is your degree?

When you are needed in more ways than one

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Sometimes I am needed by people other than my clients.

I have loved ones who live an hour away from my residence and sometimes need me. Their health is questionable, and one of them is in a senior care facility. As their closest family member, I need to be consistently aware of their well-being and safety.

Everyone who works and is in the same situation knows that it is often difficult to juggle working and looking after their loved one(s). I consider myself blessed in this case because I am self-employed. The authors are my respected clients, but I am “the boss.” I have known unfortunate people who worked a staff job (i.e., non-freelance) and were fired for taking too much time off to care for an ailing loved one. Talk about kicking someone when they’re down.

This is not to say that caring for someone while freelancing is necessarily easy, however. If an emergency arises, I must be prepared to quickly rearrange my schedule so that I can respond in a timely manner and still meet my deadline. If I suddenly need to travel to my loved one(s) today, then the work planned for today can be rescheduled for tomorrow, and tomorrow’s scheduled work can be done another day. If I must work on the weekend, I will. There’s a Ravens game Sunday afternoon? Too bad, so sad.

This is one of the many reasons why it is important to plan ahead of time what you will do each day and divide the tasks realistically. After all, if you have no idea what you will do on Tuesday, what exactly will you reschedule to Wednesday (or another day) if you suddenly need to go and take care of your loved one on Tuesday?

This is also why it is important to leave yourself some “wiggle room” when planning out a project that has a specific deadline. Pretend that the deadline is the day before the actual one, and you have a time cushion in case there is an emergency.

If you are caring for a loved one while working, God bless you. What advice do you have for others in your situation?

Goals for 2024

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Well, 2023 was quite a year for Fiedler Editorial.

My editing workflow increased, particularly in the late summer, which was definitely an excellent thing. I also learned about Word styles and templates from Hilary Cadman, an MS Word expert and teacher in Australia. I began editing PDFs in Adobe Acrobat. (I’m getting better at it and have been doing it for the last four months—and I love it!) And, of course, I attended EFACON 2023 in Alexandria, Virginia in August, where I met a whole lot of awesome people, several of whom with which I am still in touch, and learned a whole lot more about editing and running a business.

Now that another year is about to begin, it is time to set goals again.

What are my goals for 2024?

  1. I want to increase my workflow even further, to the point where there are few, if any, “dry spells.” The last four and a half months of 2023 have been like this, and I want to keep the momentum going.
  • I want to learn more about editing PDFs using Acrobat and have more opportunities to do this kind of editing.
  • I want to set up a business savings account. Experts at EFACON 2023 advised us attendees to do this in a panel session. Ten percent of every payment will go into it, and I will be able to save for editing-related things of which I want to be a part, such as the 2026 ACES Conference in Atlanta. (Unfortunately, the 2024 and 2025 ACES Conferences are in cities which are too far for my budget—San Diego and Salt Lake City, respectively.)
  • One very personal goal that I cannot share on this blog but which means the world to me.

What are your goals for the new year?

Holiday greetings

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Happy holidays, dear readers. Since I celebrate Christmas, I am taking this weekend off from blogging in order to reflect on the spiritual significance of the holiday and spend time with loved ones.

I wish that you enjoy good health and happiness during this time and in the new year.