Steve Jobs was right on this point. Give the customer an experience, not just a product. And that applies to those of us providing freelance services in the publishing industry (yes, it does!). I see the customer experience as being 50% product quality, 50% customer service. In the end, my job is to service the customer experience. Product Quality I'll start with the most obvious half of that experience. It's comparable to the "experience" section of a resume if you were looking to …
freelance business
Freelancing, Yes or No?: Part 2
And now for Part II of my response to Michael Poh's "20 Reasons to Say 'No' to Freelancing." As I wrote in Part I, I found that Michael's perspective was not always reflective of my own twenty-five years as a freelance book indexer, copy editor and proofreader. In this part, I'll respond to Michael's section on "self-traits," as he calls them. The stuff about us as people that may not be conducive to freelancing, rather than stuff in our environment. As Michael accurately wrote: "Simply …
Freelancing, Yes or No?: Part 1
I found Michael Poh's "20 Reasons to Say 'No' to Freelancing" to be interesting, but not always reflective of my own twenty+ years as a freelance book indexer, copy editor, and proofreader. It ain't easy. That's not the point; work, even work we are passionate about, isn't necessarily easy. But freelancing has its rewards, and I think some of Michael's points against the freelancing life are really more about taking control over certain aspects of all of our lives. So, let's go through the …
Always Enough – Work, That Is
Knock briskly, and it will be opened to you. Is there enough? I've often been asked this question by folks trying to get into editing, proofreading and/or book indexing. It also applies to starting almost any business or looking for a job, of course. My first response is, "Don't whine!" And please don't supplicate. I can smell want-work desperation from across the conference room. It's not pleasant. Makes me want to walk the other way. So, yes, if you act desperate and do the …
Not What Do You Offer? But Why?
I know most folks in freelance businesses focus on what they have to offer, presenting their services like products on a shelf in the store and advertising the availability and quality of those same services through social media and/or advertising. But before you put those services on the shelf, make sure you've asked a couple of why questions, or you may miss out on the keys to a good customer-provider relationship. Why are you doing this thing (or things)? Right, so you thought I'd …