2024 Year in Review

My fourth official year as a business was my busiest yet. As is my habit, I like to review how I did. My metrics are income on some level, but also, I like to assess how many projects came from new clients and how many from returning clients, and to consider how any sales, discounts, or other special offers, affected requests for editing.

Total Contracts

I executed 33 contracts, 3 of which handled multiple books within the same contract. That gave me a total number of books edited of… drumroll… 41! An increase over 2023 of 25%! Since my revenues were up, and I even handled all the new work despite downtime for injury and family matters, I will not be changing my rates for 2025.

Genre distribution

Most books I edited were romances with on-the-page sex: 80%, equally balanced between contemporary and speculative genres. The heterosexual vs LGBTQ balance was 70:30. I also edited several books that fell under the genres of fantasy, science fiction, and military suspense. I proofread a historical romance series (3 books) and I edited the last books in two series, and edited the first books in three new series. My new clients (100%) came from word of mouth from existing clients (thank you!). My book formatting service has one regular client (I have room for more in 2025!)

Discounts and specials

My most popular discount was for returning clients writing series, with referral discounts a close second. Two specials I ran to try to fill my calendar netted just one new project. Keeping pricing consistent is obviously the better deal. Meaning: whenever you’re ready for editing, I’ll be here offering the same price consistency, so get a quote. It’ll be good for at least the year.

Length of contract and lead times

I edited most projects within 4 weeks, start to finish. The multi-book contracts were still spread out as basically one book per month. I had three developmental editing clients that took 4 months, 3 months, and 5 months, respectively, to reach the “finished” line.

Most projects were contracted, then executed within 45 days (67%). I had a few that were contracted as much as 90 days in advance. I took on more last-minute projects (contract signed, editing begins within 7-10 days) than in 2023.

Word count: All in all, I edited more than two million words.

If you are looking for editing in 2025, please contact me using this form. I am currently booking clients for March onward. January and February are full. You can also schedule a free Zoom and we can figure out together what service package will be best for you and your book.

(In 2024, I still found time to do some fiction writing of my own. If you’re curious about that, visit my author substack.)

~ Lara