Language Liberty

Over the past week I registered my new domain name and set up hosting through Really Simple Hosting. They have been great so far; quick to respond and there for support when needed, which comes in very handy as a solo freelancer!

They installed WordPress in my account upon my request so this week I have been exploring and investigating the best theme to use for my new website. So far I have been using Responsive but I am not entirely happy with the homepage layout so I am looking into the possibility of changing it.

I then set up my e-mail address and linked it to my personal webmail account so that it's easier to access. I added a signature and an automatic response saying "Thank you for your e-mail. I will endeavour to respond within 24 hours."

The website address I decided on was... *drum roll*... www.languageliberty.co.uk. As I am offering translation as well as editorial services, I wanted to keep the name generic. My blurb explaining the name Language Liberty is as follows:

Being able to communicate well gives you the freedom to reach more people and deliver your message with clarity.

At Language Liberty, we offer proofreading, copy editing and translation services to help you do exactly that. A polished text with no distracting errors. A clean translation by a native speaker.

Leave your words with us and feel free to concentrate on the rest, knowing it's in safe hands.

Open up your language to the world. 

The website is currently under construction but is slowly getting there. I'm learning about HTML and CSS, maybe Javascript too if I have time. There are lots of forums out there to help you and many people have probably asked the same question as you already, so often a quick Google on the subject leads to the answer or code that you need.

I must admit that progress is running slower than I thought (time to revise my Gantt chart again!) as WordPress is a little tricky to get the hang of with all of the different possibilities although it is very user-friendly - it just takes time.

Setting up the website

 
When I last finished blogging, I was about to join the Society for Editors and Proofreaders. I read on their website though that if I wait until September, I will receive a 50% discount on their membership fee so I think that I will wait for now as £50 is a lot of money!

Meanwhile, I continued to tick off the tasks in Gantter, albeit a little slower than planned (I blame the exceptional weather we've been having - over 30C every day! It's lovely but it has been boiling my brain a bit). The main task last week was to focus on researching:

• Blogs & websites about becoming a freelance proofreader & translator
• Costs for advertising
• Different societies to join.

There are more points I need to research but that can come later in the whole process.

I also wanted to create a website but a real stumbling block proved to be the domain name! What should I call my website (and therefore the 'company')? I didn't want to use my name even though that would be unique and easy, however (a) I don't like my name, (b) maybe the company will grow so that there will be more than just me as a freelancer and (c) it's a bit hard to spell, potentially making it hard for clients to remember or find.

So how did I decide on the name which I have now chosen? It took many days of brainstorming, mulling ideas over, flashes of genius one moment then discarding the ideas the next as rubbish, Googling to see what was available, Googling to check if there were any companies with the same or similar name. I thought about the concept of what I am offering and wrote a list of words associated with that idea and theme. You can also pick a noun and go with something random and unconnected and gimmicky eg Penguin Editorial & Translation Services. You can use an acronym eg PETS based on the previous example. I wanted something simple and memorable. Alliteration helps. I won't reveal it here just yet as I still need to register the domain!

Web hosting is another consideration and one that I am researching right now. Don't just go with the cheapest but look around to see what the different hosts provide - is there any support included? How about the space allowed for e-mails?

I better get back to it but I feel proud of my progress this week. Using a Gantt chart really helped me to focus on what needs to be done and the time pressure helped kick me into action.

I'm back!

Hi everyone, I'm back!

I decided to restart my blog not because I'm interning again but because I'm trying to launch myself as a freelancer offering copy editing, proofreading and translation services. I thought that it could be interesting for anyone else considering this path as a career to see what my experiences are. I decided to keep the same URL because I already have a small following here and also because the older blog posts give a fuller picture of my experience to date, so you can truly follow me on my journey!

I am in the very fortunate position of holding a part time position meaning that not only do I have a regular income but it also gives me plenty of free time to pursue my other interests. The job in itself is to do with publishing and involves some proofreading but is mostly administrative and I want more!

The first step was to brainstorm everything that I need to do, research and consider. I set myself half an hour to write down everything that came to mind (although in the end it took about 15 minutes as I'd been mulling over this for a few weeks already). After brainstorming, I typed up my notes and ordered them chronologically into the set up phase, ongoing tasks and points for the future.

Feeling very motivated, I then proceeded to do nothing for 2 weeks. Why? I was feeling overwhelmed at the amount of items I had brainstormed and even though it was useful that I had prioritised them according to which part of the process they needed to take place, I hadn't set up a timetable or deadline for any of the points. I work best under pressure so it became obvious that the next step would be to set some deadlines for each task. The best way to do this was to copy the list into a Gantt chart (I chose the free online tool Gantter).

Gantt charts are a great project management tool which I have heard of and looked at the theory behind but never put to use myself. They allow you to list individual tasks, write down how long you think they will take, set a start and finish date and also set up dependencies. For example, I want a website! First of all, I need to think of a domain name. This involves brainstorming and researching other websites with similar names. Then I need to create and write the website. As all of these tasks are linked, you can use the Gantt chart to link them so that if phase 1 (research & brainstorming) gets delayed, the chart automatically moves the subsequent tasks backwards too. Now that the Gantt chart is in place, I can also track my progress which is motivating when I cross things off the list.

I better get onto my next task: join the SfEP!

Last day of the internship

Pic by Vladimir Konovalov

Friday was my last day as an intern. It was one of the most hectic days as I had to organise an impromptu business trip to New York for the Director. I was also asked to transfer quite a few files from some CDs onto the server which the Art Designer had dropped off. I then printed off the new layouts for the Director and Editorial Director to look through.

I sent off another 20 invites for the London Book Fair - the 2 tables are almost full now, with back-to-back 30-minute appointments over 3 days - that's a lot of meetings!

The intern who left on my first day (I took over from her although she was primarily Sales) had been asked if she could return for a few weeks as a temp, like me. Friday was her first day back so I passed on a few tasks to her and brought her up to speed on a couple of projects. I'm quite relieved that we've been given this extra support - perhaps it won't be so crazily busy anymore! Although it's 3 weeks until the office move and 5 weeks until the London Book Fair, so I wouldn't count on it!

Most of the afternoon was spent on the office move. First we had a meeting to find out where everyone had got to with their individual tasks, then I started to sort out some documents, furniture and moving boxes. At 5.30pm the Director jokingly sent me home as I was still ill and lost my voice about 4 times in one day! I was looking forward to the weekend and excited about Monday as my first day as a freelance temp yet also nervous - would my role change? Would expectations be higher?

I've decided not to blog every day now that my internship is over - it simply takes up too much time! I may do the occasional post here and there so please do check back every now and then. I'm glad that I documented most of my day to day work so that I can read over how I've developed and see what I've learnt. I also hope that it's helped to shed some light on such a role for those interested in pursuing a career in publishing. Good luck to you and may your work experience lead to a contract!

Ill

Today I felt pretty ill so went home just before lunch.. Will report back again tomorrow.

Busy but optimistic

This morning I was called into the production meeting where everyone gave updates on the yet-to-be-released titles, such as which production deadlines had been met, if the translations were sent in time, if invoices have been paid or whether contracts were outstanding etc. The meeting created lots of work for me as I was asked to chase or research a few things. I was also told that I'd be working on another title, taking in amendments. I haven't heard anymore on that yet though.

After the meeting, I went through several territories (Germany, Brazil, Italy, Spain etc) to check on pending business deals, seeing whether they were regarding any books we were about to publish. I marked them up to discuss with the Director tomorrow; not sure whether she will phone them up or ask me to, or perhaps send another e-mail.

For the impending move, I organised a site visit for IT support and picked up some spare boxes from the local Sainsburys and Rymans. I delegated the task of putting lots of books from some crates into the other boxes to an intern which I felt bad about but she had nothing to do so I think appreciated it, even if it was a rather mundane task.

I sent off more invites for the London Book Fair to various publishers around the world and then started to organise an impromptu trip for the Director to NYC next week to visit some US publishers who cannot make the book fair.

I was asked to created a few VCF cards which are electronic business cards/contacts. I hadn't done this before so checked online first and managed to do it.

I still have quite a long To Do list but am optimistic I can get it all done before the deadlines.

Just another day in the office

A representative from our external IT support company was coming in for a meeting first thing this morning. I had to run to work because the bus never showed up so I took a different one to the closest point possible and walked/ran from there. I arrived just as the IT guy did but unfortunately neither the Director nor the other intern who had arranged the meeting were there yet! The Editorial Director led the meeting until the others turned up and I dutifully took notes to type up later. We discussed the office move and the configuration of the new premises, whether to go wireless or get a cabled network, whether to choose VOIP etc.

I'd been asked to print off some more presentation material for a potential customer which of course took up most of the morning as my computer is pretty slow!

Then I worked on some more appointments for the London Book Fair - the calendar is pretty full now with around 18 appointments per person on each day (it lasts for 3 days).

I finished off the post redirection request and looked for originals of certain documents we need to provide. I could only find copies so hopefully tomorrow I'll manage to finish that off and send it to Royal Mail.

I worked through my inbox answering a few e-mails then received a phone call from Italy - it was from a publisher who was hoping to publish 2 of our books and they wanted a quote on a certain amount of copies. Good news!

Around mid-afternoon I continued on the proofreading. I think that this is the longest book I've proofread so far and I can tell it's going to take a long time to finish! Fortunately it's not urgent (yet) so I'll just do what I can during the week then bring it home every weekend to spend some more hours on. I'm still enjoying this side of the job though.