Hi Yvonne! Glad you found them helpful. Admittedly, since my work is almost exclusively with academic researchers, I don’t have a lot of advice to offer outside of that field. If you have an interest and the proper background for academic editing, though, then my experience has been, simply, that you have to do a lot of cold-emailing: compiling lists of universities, and then (within those) the departments and offices where researchers work or where they seek services, such as , individual research departments, graduate writing centers, research libraries, etc. That said, whoever you contact, it helps IMMENSELY to have your own website — even if you never update it. Because having a website makes your whole endeavor look more serious.

Another type of editing I do is more like a “writing tutor” role. To find these kinds of gigs, you could contact schools and educational consultancies in your area to see if their students have a need for paid writing instruction.

Finally, I also found some paid work by offering trades for my services on a few local message boards; I’d offer two free hours of editing in exchange for the recipient’s own services or assistance within their own area of specialization, and at least one of those contacts turned into a return client.

I hope that helps! Best of luck with your career transition! :)