What is high performance in editorial project management?

A small black dog in a muddy field, wearing an orange coat and holding a green frisbee

‘High performance’ is a concept that’s been around in business for a while. It can be interpreted in different ways and can apply to individuals, teams or whole workplaces. In essence it’s just jargon for ‘functioning very well in a chosen field’ and as such it can mean pretty much whatever anyone wants it to mean.…

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Absolutely everything in my FY21/22 freelance annual report

A woman holding a mug reading 'Like a boss'

Last year I posted about my first experience of writing an annual report for my freelance business. I found the exercise invaluable for the clarity it gave me, so clearly I was going to repeat it this year. In doing so, I reflected on last year’s findings and added some more topics, and the result was even more helpful and inspiring than last year’s.…

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Ruthless balance: are you protecting your freelance business?

The idea of protection might sound like something that only applies to ‘proper’ businesses. If your only employee is your dog and your physical assets principally consist of a temperamental PC and a slightly wonky desk and chair that you bought at IKEA in 2008, what do you have to protect?

Well, first of all, if you’re a freelancer with one or more clients, you are a proper business, whether you like it or not.…

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Why freelancers should write annual reports

This year, for the first time, I wrote an annual report for my freelance business.

But wait, isn’t that a bit of a paradox – a freelancer writing an annual report? Surely annual reports are designed to be shared with government, shareholders and the media (entities unlikely to have much interest in the average freelance business)?…

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How to use bubble charts to get a snapshot of your clients’ value to your business

Bubble chart snapshot example of how to visualise your clients’ value to your business

If you’re like me, you keep meticulous records of all of your projects, including hours worked, hourly rates, speed of work and so on. It’s easy to quickly rack up a lot of data, but data is no good if it’s not put to practical use. I do various ongoing and yearly analyses of my data, and one of those analyses involves creating a bubble chart to give me a snapshot of my clients’ value to me, both monetarily (the volume of work and how much I get paid for it) and in terms of how much I like working with each client.…

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#sfep16: reflections on the 2016 Society for Editors and Proofreaders conference

Colourful paperclips with cheerful expressions

I spent the weekend just gone in Birmingham at the 2016 Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP) conference – my fourth. There were over 30 hours of excellent CPD and networking opportunities, and I’ve emerged re-invigorated and with plenty of new ideas for my business and personal development, if a little brain-weary:

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