This morning, I had a pleasant surprise. After bringing my boy to kindergarten, I settled down to a cup of coffee and checked my e-mail. I do this every morning not to see if I got any letters from friends, anymore, but to see if, while I slept, someone decided to inquire after my editing services.
On Tuesday and Wednesday I got two nibbles... but they were from two women who wanted me to employ them. I wrote back and expressed my sorrow that I could not take them on, but that I'd like to keep their resumes on hand "just in case."
So, as I waited for my computer to boot up (it took three tries to get online, the tired, farty old thing), I sipped my coffee and pondered the irony of receiving those two inquiries. Could I possibly list them as co-editors, to further entice potential clients to trust my expertise? And as I came to the conclusion that, no, that would not be very ethical, I logged in to my e-mail and saw in the subject line of one: Proofreading and Editing Services.
My heart skipped a beat. Would this be a potential client, or an employment hopeful?
Well, be still my heart, it was a request for my resume, editing examples and rates list. And it wasn't a one-time deal like everything else has been. It would be a permanent freelance position for a big non-profit org. Holy moly. It wouldn't be enough to pay the rent, by any means, but it would be regular work and enough to pad our income just a little tiny bit more. I immediately set to and gathered all my stuff together and e-mailed it away, attached to a nicely professional letter.
Now, I'm not silly enough to think I was singled out for this opportunity. No way. It came from the New York craigslist, so I went there, searched "proofreading", and checked out the competition. I was happy to see that I am in good standing, have extremely reasonable rates (cheaper than just about everyone else), and that I could have copyedited some of those ads and websites myself... though I wouldn't expect any potential client to know that, or else they wouldn't need a proofreader!
After I sent off my resume and examples, I wrote another potential client who has neglected to send me the disclosure agreement he wanted me to sign, as he promised he would do sometime this week. I don't know if I'll hear from him again, but I gave it a good shot, having called him last week in CA (from Germany) to follow up on his initial inquiry. At the very least, it was good practice.
Then this afternoon, I got a surprise e-mail from a university student who asked me to quote her a price for editing her thesis. I replied, and am waiting to hear back from her, too.
So, maybe something will come of these three good leads. They would all be good projects, affording a tidy sum in my pocket. I've got my fingers crossed...
