It's ok to get help

Hello Manuscript Workers!

I’ve been running Manuscript Works on my own for almost nine years now. That means that not only have I done all the editing, consulting, writing, presenting, and course creation myself, I’ve also worn every other hat in my business, including marketer, bookkeeper, designer, long-term strategist, you name it. I’ve hired people to help with specific projects here and there but it’s mostly been a one-person operation.

And I’ve enjoyed it that way! I’ve even learned that I’m quite good at things that would have seemed impossible to me when I first decided to try going freelance in 2015.

But I’ve also learned that DIY is not always the best solution. Sometimes other people have knowledge or skills that I simply don’t have. Or—maybe more importantly—others can help me accomplish my goals more quickly than I could on my own because they already know exactly what needs to be done to get from point A to point B. Sometimes other people simply have time and energy I don’t have, or that I’d prefer to channel toward other activities.

Last year, I went all in on getting help. I’ll share some examples for those who are curious (skip this list if you don’t care about business stuff!):

• I enrolled in multiple courses taught by an expert in running online businesses. The information I learned in the courses saved me a ton of time and stress because they showed me how to improve the systems my business relies on.

• I booked time with a CPA who is also a lawyer to give me advice on restructuring my business and staying compliant with tax laws. I now have much more confidence that I’m doing things the way they should be done.

• I contracted a professional presentation designer to overhaul the slides I use in my online courses. This didn’t come cheaply, but I knew the updated slides would pay off in an improved learning experience and better knowledge retention for the writers who take my courses.

• I hired a remote assistant to help me with admin tasks and to serve as client support specialist for Manuscript Works. I feel assured that emails are getting answered and tasks are getting done without me needing to be in my inbox all day long.

Again, I could have done all of these things on my own. I have confidence that if I did enough research and devoted enough hours, I could do a good enough job on all these things (and that’s what I’d been doing for years). But I finally decided that my time is too valuable to spend on learning how to do things that others are already experts at, especially when I can get help directly from those experts. And I recognized that by getting help from others with certain tasks, I am able to get even better at the work that I enjoy most and that only I can do. The financial investments, though substantial, thus became unquestionably worth it to me.

But enough about me. I wanted to write this newsletter today because I’ve been thinking about how I’ve approached getting help over the past few months, and it’s given me some insight into how I try to help scholarly book authors. When I offer workshops or programs aimed at helping people write outstanding book proposals, for example, it’s not because I think you can’t do it on your own. You can definitely DIY a great proposal (and I offer tools to help with that, in fact).

But sometimes you just don’t want to figure it all out alone. You don’t want to process a bunch of different books and blog posts and publishing panels and advice from mentors and try to conjure a plan that might work with your goals and timeline. You just want someone who knows the drill to show you a proven way to get from point A to point B.

I would never, ever say that there’s only one correct way to write a book proposal and get published, or that you absolutely need professional help to be successful. Rather, I make myself available to help with the stuff you didn’t know you didn’t know and to take the guesswork out of the publishing process, so you can spend your time and energy on the parts of writing your book that really need your expertise.

One thing I don’t help authors with anymore is editing their book manuscripts. For the first few years of my business, that’s all I did. In more recent years, I’ve pivoted from developmental editing of full book manuscripts to what I enjoy doing even more, which is teaching people how to write book proposals and consulting with authors on the publishing process.

I still think developmental editing is a really valuable service for authors. A developmental editor won’t magically finish your book for you, but they can help you set a plan that will get your book done much more efficiently and effectively than if you’d struggled alone. Professional developmental editing ticks those boxes of saving time and energy that could be better spent elsewhere.

If you’ve been curious about what’s involved in working with a developmental editor, I have a few resources you might want to check out:

• How to Work with a Developmental Editor

• 8 Signs You Need a Developmental Editor for your Academic Book Manuscript

• Editors, Coaches, and Consultants — What’s the Difference?

If you’re looking for actual developmental editors who can help you, I’ve got you covered there too. Because I started my business as a developmental editing service, and because I’ve taught a training course on academic developmental editing since 2019, I know a lot of talented and personable freelance editors whose work I can happily vouch for!

If you’d like to be connected with a few editors who might be a great fit for your project, just email my client support specialist Rebecca at support@manuscriptworks.com. Be sure to tell her a bit about your manuscript and why you’re seeking an editor, and she’ll curate some options for you from our referral extensive list and let you know how to get in touch with them.

(By the way, this was one of the tasks I needed help with before Rebecca came on board last fall. I just didn’t have time to answer all the emails I got asking for editor referrals, let alone provide a personalized set of recommendations to each writer. Now, we are able to provide this service, which we hope helps everyone out a little bit.)

Even if you aren’t looking for support for a scholarly book or book proposal right now, I hope this newsletter gave you permission to get the help you need with whatever else you’ve got going on at the moment. Your time and energy are not infinite, so my wish is that you’re getting to spend them on what you value most. (So extra thanks for spending time reading this post.)

See you next week!