The Freelancer

Send us Fan MailToday I'm chatting with Sophie Playle, a fiction editor and course creator highly regarded in the editorial world for her fiction developmental editing and line/copyediting courses.We discuss her journey in editing and how the world has changed since she started in the early 2010s. We also chat about her courses, how motherhood has changed her perspective, and the impact of AI on the publishing industry.While we can't guess what the future will hold, we do have some thoughts on how editors will feature in it, so listen in for these 2026 takes on a rapidly changing field! Learn more about Liminal Pages at www.liminalpages.comYou can also sign up for the courses here (affiliate link)!Support the showQueer-owned business. AI-free editing and consulting. Conscious language advocate.Contact me on: [email protected] 🌈Second World Editorial: Speculative fiction editing and writing: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com🎓The Narrative Craft: Cultural anthropology developmental editing and consultancy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/💎Need a transcript? Here you go: https://thefreelancer.buzzsprout.com/🥰 Fiction newsletter: https://thenarrativecraft.kit.com/e8debf1dd5

Send us Fan MailThis episode is all about book editor visibility.tl;dr: For most editors, visibility is an optional strategy, not a necessityTune in to hear how:Visibility isn't something you have to do if you're an editor.You can have a fallow season without pressure to be visible.The pressure to be consistent can have negative mental health implications.Referrals are a significant source of clients for editors.Not all visible editors are successfulBuilding relationships is often more effective than audience building.Social media visibility can help if you're selling low-ticket offerings or editing for self-published authors.It's possible to run a successful editing business without social media.A focus on depth in client relationships rather than quantity can work well.Support the showQueer-owned business. AI-free editing and consulting. Conscious language advocate.Contact me on: [email protected] 🌈Second World Editorial: Speculative fiction editing and writing: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com🎓The Narrative Craft: Cultural anthropology developmental editing and consultancy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/💎Need a transcript? Here you go: https://thefreelancer.buzzsprout.com/🥰 Fiction newsletter: https://thenarrativecraft.kit.com/e8debf1dd5

Send us Fan MailIn today's ep I'm chatting with Vesna Kurilic of Shtriga Books again!Today we discuss inclusive language and nonbinary gender in Croatian language and fiction. We explore how culturally specific the discussions around conscious and inclusive language are, and what challenges other contexts face with different approaches toward languages.Then we get onto grammar. In Croatian, which has three grammatical genders, you flag the speaker's gender much more often than in English. We explore what this means for getting your head around nonbinary pronouns, and what that means for Croatian spec fic!Shtriga Books: https://shtriga.comMilena Benini: https://www.croatian-literature.hr/zzindex_sing.php?tekst_id=609&menu_id=1Support the showQueer-owned business. AI-free editing and consulting. Conscious language advocate.Contact me on: [email protected] 🌈Second World Editorial: Speculative fiction editing and writing: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com🎓The Narrative Craft: Cultural anthropology developmental editing and consultancy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/💎Need a transcript? Here you go: https://thefreelancer.buzzsprout.com/🥰 Fiction newsletter: https://thenarrativecraft.kit.com/e8debf1dd5

Send us Fan MailIn the last episode of 2025, I discuss how the year went from a business and marketing perspective.2025 was a big experiment in running my business without social media.Things didn't go exactly to plan—tune in to learn which part of my business suffered, the big decisions I made at the end of the year, and find out how much I earned exactly in 2025.I finish with some predictions for 2026. YAY!Support the showQueer-owned business. AI-free editing and consulting. Conscious language advocate.Contact me on: [email protected] 🌈Second World Editorial: Speculative fiction editing and writing: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com🎓The Narrative Craft: Cultural anthropology developmental editing and consultancy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/💎Need a transcript? Here you go: https://thefreelancer.buzzsprout.com/🥰 Fiction newsletter: https://thenarrativecraft.kit.com/e8debf1dd5

Send us Fan MailHow does publishing work outside the Anglosphere?In today's ep, I'm chatting with Vesna Kurilic, owner of Shtriga Books – a small press in Croatia publishing queer speculative fiction.We discuss how things work differently in Croatia, the yawning gulf between literary and genre fiction there (compared with in the Anglosphere), and what Anglo-American publishing could learn from Croatia and vice versa.You can check out Shtriga Books here: https://shtriga.com/Support the showQueer-owned business. AI-free editing and consulting. Conscious language advocate.Contact me on: [email protected] 🌈Second World Editorial: Speculative fiction editing and writing: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com🎓The Narrative Craft: Cultural anthropology developmental editing and consultancy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/💎Need a transcript? Here you go: https://thefreelancer.buzzsprout.com/🥰 Fiction newsletter: https://thenarrativecraft.kit.com/e8debf1dd5

Send us Fan MailWhy do you read stories? What keeps you turning the page?Wish fulfilment is one possible answer! Tune in to hear other reasons, alongside a chat about wish fulfilment in romance and dystopian fiction, the story problems it can create, and how wish fulfilment links to the oppression of marginalized groups.Enjoy!Links mentioned:Call of the Camino: https://www.suzanneredfearnauthor.com/copy-of-where-butterflies-wander-1Falconsaga: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222253066-falconsagaMythcreants (candy and spinach): https://mythcreants.com/blog/the-best-characters-eat-their-spinach-and-their-candy/Mind-melding with fictional characters: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/time-travelling-apollo/202104/mind-melding-our-favorite-fictional-charactersSupport the showQueer-owned business. AI-free editing and consulting. Conscious language advocate.Contact me on: [email protected] 🌈Second World Editorial: Speculative fiction editing and writing: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com🎓The Narrative Craft: Cultural anthropology developmental editing and consultancy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/💎Need a transcript? Here you go: https://thefreelancer.buzzsprout.com/🥰 Fiction newsletter: https://thenarrativecraft.kit.com/e8debf1dd5

Send us Fan MailThis week's ep is all about how we balance our editing, coaching, and writerly selves and businesses! 😍We discuss the query trenches, writing routines and habits, whether you need to be a writer to coach writers, and lots more besides!Here are a few things we mention:Karen's coaching: https://www.karenaparker.com/book-coachingMythcreants community: https://www.patreon.com/MythcreantsMythcreant's idea of a magnum opus: https://mythcreants.com/blog/six-tips-for-writing-your-first-novel-and-series/Karen's Captured Phantoms fund and 25 ways to resist in 2025: https://www.karenaparker.com/blog/25-ways-to-resist-in-2025My Pay-It-Forward fund: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/pay-it-forward-fundSupport the showQueer-owned business. AI-free editing and consulting. Conscious language advocate.Contact me on: [email protected] 🌈Second World Editorial: Speculative fiction editing and writing: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com🎓The Narrative Craft: Cultural anthropology developmental editing and consultancy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/💎Need a transcript? Here you go: https://thefreelancer.buzzsprout.com/🥰 Fiction newsletter: https://thenarrativecraft.kit.com/e8debf1dd5

Send us Fan MailThis week's ep is all about lit mags! ✨If you're exploring this space and trying to figure it out, this podcast ep is for you.I discuss how to find the right magazine for your story, the importance of reading widely, and the realities of rejection in the submission process. I also explore the culture and industry of literary magazines, including issues of elitism, gatekeeping, and the value of punk/DIY publications. Here are a few resources I recommend you check out:Chill Subs: https://www.chillsubs.com/Writer Beware: https://writerbeware.blog/ALLi Watchdog: https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/watchdog/Taco Bell Quarterly: https://tacobellquarterly.org/Hustle Culture versus the Literary Academy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/post/two-cultures-in-publishing-hustle-culture-vs-the-literary-academyMy lit mag wins so far: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/books-short-stories-andrew-hodgesSupport the showQueer-owned business. AI-free editing and consulting. Conscious language advocate.Contact me on: [email protected] 🌈Second World Editorial: Speculative fiction editing and writing: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com🎓The Narrative Craft: Cultural anthropology developmental editing and consultancy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/💎Need a transcript? Here you go: https://thefreelancer.buzzsprout.com/🥰 Fiction newsletter: https://thenarrativecraft.kit.com/e8debf1dd5

Send us Fan MailWelcome to Season 2! Yay!Today's topic is decolonizing fiction craft, and I'm chatting with the book coach and fiction editor Karen Parker. We cover everything from the hero's journey and remakes to the Iowa Writers' Workshop and how NOT to workshop. Come hang out with us :)Here's Karen's coaching – if you're ready to start pitching your novel, or you've tried and failed so far in the query trenches, come join their coaching cohort from September:  https://www.karenaparker.com/book-coachingHere's a piece by Karen on Jane Friedman's blog: https://janefriedman.com/sensitivity-reading-in-speculative-fiction-why-it-matters-more-than-you-think Here are some of the links mentioned in the show:Ben Bacon:  https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-64162799Orly Goldwasser:  https://museum.imj.org.il/en/exhibitions/2016/pharaoh-in-canaan/pdf/alphabet-en.pdf Felicia Rose Chavez:  https://www.antiracistworkshop.com/the-antiracist-writing-workshop Clarion West: https://www.clarionwest.org/resources/workshop-methods/Support the showQueer-owned business. AI-free editing and consulting. Conscious language advocate.Contact me on: [email protected] 🌈Second World Editorial: Speculative fiction editing and writing: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com🎓The Narrative Craft: Cultural anthropology developmental editing and consultancy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/💎Need a transcript? Here you go: https://thefreelancer.buzzsprout.com/🥰 Fiction newsletter: https://thenarrativecraft.kit.com/e8debf1dd5

Send us Fan MailStory structure is one issue fiction editors love to disagree about. At one end of the spectrum, some promote rigid templates, while others say "anything goes."In this episode, I cover ...the problem with rigid approaches to story structurewhy I dislike Save the Cat! and the Hero's Journeywhy you should think about story structure but not get hung up about itEnjoy!Links from today's ep!Hustle culture versus the Literary Academy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/post/two-cultures-in-publishing-hustle-culture-vs-the-literary-academyHow universal is the Save the Cat beat sheet?: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/post/the-save-the-cat-beat-sheet-a-cultural-anthropological-approachClub Ed course – Plot and Story Structure: https://www.clubedfreelancers.com/product/editing-for-plot-and-story-structure-sep-8-oct-5-2025/Romancing the Beat: https://www.campfirewriting.com/learn/romancing-the-beatThe Hero's Journey: https://www.jcf.org/learn/joseph-campbell-heros-journeyThe Heroine's Journey: https://gailcarriger.com/books/hj/Support the showQueer-owned business. AI-free editing and consulting. Conscious language advocate.Contact me on: [email protected] 🌈Second World Editorial: Speculative fiction editing and writing: https://www.secondworldeditorial.com🎓The Narrative Craft: Cultural anthropology developmental editing and consultancy: https://www.thenarrativecraft.com/💎Need a transcript? Here you go: https://thefreelancer.buzzsprout.com/🥰 Fiction newsletter: https://thenarrativecraft.kit.com/e8debf1dd5