On April 10, 2024, I started a 30-day journaling challenge.
Why?
In watching countless YouTube videos on self-development and that whole niche, a good portion talked about journaling, so I figured, why not? I’m curious to see if it actually has a positive influence in my life and journey as a freelance copyeditor.
To circle back a bit, during the last week of the UCSD Copyediting program, I had to write out my S.M.A.R.T. goals, which focuses on actions that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time Bound.
My aim was to hire an editor coach by March 30, 2024. I’m happy to say that I did accomplish this goal and we had our first session a week ago.
Since I hired an editor coach, I also wanted to document our journey of working together—hence why journaling is the perfect medium to do just that.
Why did I want to hire an editor coach?
The main reason: accountability.
The other reason: I wanted someone with more experience in the field to help guide me in the right direction—to shorten the learning curve essentially.
In our first session, we identified the biggest challenge in my business: transitioning from Fiverr into a stand-alone operation. We ended the call with two actionable steps for me to accomplish before the next session.
My coach also reminded me that I’ve built and sustained a business as a freelance copyeditor for over three years—and that’s something to be proud of. This was after saying that I still felt like a “baby” in this industry as I don’t have a background in writing or have experience working with a traditional publishing house. You can check out my bio here.
While I still have goals I desire to attain, it’s was a great reminder to celebrate what I have accomplished thus far.
So, this is my reminder to you (whoever reads this) to celebrate what you have accomplished, no matter how small or grand it may be.
As for my journaling journey, I’ve been consistent for five days now (go me! 😄). It’s an experiment in progress, and I’m eager to see where it leads.
Do you journal or have you journaled before? Did it have a positive effect in your life? Let me know in comments.
Now that you’ve seen the nice edited version of this post, let’s take a look at what this post looked like before I edited it.
The Editing Process
Can you point out the errors in the first three paragraphs?
“On April 10, 2024, I started a 30-day jounraling practice, where obviously I am gonig to journal every day for 30 days (and perhaps longer).
Why?
In watching coutless youtube videos on self-development and taht whole niche, a good portion of them all talk about journaling, so I figured why not, right? Let’s see if this actually has a positive influence in my life and journey as a freelance copyeditor.”
There are several spelling errors: jounraling – journaling, gonig – going, coutless – countless, youtube – YouTube, taht – that. I also changed the last sentence from “Let’s see if” to “I’m curious to see.” This makes the text more personal, as I’m documenting my 30-day journaling challenge.
What about this next paragraph, do you notice anything?
“Reflecting on my recent completion of the UCSD copyediting program, we I had to come up with our S.M.A.R.T goals, which focuses on goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. My goal was to hire an editor coach by March 30, 2024. I’m happy to say that I did accomplish this goal and we had our first session a week ago.”
In the first sentence, I wrote “we I” after the comma; that was the easy catch. What may not be as obvious is that I used the word “goal” four times in this paragraph. This would be considered repetitive, which is something writers have to be mindful of in storytelling. I also reworded the first part to give readers a bit more context.
Apart from the obvious spelling errors, how would you edit the next few paragraphs?
“Why did I want to hire an editor coach?
The main reason: accountablity. Secondly, I needed someone with more experience than me to help guide me in the right direction; to shorten the learning curve essentially.
During our convo, we identified that I am currently in biggest challenge in my business, which is transitioning my business from Fiverr into a stand-alone business. We ended the call with 2 actionale steps to accomplish before the next session.
She also reminded that I built and sustained a business for over 3 years and that that’s something to be rpoud of. This was after saying that I still felt like a “baby” in this industry as I don’t have a background in writing or have experience working with a traditional publishing house.”
The first thing that stands out to me as a copyeditor are the use of numerals. In most cases when I edit, I adhere to the Chicago Manual of Style as a base style guide. So, I would spell out the numbers: “two actionable steps” and “three years.” In the third paragraph, I used the word “business” three times; that’s repetitive.
We’re at the end now; what do you see in the last two paragraphs?
“While I still have goals I desire to attain, it’s was a great reminder to celebrate what I have accomplished thus far. So, this is my reminder to you (whoever reads this) to celebrate what you have accomplished
So, I’ve been consistent for the past 5 days with my journaling practice ( go me! Lol). let’s see how it goes. DO you journal or have you journaled before? Did it have a positive effect in your life?”
Let’s go in order: I changed “5” to “five.” I removed the extra space in the parenthesis. I capitalized “Let’s” and lowercased “Do.”
How did you do? Would you have edited the post differently from me? If so, leave a comment below.
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Hey, I’m Andrea—the Word Engineer—a former engineer turned freelance book editor. I help aspiring indie authors and solopreneurs with strategies to write, edit, and market their books to build a personal brand with authority. My motto: “Words possess power and I get to wield them every day.”
Are you in need of a professional editor? Reach out to me here to see if we’d be a great match to work together.
Connect with me on the socials: IG, Threads, LinkedIn, YouTube.
