How two decades of building her online presence helped Erin Brenner write the book on freelance editing
Erin Brenner (pictured above) is an acclaimed business editor who recently published The Chicago Guide for Freelance Editors as a way to impart her knowledge on how to build and maintain a successful freelance business.
In this conversation with editor Erin Brenner, we discuss the process of writing, editing, and publishing her book The Chicago Guide for Freelance Editors. We delve into how she developed her own business Right Touch Editing, how she used her archive of written material and network of peers to shape the book, and the importance (and difficulty) of finding the balance between life and work as a freelancer.
What's the Idea: Good morning, Erin. Thanks for meeting with me.
Erin Brenner: Good morning, Matt. Thanks for having me.
What's the Idea: We're here to talk about The Chicago Guide for Freelance Editors, which is an amazing resource for freelance editors looking to start and maintain their businesses. What inspired you to write this book?
Erin: I had been writing about freelance editing and how to be a freelancer for a long time. I was the editor-in-chief of the Copyediting newsletter and former owner of that with Laura Poole. A lot of what I did when I first came to the newsletter was to put more focus on freelance editing, like what we need to do to run our businesses, as well as all the editing work and skills training you want to do. We have to run our businesses, so I wrote about that a lot through Copyediting, and I continue to write about that a lot on my website and on my blog.
But what really pushed the book was that the University of Chicago Press came to me and said, “Hey, we want to do this book. Do you want to write it?” And I said, “Yes, please.”
What's the Idea: What's your relationship with the University of Chicago Press?
Erin: I had gotten on to their roster of professional review round readers, so I'd looked at early drafts of some of the books in Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing, which my book is in. When they wanted a writer, they looked around, looked at my website, and were impressed with it and they reached out to me.
What's the Idea: You've always been a visible advocate for editors on social media and a very strong voice in editing, so that makes sense. When did your freelance editing career start?
“I quit my job and went full-time freelance, and I spent the next probably three years burning myself out building the business. I have never looked back since then.”
Erin: It was in 2005.
What's the Idea: It’s your twentieth anniversary. Congratulations.
Erin: Wow, yeah. I guess I don't think about it a lot, and I probably should. I was working full-time for a website just copy editing their articles. At the time, I had two toddlers at home, and I was feeling a little bored and ready for a change, but I was really limited in what I could do because I had worked from home for that employer. To suddenly get a full-time job somewhere else and put the kids into daycare, why would I do that? The cost of the daycare would eat my income.
I started playing around with the idea of freelance editing in 2005. I had a couple side clients and was trying to decide if this was for me or not. I did that for several years. It was 2009 when I finally said, “Yep, that's it. I know what I want to do. I know how I want to do it. And I am really just done with being an employee.” I quit my job and went full-time freelance, and I spent the next probably three years burning myself out building the business. I have never looked back since then.
What's the Idea: What were your initial goals when you set out as a freelance editor?
Erin: The primary goal, which I think most freelance editors have to think about, is income. I needed to replace my salary, because we are a two-income household, and suddenly I didn't have much of one. I wasn't sure what I wanted to edit, but I had been doing business copy for years by that point. That's where I knew people, so I just started there and was looking for how I could build out this business. The first few years really were exploring what worked and what didn’t. I've stuck with business copy all these years. I enjoy it, there has been plenty of it, and I have built connections that way. It's worked out for me.
What's the Idea: How did you get involved with Copyediting?
Erin: I was on social media a lot. I was on Twitter and Facebook and wherever else, talking about editing. This was 2010. I had been a subscriber of the Copyediting newsletter for probably a good decade, and the editor-in-chief at that time, Wendalyn Nichols, had had to step away from running it. Because I was visible online, she thought, “Erin might be good to step in.” At first, it was a temp position. She talked to a VP, who was in charge of making the final decisions, and he said, “I've seen her stuff online, so, yeah, let's bring her in and talk to her.”
What's the Idea: It’s fantastic that both opportunities came from making yourself visible and known. How did you feel about putting yourself out there as an authority on these subjects? Did you suffer from impostor syndrome?
Erin: My gosh, absolutely. I suffer from impostor syndrome like everybody else. I would just try to, and still try to, keep in mind that no one is saying anything new, and the point is to give the people you've connected with the information that they are looking for. So, if I'm focused on how I'm helping somebody else, how I'm supporting somebody else, I can kind of not look at the impostor syndrome and do what I need to do.
But some days are harder than others. It can be a big emotional task and can still take a lot of energy. But if I focus on my goal, who am I helping and how's that going to help me, it helps me push through.
Erin’s book The Chicago Guide for Freelancer Editors offers comprehensive insight into building a sustainable freelance business that is based on her own experience as well as knowledge gleaned from her peers.
What's the Idea: How did you approach writing the book after the University of Chicago Press approached you?
Erin: Their proposal process is very specific. You have to have a fully fledged outline and a writing sample, along with other stuff, so that gave me the path. I thought about if I was going to build a business now, how would I do that and have a very structured approach to it? The first thing I care about is, can I make money from this? And what is it I think I can do, and who do I want to work for? It's just starting with those basic questions. That helped guide me along for how the outline should go.
Once that was approved, I followed the outline to do the writing. So much of it was pulling from old articles and blog posts and presentations I had given and then asking, how does it need to be updated? Where were the gaps? What are the things I have to write fresh?
I really enjoyed that process. I think if I had nothing to start with, it would have been a much harder process.
What's the Idea: Writing a book is intimidating. Having material ready must have been hugely helpful.
Erin: Yes, absolutely.
What's the Idea: This book must have had something of a built-in readership between your own audience and then the huge brand that is Chicago.
Erin: I was really excited to be part of that book series. The Chicago Manual of Style is very well known among editors, and their writing and editing series of books has really expanded in the last several years. They've really built their audience for it. I really appreciate that as an editor because there are lots of books in the series that help me.
What's the Idea: Your friend Amy J. Schneider wrote The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction. Were you able to lean on her for her previous experience?
Erin: Oh my, yes. We're in the same mastermind group, so we have a Slack group that we're all chatting in every day. We helped Amy with the process as she went along, and then everyone helped me. But Amy was especially insightful because she could say “this is how I did it” or “this is what worked for me and this is who you go talk to.” It was wonderful to have that kind of support.
Erin speaking at the Red Pencil Conference in 2023.
What's the Idea: I loved how much you credited other editors. It made the editing community really feel like a community. I found it helpful and interesting to hear from other well-known editors and learn about your peers. It’s interesting that it’s not entirely a top-down book of advice from Erin Brenner’s perspective only.
Erin: I don't do everything, and different people have different ways of doing something. With business, you're really making this up as you go along. There's no one right way, and I wanted to include things I had learned from others and what I saw others doing that wasn’t right for me but I thought was a good way to do things. I loved being able to do that.
I certainly leaned on the editors I knew the best, Adrienne [Montgomerie] and Katherine [O’Moore-Klopf] and Laura. I'm in another mastermind group, so I drew off of them too, as well as what I’d heard from other people.
Similar books that I have looked at, because of course you have to do your competitor research before you write your own book, didn’t do that as much. It's just a different approach. This is how I work.
What's the Idea: When did you start writing the book, and when was it that Chicago reached out to you?
Erin: It was published in April 2024. They approached me at the end of 2021, and it took several months to jump the hoops to get the book accepted with that proposal, because the proposal goes through reviewers as well. Three other editors looked at it, gave me feedback, and then the proposal was voted on by an approvals board. I probably started writing in April 2022.
I had a year to write the book, and it took another year for them to copy edit, design, and publish it. I had the misfortune of having my book in production at the same time the team was working on the latest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, so they were very busy. It was hard to wait! I knew they were busy and why, but I couldn't tell anybody.
What's the Idea: Did anything significantly change during that review process or in drafting the outline?
Erin: No, actually. I think part of that is because it's a how-to book; there are distinct steps. You can put the steps in a different order, but you're not going to skip discussing the foundational steps, like marketing. So I think the structure of the book meant that there weren't a lot of big topic changes or rewrites that had to happen.
What's the Idea: It's really in-depth, but it's not intimidating. It has a really nice level of depth into how to build a business right from the beginning. I found that section on marketing to be really helpful. For example, the notion that it is marketing when you do a good job and make yourself a known trustworthy person. That was helpful to read and understand word of mouth recommendations in a different way.
Erin: Good. I've talked to editors who have said, “I don't do any marketing.” But their clients are generally book publishers. They work with production managers, and they have good relationships with them. You get friendly. “How was your weekend? I know you went on a trip,” or those kinds of social niceties where we take a little bit of time to get to know the person we work with. In the end, that's marketing, right? It's very authentic. You genuinely want to know about the person, but you're building a strong relationship, and people like that and they start to trust you. Then they will come back to you time and time again because you have shown interest in them, as well as done a good job. Building that rapport is really valuable.
“That first vacation I took was just eyeopening how much I needed that. My kids were young, so they kept us busy. You get tunnel vision. You want to make this work. I was able to replace my salary after three years, which is amazing, but I paid for it.”
What's the Idea: Were there any other sections that were really important to you when you were writing the book, or that you were passionate about including?
Erin: The last chapter on self-care, because I learned so many lessons the hard way.
What's the Idea: It sounds like the 2010s were a very ambitious and busy period of your life.
Erin: They really were. I was just getting the business off the ground. I didn't take a vacation for several years. I remember my dad coming to me and saying, “When are you going to take some time off?” I said, “I don't know. I can't really afford it.”
But he and my mom liked to camp, and they had an RV, and he found a way to help us get an inexpensive camper for my family. So we started just doing a little camping with them, getting away. And, wow, that first vacation I took was just eyeopening how much I needed that. My kids were young, so they kept us busy. You get tunnel vision. You want to make this work. I was able to replace my salary after three years, which is amazing, but I paid for it, and I don't want to see other people do that. You can't burn yourself out, because you are your business. And I learned that the hard way.
What's the Idea: It's an intimidating thing to run a business. The part where you articulate how you wear all the hats was powerful, especially the part about how you're the CEO of your company. You're the one responsible for strategy and thinking those things through. That can be a huge challenge to learn if you just want to be an editor.
Erin: Right. And I toy with this idea that not everyone wants to be a CEO. They don't want to worry about all the things. I think there's a certain freelance model that lets you do that, if you are working more for the book publishers, for other agencies, or for folks who either have so much work that you're really just keeping a nice relationship going or they're going out and finding the work for you.
You might be paid less because of that, but it means you're not having to do as much business administration, marketing, or sales. It’s a “business-light” kind of concept, which I don't mean in a bad way. It's just that there are ways, if you think about who your clients might be, for you not to have to do quite as much backend stuff, if that's not your bag.
What's the Idea: Right Touch Editing is a team of people, right? You aren’t the only editor?
Erin: There are eight of us, and we have ups and downs, just like individual freelancers do. But it really works well for me. It was how I solved the problem of not having enough hours in the day to do all this work and not being able to raise my rate, so I couldn't raise my income. You get stuck. This was a way to grow the business and help other editors fill their day. I'm seeing more and more agency models like this, like Dragonfly Editorial and Ideas on Fire. I think it's a great way for everybody to use the skills they want to use.
I really enjoy having a team. They're all good people. I enjoy being able to support them, give them feedback on their editing, and I love knowing that I'm helping somebody else earn a living.
What's the Idea: Are you still doing a lot of copy editing, or are you more of a managing editor at this point?
Erin: It varies. I'm more of a managing editor really. I've been leaning more into doing some coaching with freelance editors and offering paid webinars for freelance editors, and then managing the projects that come in and feeding them to my team. Again, business goes up and down, just like any other, and sometimes you're doing more editing than maybe you want to, but you keep things moving along.
Erin won the Robinson award in 2024, which is ACES’ highest honour. She is pictured here accepting the award.
What's the Idea: It's great that you had that passion for helping and wanting to mentor this next generation of editors, of which there are many since the pandemic.
Erin: There are, but I also think we're going through a moment when there's not as much work. Economic instability will do that, because editing isn't as valued as it should be. If you're cutting budget, you say, “We're just not going to have this edited,” or “We're just not going to do the project.” But it also incites more businesses to look at AI, and say, “We can't afford an editor. Can we just use AI and have it be good enough?” That's taking away jobs. I don't know where it ends. I don't know how much it will affect us in the long term. I think there'll always be a need for editors, but I don't know how much that need is changing.
I just know that right now, we have to be very aware of how things are in flux. We're seeing a lot more freelance editors branching out, whether they're offering multiple kinds of editing-related services, such as writing or indexing, to broaden their scope, or doing more training for fellow editors or offering products for editors or for writers. We're being more creative with the question of how we stay in the field when there isn't as much editing work.
What's the Idea: In discussions I've had with some members of Editors Canada, they noted that with the standards listed in the Professional Editorial Standards, AI might be able to do, let's say, seven to ten of those standards well, but it can't do everything. If editors can understand that and promote the skills that go beyond the basics, even something like conforming to the Chicago style guide, it could help with the argument for editors.
Erin: That's a really good point about how to persuade someone they need a live editor. Here's what AI can do, but here's the rest of what this influential organization says is part of editing in their Standards. And if you can make the argument for why those things are important and connect it to their goals, like, you want to sell more novels, so it has to be a fun read. People have to want to read to the end and share it with their friends and want the next book. And how do you do that? Somebody's got to find the issues with it. What are the plot holes? How are the characters? What do the scenes look like? And AI just can’t do all of that.
What's the Idea: These circumstances of less work, economic turmoil, and so on can lead to stress and drive the need for self-care. Do you have any advice around that?
Erin: I think you have to find what works for you, and sometimes that can take a lot of looking and trying things. If something's not working, try something else. I also think we can adapt to what we do, and it isn't as useful. You hit a plateau and you go, okay, I have to do something different. Is that doing something else for self-care, or do I have to change the way I'm doing things? And it feels like this constant process that we really need to pay attention to.
What's the Idea: One thing you talked about in the book was your annual vision board. How do those work?
Erin: When I do the vision boards, I always have something that includes self-care. I use Canva. I've done them on paper and cardboard and cutting things out of magazines, but it doesn't work for me. I end up going to Canva and playing around with that, letting it do it for me, because the point is what do I think and what will inspire me, not how pretty I can make it. But I think about what to include, and think okay, what does my year hold for me? My dad had pointed out to me the need to ask, what am I going to do for me this year? And for me, that's time away, but it's also doing volunteer work, and being okay with doing nothing. I need all those things.
In recent years, I've been doing a lot of hiking in the White Mountains in New Hampshire. There are a couple of targeted lists, like there's ”52 With A View”, so 52 mountains you can hike with beautiful views. And then there's “The 48 4,000 footers.” My older son and I have been working on those lists. We talk about what hikes we’re going to do this year to inspire us, and that keeps me going to the gym and watching what I eat, because I have to be fit enough to do these things. Just little goals where, if I don't make them, it's fine. But if I'm working towards them, that kind of builds self-care into my life and gives me something to look forward to.
What's the Idea: Were there any specific periods where you had to learn that lesson?
Erin: Those first few years of freelancing were really tough, and I think it took several more years to find that balance. When Laura Poole and I bought Copyediting.com, that was another really intense period because we were each running our businesses, and we were running our shared company, which included a bimonthly newsletter, a weekly blog, and monthly webinars. I think deciding how to best use my time is just something I'm constantly working on. But from 2010 until maybe 2018, I really had to struggle and work on it.
What's the Idea: The pandemic must have also forced a breather of some kind.
Erin: For as horrible as the pandemic lockdown was, it was great for me. It really was.
What's the Idea: I'm sure a lot of writers and editors feel that way.
Erin: The work was steady because people were working on things. We had one kid in high school and one in college, so they were capable of showing up to their own virtual classes and taking care of themselves. And we suddenly weren't driving the younger one to all these activities. And while I’m sad that he missed out on them, it was a break for me. We also did a lot more hiking as a family. No one was going anywhere, so you could go walk a trail and no one else would be there. It was a great way to get outside.
“When someone says, ‘Yeah, I tried this, and I was able to do it,’ I really enjoy hearing that, because that’s the whole point.”
What's the Idea: What did it look like after you wrote the book and submitted it?
Erin: It looked like a lot of waiting. I handed it in to the acquiring editor. She reviewed it and sent me thoughts for revisions. Then it went to copy editing, and then I got the copy edits back and worked through those. I had to provide my own proofreading and indexing, so I had to search for those folks and send out that manuscript, once it was laid out, review everything, and hand it back to the press.
Then they start looking at book covers. I feel fortunate that part of Chicago's process is to show it to you and to really listen to you when you give feedback. This cover is actually the second cover. There's just a lot that didn't work with the first one, and they were open to my feedback. We got another version of the cover, and then it was more waiting, thinking when is this going to drop and what can I do ahead of time and what do I have to wait for publication to do? I tried to do as much planning as I could during all the waiting, but still, it's a rush of work once it finally launches.
What's the Idea: Were you doing much press or promotion for the book?
Erin: Yeah. I mean, in the manner that editors usually do press. I attended the ACES conference, which is the big one, because the press actually has a sponsors table there. I was able to present during the conference and to be at the table to answer questions and to sign copies. So that was huge, and Chicago did a good job of promoting that.
I did giveaways, as well. I made some branded notebooks and pens to give out to winners as part of a contest, things like that.
I was promoting anywhere I went. I did a lot of interviews, booked small editor groups talking about the book. I am always willing to sit with a group and do an Ask Me Anything. What do you want to know, and where are you getting stuck? We can talk about it. Leading up to the release, I did a series of blog posts that were excerpts from the book. Those still live on my website as well, so people can get a glimpse at what the book looks like and how it works through those.
What's the Idea: Have you heard from freelance editors who've read the book?
Erin: It’s had a very good reception. Folks have told me that it's easy to read and it made them feel more confident and more willing to try to do things, which is what I wanted. It's great to read a book and like it, but if you're not doing anything with it, it's not helping you. So, when someone says, “Yeah, I tried this, and I was able to do it,” I really enjoy hearing that, because that's the whole point.
What's the Idea: I've read it front to back, but it's not the type of book where you've read it and you’re done. You’ll go back every so often to check on different topics. I know it's going to be this kind of ongoing resource, so thank you for creating that.
Erin: That's the point. I've been working on a workbook to go with it. With all the other things that go on, I haven't finished it yet, but my vision is to be able to say, “You've read the book. Now put some of it into practice,” or “Here's the tool to help you take that first step. Let's do an exercise on who your clients might be,” or “Let's write out your budget.” If a workbook will help you do that, then I think it's worth the effort.
What's the Idea: That sounds like a great addition. Are you happy with how the book turned out?
Erin: There's always things you can't put in it. There's so much always to say and new ideas. But I like what it is. I'm happy with it.
What's the Idea: Would there ever be a revision down the line, or anything like that?
Erin: There could be. That's really going to be up to the press, whether or not there are enough changes. I think if you're updating it, there would have to be some big changes in how business works.
Erin hiked Mount Eisenhower in 2024 as part of her ongoing task of getting away from work by spending time in nature.
But could there be a follow-on book about how to take your business to the next level. That's what really interests me. What are these other things we're doing? What are some ideas you can do? And how do you step away from your business? Either short term or retirement. How does that work? What else do we need to know about business? That would be a good project, I think.
What's the Idea: Do you have any other big projects you're working on right now that you're excited about?
Erin: Since the book, I have opened up a shop on my website. I offer business coaching for freelance editors, and I do website reviews and LinkedIn profile reviews. I’ve recently expanded my offerings to webinars and courses. I want to finish this workbook, but I’ve mainly been focusing on offering those kinds of products for editors in a way that supports them.
But every day, there's so many other things to do. Progress is always slow. It's frustrating. The best thing about the book was I had a writing schedule. I had a deadline, and I committed myself to doing it.
What's the Idea: Do you have any advice around selling editing to somebody who doesn’t yet see the value in it?
Erin: I think we have to face the fact that editing isn't well understood, and it isn't as valued as it should be. And honestly, the key to all selling, I think, is to connect what you do to the client's goal. Why are they writing this? What's the point? From that, you've got the goal, so you think, how does editing help them reach that goal?
With a lot of my clients, their goal is to finish these projects, and they don't have in-house editors. I am acting as their resource and reminding them of how we can take the work off their plate and take the worry off their plate, but also focusing on how the editing will help improve the writing, which will help the writing do what it's supposed to do. If it's a user's guide, the clearer we can make the steps, the more likely your users are going to be able to follow the steps and then not call customer service and say, “I don't know what I'm doing.” It's connecting those things, which isn’t immediately obvious. Sometimes that's done with a conversation, sometimes that's with a sample edit, or it’s a combination of things, but you’re just showing them you understand what their goal is and what their obstacle to that goal is, and then how you can remove that obstacle.
What's the Idea: How do you communicate to a client that you understand their needs?
Erin: Certainly with any opening, whether they've emailed me or I'm doing a cold call, I’m making sure I tell them how we understand their goals and what their obstacles are, and how we can remove them. I do a lot of video calls — the business world works that way — so that's the opportunity to share what I know about what they're doing and show them how I can be helpful and supportive in that.
What's the Idea: Is there a certain question or anything that you find is really helpful to understand the client?
Erin: For me, it's just letting them talk and being a very active listener. I like to let them tell me what's going on and hear about it in their own words. I’m listening for what they are stressing about. What do they repeat over and over again? Whatever it is is clearly bothering them or is a real concern for them, because they keep emphasizing it.
What's the Idea: Thanks again for going into how you developed the book and Right Touch Editing. The work you do online is really helpful. You found a really nice way of making your advice apply to all editors.
Erin: It's something I've focused on, and I think that comes from having headed up Copyediting.com, because it wasn't just about my niche. We were talking to all editors, so who do I need to think about? It really trained me to research and to think about how I could make the advice a little more generic without being so generic that it's useless. I'm glad to hear that it's landing.
What's the Idea: Thank you again for your time and for writing this book.
Erin: You’re welcome.
The Chicago Guide for Freelance Editors is available directly from the University of Chicago Press as well as your local bookstore.
Find out more about Erin’s mastermind group “The Quadlings” and how they can help you.
The interview was recorded using Google Zoom in September 2025.
The transcript was edited by Matt Long, with additional copy editing by Anthony Nijssen of APT Editing.
All photos are the property of Erin Brenner.