May 2023 catchup
Sian Smith
Non-fiction book editor and proofreader for women authors and women business owners | Women's health | Mental health | Wellbeing | Love dungarees. Can't drink coffee.
May. It’s been fun but manic.
Since my last business update newsletter, I’ve done quite a bit with the family:
-?????????Camping in Dorset
-?????????Celebrating my youngest’s 9th birthday (which was on the same day as the Coronation)
-?????????A trip to Legoland for said birthday
-?????????Seeing friends in Berkshire
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This week we’re off to Northumberland for a few days’ camping. I’ve never been there before, but every person I’ve mentioned this to has said how beautiful it is.
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Networking and marketing goals
My business goal for May and June was to focus on networking and marketing, as I only had a few, smaller jobs lined up.
Because of all the three-day weekends we’ve had in May, it’s been hard catching up and putting time aside for networking, but I did manage a couple of events:
-?????????First ever health and wellness forum with Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce
-?????????My first networking with Socially Shared, hosted by Shelley Wilson ??
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So far in June, I’ve got the following business and networking events planned:
-?????????Publishing vs self-publishing at Malvern Library ( BIPC Worcestershire ), 5 June, 9.30am
-?????????Women in sport networking ( Fearless Women ), online, 12 noon
-?????????Women in sport webinar ( Fearless Women ), 14 June
-?????????Malvern writers group ( BIPC Worcestershire ) at Malvern Library, 19 June, 10am
-????????? Female Founders Rise networking in Royal Leamington Spa, 22 June, 10am
-?????????Circle network* (boutique), online, 21 June, 10am
-?????????Circle network (freedom), online, 23 June, 10am
-?????????Co-working with Gemma Guscott , Worcester, 9.30am onwards
-?????????Circle network (limitless), online, 29 June, 10am
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* Jamie Stewart , the organiser, put me in touch with someone who needs their e-book proofreading, even though I haven’t attended any of his networking events yet!
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*Let me know* if you’re attending any of these events, want to know the details or you can think of any other networking or business events I should be attending in June!
领英推荐
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What I’ve been working on
I finished a second manuscript review with Rachel for her fourth book. She wanted me to check whether the changes she’d made since the last round now worked, as I’d suggested some structural changes, as well as removing and adding a couple of chapters. There were some further tweaks to make – but nothing major. At the end of this round we were getting into the nitty gritty of how certain paragraphs or introductions were sounding.
She’s now doing some further edits before she sends it to the typesetter. Then I’ll be proofreading the manuscript in its PDF form. During this second of manuscript review I amended any proofreading errors I spotted. This isn’t something I’d usually do during a manuscript appraisal, but because I’m already booked in to proofread it in July, it made sense to do a very light proofreading round at this stage.
Other than that, I’ve been doing some proofreading tasks for Emma B Murrills : two of her workbooks and a few of her blog posts. I’m working on some blog post proofreading packages, launching over the summer.
To be honest, I decided not to push too hard for work in May as I wanted to spend time with the family, especially with it being my youngest’s birthday.
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My availability update
I’m all booked up for author services from July to September, but am in discussion with a couple of authors who are interested in September and October. None of my dates are confirmed until I receive the booking fee. Plus, I am hopefully announcing some changes to my business which will allow me to increase capacity. If you are looking for any of editorial services for September onwards, please get in touch as soon as you can so we can work out a schedule that works for both of us: [email protected]
My availability for business proofreading is more flexible, depending on the size of the project, so just get in touch if you have any proofreading requirements for your business.
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My latest blog posts
My flexible approach to marketing meant that during May I decided to write TWO blog posts (instead of one) because I had more than one thing I wanted to saying about mental health:
The week before that, I expanded on a popular social media post I’d written a few weeks before, based on the analogy that I provide a natural make-up look for your book:
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Future goals and ambitions
I have immediate goals for my business, such as attending more networking events, and longer-term goals, which include growing my business and seeking out a particular subject matter I want to work on (disordered eating recovery).
I’ve also had ‘create and send newsletter’ on my to-do list since the beginning of the year ?? That’s my goal for June…
How you can help my business grow
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Freelance Fiction Editor / Project Editor
1 年Love the Legoland pic!! Great that you can plan your workload round family time ?? Hope all the networking goes well!
I help entrepreneurs build a thriving business through authentic connections ? Growth without pitching ? Scale Smarter, Not Harder ? Strategic networking ? Connection-First Community ? FREE resources in featured section
1 年Thanks for the shout out Sian, you came highly recommended by Emma B Murrills. Looking forward to seeing you at some Circle Networks very soon