Category Archives: how-to

Start Ugly: How I Wrote Toilet Paper Descriptions and Still Built a 6-Figure Business

When I started as an academic editor in 2020, I found this website where you could write descriptions for products. You know when you go to Walmart.com and you want to buy toilet paper, and there’s this little description about how it’s the best, softest, most absorbent toilet paper? Yeah, I wrote those. Remote carContinueContinue reading “Start Ugly: How I Wrote Toilet Paper Descriptions and Still Built a 6-Figure Business”

The Workshop You’d Teach For Free Could Make You $1,000 This Month

You’ve delivered the guest lecture, presented at the departmental colloquium, and led the professional development session for graduate students—all for free. Maybe you got a line on your CV under “service”, or a thank you email. Did you know that same expertise could have earned you $500 to $1,000? Most academics think the only wayContinueContinue reading “The Workshop You’d Teach For Free Could Make You $1,000 This Month”

Your imposter syndrome is lying: you’ve already been CEO

When I first started my business after leaving academia, I thought I was missing something.  I thought there was a hidden manual for people who actually knew what they were doing, and I didn’t have a copy. Business felt like a foreign language full of words I’d never learned: operations, pipeline, marketing, systems. I’d spentContinueContinue reading “Your imposter syndrome is lying: you’ve already been CEO”

Your colleagues asked you to edit their work for free (charge them)

The habit of doing unpaid work in academia In academia, generosity is currency. You read drafts, fix grammar, give feedback, and stay up late turning rough ideas into publishable work because that’s what “good colleagues” do.  And over time, academia normalizes unpaid work so completely you stop noticing you’re doing it and you stop seeingContinueContinue reading “Your colleagues asked you to edit their work for free (charge them)”

How Blogging Can Attract Clients: Advice for Freelance Academic Editors

If you’re an academic editor and you want to increase your online visibility and attract more clients, have you tried blogging? Writing short, helpful articles and posting them on your website (among other places… see below) is a powerful way to showcase your expertise, build trust with potential clients, and drive traffic to your websiteContinueContinue reading “How Blogging Can Attract Clients: Advice for Freelance Academic Editors”

How Can I Make Money as an Academic Editor?

We’ve finally arrived at the question I know you are curious about: How do I make MONEY? There are typically two options in terms of setting rates: either per word or per hour. Per hour is more open ended. You don’t know exactly how long a project is going to take, so that means theContinueContinue reading “How Can I Make Money as an Academic Editor?”

What Skills Do You Need to Be an Academic Editor?

You’ve been an academic for years and probably never imagined that you’d do anything else. So when you begin thinking about leaving academia, it’s easy to experience self-doubt and to question whether or not you have skills that can be applied in non-academic jobs. This is yet another symptom of being trapped in an abnormalContinueContinue reading “What Skills Do You Need to Be an Academic Editor?”