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 The Christian PEN is a professional support organization for Christians who perform proofreading, editing, critiquing, and similar services for writers and publishers (and those who are interested in doing so). It was created for networking among editors and proofreaders, whether they work part time or full time, freelance or employed. Members share helpful tips, information, and updates on various topics related to editing and proofreading. We are dedicated to the spirit of cooperative competition.
Getting established as a freelancer can be difficult. You may have excellent skills, but how do you find the contacts?
After you've been doing it for a while, freelance editing is usually a "feast or famine" business. Some months there's more work than you know how to handle (which is often a mixed blessing) and other months you wonder if you'll have enough income to pay the bills (and your friends and family members start nagging you to "get a real job").
Once you've established yourself as a professional, you have plenty of work on a steady basis from ongoing clients and referrals. You get to a point where you don't have time to do every job that comes your way. You may not want to turn down jobs, but you have to be selective about what new clients to take on.
Freelance editors at all levels are occasionally asked to work on projects outside their fields of expertise. If you don't know who to refer such jobs to, your only options are to attempt the work anyway (and hope you do a decent job of it) or turn down the business.
In addition, most freelance editors and proofreaders work in solitude, without the opportunity to communicate with others who face situations similar to their own.
The Christian PEN was created to help solve these problems.
This network can take some of the load off your shoulders when your schedule is overbooked and can be a source of additional jobs when your workload is slim.
The network also provides a way to make contact with reliable Christian professionals who specialize in areas outside your realm of expertise. (Being a good referral source will ultimately do far more for your professional reputation than taking on the wrong project and doing a mediocre job.)
The objective of The Christian PEN is to provide proofreaders and editors (and other freelancers who provide support services for authors and publishers) with a venue for "cooperative competition" through mutual support and the exchange of information, leads, and resources.
There are many online groups for Christian writers. It's time Christian editors had a network of their own!
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