Time is such a funny thing. It can feel as though time has flown by and stood still all at once. Similarly, as I look back over the past 10 years, it feels as though a lot has changed and yet much remains the same.
When I started Wise Owl Wordsmithing, it was to establish a formal conduit to offer my skills to those who could benefit from them. One of the biggest obstacles in the process was articulating what it is I do and how I can offer that as services prospective clients might seek out and pay for. Honestly, I have spent much of the last ten years in a cycle of naming my skills and services, then second-guessing, reassessing, and redefining, ad nauseam.
Growing up with an entrepreneurial father and earning degrees in business and economics, I had a decent business sense and work ethic. However, my experiences were all related to the sale of standardized, tangible items – e.g., cabin rentals at the resort, fuel at the gas station, candy at the corner store – not intangible services that are tailored to client needs and goals.
How was I supposed to package and price my services?
First, I had to figure out what services I was selling.
I stumbled into my line of work because a former university instructor sought my assistance for a group of university students who were struggling with the academic writing process. I drew on my years of post-secondary experiences to create workshops and offer one-on-one support for students writing assignments, term papers, theses, or dissertations. I even ended up assisting staff and faculty with reports and manuscripts for journal articles or book chapters.
Although I provided instruction, coaching, and editing services, I wasn’t formally trained in any of those things. With so many years intrenched in academia, I had a very fixed mindset about meeting certain qualifications to earn a title or position. Therefore, I didn’t believe I could legitimately call myself an instructor, a coach, or an editor.
Imposter syndrome is a real thing.
Rather than give myself a specific, unearned (in my mind) label, I created several broad service categories to offer prospective clients. Editorial services for those needing their written work reviewed for content, structure, grammar, or style type issues. Coaching and consulting services for those seeking guidance for their written project, whether that be an academic paper or marketing material. And general document services for those requiring assistance with their written project, from simply formatting the document/material to collaborating on the creation of the document.
The wonderful woman who built my website described me as a writer and editor when she drafted the copy for my site. After a great deal of mental wrestling, I reluctantly accepted the label of editor because it was the best term to capture what I did in a way prospective clients would understand. Because, authenticity and transparency are very important to me, I am always upfront about what I bring to the table and whether my skillset aligns with a client’s needs and goals. However, I definitely didn’t consider myself a writer, nor was I offering writing services, we removed that detail from the website.
The second step was to set a price for my services.
I spent a great deal of time researching what and how editors charge for their services. It was difficult to find any consistency. Prices vary across the spectrum of editing services (e.g., developmental, structural, copyediting, proofreading), the field of work (e.g., academic, medical, legal, business, non/fiction), and the experience/training of the provider. Then there are those who charge by the word, the page, or the hour.
I attended a number of business presentations, workshops, and webinars related to pricing, packaging, and marketing services. Unfortunately, none of them seemed to address my particular situation or answer my specific questions. So much of what I read and heard was all about creating packages and setting price points that could be upgraded or downgraded with the addition or subtraction of certain service features.
Neither avenue helped me. My services are based on my client’s needs and goals, and I bring all of me (the same knowledge, experience, and skills) to each project I take on, regardless of the specific services I may be offering. I could not (and still don’t) see how to create standardized service packages with set rates or price points. It took several years of trying out different approaches before finding what worked best for me: a set hourly rate that applies to all the services I offer.
Though the struggles have been real this past decade (Ouch, I think it hurts more when I say it that way), so have the blessings.
Hands down, the greatest blessing for me and Wise Owl Wordsmithing is the diverse clientele I’ve had the privilege of working with. The opportunity to learn and grow alongside my clients as they strive for their own goals has been so rewarding. Whether I’m exploring new subjects or fields, encountering different worldviews and lived experiences, or enriching my skillset, I’m definitely earning more than my hourly rate.
A close second place on the blessing list goes to the fact that clients find me in spite of my lackluster advertising efforts. Sure, I have a website, Facebook page, business cards, and a few other digital footprints, but my fear of claiming to be something I’m not kept me from ever actively promoting my business. A few of my more recent clients have found their way to me through internet searches. However, the majority of my clients (since the beginning) have found me through referrals from others – current/former clients, networking contacts, etc. I am and will always be grateful for and humbled by such gracious endorsements.
Earlier, I noted my struggle with imposter syndrome and marketing myself and my services to prospective clients. I know it’s not an uncommon story. It can feel as though societal structures and expectations have rigged the game against us.
I’ve never been one to fit nicely into the boxes of social norms or expectations. Sometimes I partially fit with a limb or two hanging out of the box. Other times, I’m entirely the wrong shape or size, so I do my best to sit quietly next to the box. I’m tired of being defined by others’ boxes and feeling like I’m doing it wrong, I don’t belong, or I’m not good enough.
Over these ten years, I’ve taken countless courses, workshops, and webinars for personal and professional growth and development. Both journeys have leaned on and into each other. As I gained clarity or strength in one area, it provided the platform to level up in the other. The push and pull of this process could be frustrating, and at times I wondered why I was doing it at all. It’s only been in the last few years that I’ve gained greater clarity and confidence in who I am as a person and a professional.
The beginning of November marks the 10th Anniversary for Wise Owl Wordsmithing, but the end of November marks two years since the creative writing part of me broke free from the lockbox it’s been sealed in for more than 27 years. I once had dreams of being an author when I was in high school. Alas, social and family pressures and expectations directed me toward “more serious” endeavours. So, I stuffed those dreams in a lockbox, hid it away, and chased academic pursuits for roughly a decade, which eventually led me (in a roundabout way) to Wise Owl Wordsmithing.
But then the seal on that lockbox broke open two Novembers ago.
I didn’t know what to do with the invasion of ideas that flooded my mind. It took me a little while to understand that they were seeking release, not just from the lockbox but also from my mind. Slowly, I started writing them down. The challenge was (and is) that the ideas aren’t for a single story. They belong to multiple stories, and they have a tendency to all “talk” at the same time. A mental traffic jam of story ideas is a common occurrence over the last two years.
In the first year, only one other person knew I was writing. It felt like a secret. The ideas were random and I had no reason to believe they would ever be anything more than that. As the first year turned into the second, I think three more people knew I was writing. But I was still really hesitant to tell people or talk about it. Why tell anyone about something that was probably going to be nothing?
Roughly six months ago, something shifted. What, I’m not exactly certain. I had been on a bit of a writing hiatus but then eagerly dove back in with a consistency and confidence I hadn’t had before. Since then, when an opportunity has presented itself, I have openly shared that I am writing rather than avoiding the topic.
Then, in September, I enrolled in a creative writing course through the University of British Columbia’s Extended Learning Program. I couldn’t pass up the dual learning opportunity: enhance my skillset for clients writing fiction and test the waters for my own creative writing abilities. This six-week course was such a great way to round out ten years of growth and development.
After ten years, I have acquired enough knowledge and experience to understand that despite no formal training, I am a writing coach, an editor, a consultant, and a collaborator. And, whether or not I become a published author someday, I am a writer.
For all the changes that have taken place over the last decade, most of them were internal or behind the scenes. I don’t believe the outside world saw much of the transformation that was happening. In some ways, I feel as though I’m back at square one. But this time, I have a stronger foundation to stand on; sturdy enough to keep growing outward.
So, what’s next?
Now that I’ve built the confidence to own who I am and what I do, it’s time to let that show. Over the next few months, I’m going to revise the content on my website (and other platforms) and start developing fun (or at least what I think is fun), informative content to create engagement on social media.
Watch for Mixed-Up Mondays – where we’ll look at commonly misspelled, misused, or misspoken words – starting in the new year.