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Lynn, QC, PH.

I edit and proofread academic papers and books. I write here and elsewhere. I also talk way too much about P-pop and beauty pageants over at Pop and Pageantry.

Get in touch if there’s a project you think we can work on together.

Category: Stuff I worry about

  • As an editor and proofreader, I panic sometimes

    There, I said it. There are some days when there’s more work than I can handle and some days when barely anything is coming in, and if I have to be honest, the latter is happening more often than it used to.

    Chalk it up to some clients perhaps giving AI a shot at editing their work, or maybe money’s so tight nowadays that some people are deciding that they just don’t want to spend extra for editing and proofreading. It’s not ideal. It’s scary, even, but that’s where we seem to be at these days.

    I’m going to sound like someone on LinkedIn by saying this, but this situation is why it’s important to build a good working relationship with clients and to always make sure you turn in excellent work. Even in the tightest of crunches, they’re bound to remember that your work helped make theirwork look good, and hopefully, they also see you less than someone who renders a service and more as a partner in what they do. And then hopefully, you have this kind of relationship with a large number of other clients and then they can tell other people in their network about you and the great work you’ve done for them.

    God, that last paragraph sounds like it’s written by someone from another fairly recent era, when life and technology seemed to make more sense.

    Anyway, all the uncertainty that I and lots of other people are feeling about our careers makes me wonder why so many people who are infatuated with AI are cheering for the death of industries and jobs. And if we’re all going to end up losing our jobs to AI, what other ways of earning a living can we do, and who do they think will be buying all their products and services if no one isn’t making any money anymore?

    Huh, I thought I was going to write a calm, measured post about how you can set yourself apart as an editor, but this turned into an anti-AI rant (because fuck AI).

  • Time comes for us all

    Time comes for us all

    I wish I could remember when this was taken. © me, whenever.

    Dwelling on thoughts of mortality, as you do. This year alone, I’ve seen a handful of friends grappling with surgeries and pretty serious health issues, with one of them nearly losing their life. It’s had me feeling like

    for a while now.

    I remember being six and lying in bed late at night when I had the horrifying realization that my parents—heck, my entire family and I—were going to die one day. (I never got the hang of early bedtimes.) I spent the next few nights muffling my sobs as I dwelled on that inevitability.

    You’d think that having been aware of mortality for decades has made me more prepared and accepting of it. But learning about friends’ health issues and not their parents’ combined with my aching knees and occasional unexplainable pains are just making it all too real.

  • Maybe it’s a good idea to relax

    Maybe it’s a good idea to relax

    Yo, check out this calming landscape. © me, June 2024.

    A major life change in the past month has had me panicking more than usual. I’ve taken on new responsibilities that come with added expense (bills, I’m talking about more bills), so I’ve been frantically looking for extra work to make sure I’ll always be in the clear.

    That’s part of the reason I decided to go with a friend’s suggestion to join LinkedIn: to make myself more visible and start building a network, something I’ve always been averse to because of my massive social anxiety. That’s also why I decided to make this site: to share my work and hopefully come across as a real professional you can rely on. As you can see, I AM DOING A HECK OF A JOB!!

    I always did my work anonymously, my name being visible only in the occasional byline (and that’s even stopped happening because I’m not writing as much for publications anymore). I’m not credited publicly for many of the materials I edit; that tends to happen if you’re part of a pool of freelance editors. I guess I’ve just been feeling inadequate and unaccomplished as a result because other people I know seem to be doing great professionally. So I figured I’d put my name out there to get more projects, gain more connections, and stand a greater chance of surviving financially.

    Then I recently took stock of my situation and figured out that it’s not as bad as I’ve made it all seem in my mind.

    So now I’m checking LinkedIn and panicking a lot less and figured, whatever, my profiles and stuff are out there already, and if someone sees my work and experience and gets interested enough to get in touch, they can and I’ll just be here. Not very “smart marketer” of me, but I think I’ll pour most of my energy into my existing jobs and all the other personal projects I finally have time for.