Starting out: A guide for newbies - Claire Handy

2. • Finding work
• Marketing
• Getting experience
• Money
• Legal stuff
• Staying sane
• Miscellaneous questions

3. • Claire Handy
• Been proofreading for 10+ years
• Was a newbie once!
• Local Group Co-ordinator for West
Midlands group
• A lot of newbies come to the
meetings

4. • Website: general or specific?
• Networking events/Conferencing
• Membership in professional (niche)
associations
• Business cards! TELL EVERYONE
• Social media
• Content marketing: Become an authority
• You can be shared
• Networking
• CPD
• Cold calling – doing and being

5. • “TELL EVERYONE” from all parts of your
life
• Leverage what you know/who you know
• SWOT
• Keep an eye out for adverts
• Timely adverts
• Volunteer
• What doesn’t seem to work
• DON’T BE DISAPPOINTED!!

6. • How much to charge
• Client types will dictate how you quote
• per project
• per hour
• per page/1000 words
• Be aware what you’re quoting for
• Monitor your time/payments
• Don’t undersell yourself
• Chasing late payment

7. • Contracts

8. • Contracts
Your Contract could include:
• Material supplied
• Material still to come and by when
• Tasks to be performed
• Delivery date
• Fee and payment terms
• Expenses to be reimbursed
• I’m freelance
• Payment terms
• If document isn’t to standard, extra tasks expected, etc.
• I can use their name and title of work for my promo
material.
I’ve also added:
• My contact
• One pass, one revision
• Any changes after they send me the document
• My editing does not guarantee consequences
• Payment related information
• Time scales

9. • Contracts
• Invoicing

10. • Contracts
• Invoicing
Your invoice must include:
• a unique identification number
• your company name, address and contact
information
• the company name and address of the
customer you’re invoicing
• a clear description of what you’re charging for
• the date the goods or service were provided
(supply date)
• the date of the invoice
• the amount(s) being charged
• VAT amount if applicable
• the total amount owed
If you’re a sole trader, the invoice must also
include:
• your name and any business name being used
• an address where any legal documents can be
delivered to you if you are using a business
name

11. • Contracts
• Invoicing
• Accounts
• Tax and NI: Put 20–30% aside
from all income
• Insurance
• Other stuff
• Office

12. • Work–life balance
• Healthy working
• Imposter syndrome
• Morale

13. • Making a mistake
• Joining the mentor scheme
• Transition into fiction editing