Becoming a Writer-Editor

Many of the people who take classes at Club Ed are writers, mostly of fiction. But it’s hard to make much money as a novelist. However, you can effectively combine writing and editing skills to make a good living by establishing what I call a “hyphenated career”: becoming a writer-editor!

In my book The Business of Storytelling, I talk about how to create a writer-editor career, where you use what you learn as a writer to reinforce the editing side of your career and vice versa.

For those of us who enjoy taking on a variety of projects in our work, a hyphenated career can be a source of fulfillment and growth (both personal and career-related). I’ve always said I’m a better editor because I’m a writer, and I’m a better writer because I’m an editor.

The other day, a reader contacted me and said she was a different kind of hyphen: a bookseller-writer. I loved that! Her deep understanding of what readers enjoy reading makes her a better writer, and her understanding of writing and literature makes her a better bookseller.

A friend of mine is a great beta reader/big-picture editor because she’s also a visual artist (“Even painters info-dump,” she says.) I love the idea of there being all kinds of hyphenated careers possible for writers and editors.

In the end, it’s the interplay between your skills that can help you earn more money as both a writer and an editor.

Editing Horror Is Back!

$50 (Members: $45) | How to edit horror | webinar | Intermediate

Last fall, veteran horror editor James Gallagher led a one-hour webinar for people interested in learning how to edit the horror genre. Because I get a lot of inquiries from people about editing horror (which I don’t edit), he’s agreed to let people buy the recorded version of the webinar, which is what this class is.

The class covers the fundamentals:

• What is horror?

• Brief history of genre

• Subgenres

• Horror beats and tropes

• Character: protagonist v. the monster

• Setting

• Controlling theme: From life to death to damnation

• The unknown

• Reader immersion

• Editorial concerns for problematic tropes

There is also a resource sheet for you to use to explore the genre further.

The class is entirely online and asynchronous (you don’t have to be in any particular place at any particular time to participate).

For more information and to register, click here.

Congratulations, Nina and Eilidh!

Please join me in congratulating Anita (Nina) Flanagan for completing her certificate in the developmental editing of nonfiction, which she earned on July 25, 2025.

And please join me in congratulating Eilidh Locherty for completing her certificate in the developmental editing of fiction, which she earned on July 18, 2025.

I accept students into the certificate program for developmental editing for nonfiction on a case-by-case basis. You can find more information here.

Applications for the fiction certificate program reopen in September. You can get more information here.

Classes you’ve taken previously at Club Ed can apply towards the certificate.

Editing Starter Package (DE 1 – 6) Now Half Off!

Ends Thursday!

Save $175!

The developmental editing starter package, affectionately known around here as DE 1 – 6 is now on sale for just $175, a savings of 50% off the regular price.

If you’re interested in exploring developmental editing as a career, this is the course package you’ll want to start with.

To get the discount use the coupon code: StarterPack

For more information and to purchase the course package, click here.

Coupon code is good through midnight Pacific time on July 31, 2025.

Start Your Editing Business Now!

Ends Thursday!

Course package – $150 (through July 31, 2025)

Lately I’ve been writing a lot of posts about taking the leap and starting your editing business, so I’ve put together this package to help you do it on a budget. These classes would cost $230 separately, but you can save $80 by buying the bundle.

Get all the essentials for starting your editing business in one place. This course package includes four webinars, a full self-paced class, and a book!

• Marketing Toolkit: SEO for Editors (normally $50)

• Marketing Toolkit: Content Marketing for Editors (normally $50)

• Marketing Toolkit: Social Media for Editors (normally $50)

• Website Basics (with Carol Stambaugh)

• Finding (and Landing!) Indie Author Clients (normally $80)

• Plus, a PDF of The Club Ed Guide to Starting and Running a Profitable Freelance Editing Business

Go at your own pace with this collection of webinars and written materials intended to help you start your editing business now.

For more information and to sign up, click here.

For Members

The accountability forum has changed its name to open forum to reflect the suggestion that we leave it active but change its focus a bit. You are still free to post your weekly goals and accomplishments, but it will be more of a place for asking questions and sharing ideas.

The current marketing challenge ended on Friday. Thanks to everyone who participated! The next quarterly marketing challenge starts October 17, 2025.

New discount for PerfectIt and Draftsmith software! Save 30% off your purchase of PerfectIt and 20% off your purchase of Draftsmith. PerfectIt is a well-regarded program that many copy editors use to help ensure their edits are applied correctly across an entire manuscript. Use the coupon code you’ll find in the Membership Program classroom.

Upcoming Classes

Instructor-led classes starting soon:

• Editorial Toolkit: Beta Reading, starts Sep 3, 2025

• Editing for Plot and Story Structure, starts Sep 8, 2025

• Editorial Toolkit: Coaching Writers, starts Oct 1, 2025

• Editing for Character Development, starts Oct 6, 2025

• Editorial Toolkit: Book Doctoring and Ghostwriting, starts Oct 29, 2025

About Jennifer Lawler

I help editors figure out what the hell they’re doing.

If you’re an aspiring, new, or established book editor or story coach, I can probably help you learn how to do the work better and more profitably.

Through Club Ed, I offer developmental editing classes, a freelance editor membership program/support group, and a slightly bony shoulder to cry on.

I’ve worked as an editor for more than twenty years. I learned how to edit in the trenches of traditional publishing with its insane deadlines, pitiless competition, and crushing bureaucracy. To that I added a Ph.D in English literature with a specialization in medieval literature because of a long story.

Editorial clients have included Simon & Schuster, Girl Friday Productions, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, Barnes and Noble Custom Publishing, and others, along with many independent authors. 

For fiction self-paced classes, click here.

For fiction instructor-led classes, click here

For nonfiction self-paced classes, click here

For nonfiction instructor-led classes, click here

For on-demand instructor-led classes, fiction and nonfiction, click here