A look at my first two months as a full-time freelance editor.

May and June Recap

It’s been almost two months of being a full-time freelancer. Though it’s hard to call myself that, since I’ve spent a significant amount of time taking Korean classes, going out and trying to socialize, fretting over my chronically unstable sleep cycle, and binging Modern Family.

I already had two projects—full-length fantasy manuscripts—lined up to copyedit when I put down my notice, and my job ended in April, and the first two weeks of May were spent packing for, going on, and feeling hungover from a trip to Himachal.

Once I came back, it was time to face the real world. My first few courses of action were to make a schedule so I didn’t slip into a lethargic routine, sign up for classes to resume my Korean language journey, and start my hunt for new clients and work.

I also went on a rampage following Instagram accounts holding book clubs and events across Delhi and started keeping track of them so I’d have something new and exciting to do on the weekend (and so I didn’t turn into a hermit). As I may or may not reflect later, while this did lead to some fun outings, scrolling on Instagram and keeping track of all these events took up a huge chunk of my afternoons and evenings—time that could’ve been spent doing things I actually set out to do.

I also started incorporating daily walks and some stationary cycling into my routine, since working from home equals almost zero physical activity. While I haven’t been too consistent with this, I’m hoping it improves in the coming months.

In June, I signed up for three courses.

• The first was the Korean course I already mentioned.
• The second is a copyediting course (which means I currently have an online class from Monday to Thursday in the evening for about two hours).
• The third is a five-day intensive course on writing for short films that’ll take place in Mandi House (the acting/theatre hub of Delhi, from what I know) in the second week of July (also my birthday week!).

I haven’t taken offline classes of anything since the beginning of 2023, and so I’m quite excited about the short film writing course. On that same weekend, I’m sitting for the TOPIK exam (a proficiency exam for Korean). So yeah… I’m not overwhelmed at all.

Where I’m At

I do have quite a bit of work lined up for July, but I’ll still need to do some outreach to reach my goals. I feel like my attention is quite divided across multiple things, and that’s not the best approach if I’m trying to build a freelance business.

I plan to sit down, re-evaluate my action plan and goals, and be honest with myself about what I actually want to prioritize.

I’m starting this newsletter series cautiously, with the aim of documenting my freelance journey. I think it’ll also just give me a chance to see for myself what all I’ve done and what is yet to be accomplished.

Wins

• I worked on projects for three new clients (and five projects in total). These were mostly one-off projects, but one of my goals was to simply expand my network of clients. I worked on a research paper, a spiritual book, a fantasy book, and a thriller book.
• I got two LinkedIn testimonials I can add to my portfolio.
• I wrote one Substack post and posted three poems on Instagram.
• I went to four events and also watched a movie in the hall.
• I reached 2,000 followers on Instagram (a nice milestone, though that’s not a focus of mine right now).
• I read four books.
• I invested in a Korean course, a copyediting course, and a short film writing course.

Misses

• I did two free editing samples and got rejected afterwards. I also had a couple of calls/conversations where I either didn’t hear back or things didn’t work out.
• I undercharged on a couple of projects. One of my goals for the coming months is to find higher-paying clients.

Financially, June was a decent month considering I’ve just started off. But there are definitely a few things I want to tweak about my routine and some new targets I want to hit.

If you’re a freelancer, drop a comment and say hi! I’d love to know about your recent struggles or wins.