Pathfinder Career Narratives 48: Editor

Pathfinder Career Narratives is an ongoing series tracking the career choices and experiences of doctoral graduates. You can see all of the posts in the series here. You can find all the Pathfinder resources and opportunities here. Today’s blog is written by Dr Letitia Henville, Freelance Writer and Editor. You can find Dr Henville on LinkedIn, and her company Writing Short is Hard at this website.

Name: Letitia Henville

Doctorate subject area and year of completion: English Literature, 2015

Role and employer: Editor, Writing Short is Hard Consulting (shortishard.com)

Approximate salary bracket for this type of role: £28-70k

I received my PhD in poetry almost ten years ago; I studied the politics of aesthetics and the ways in which late 19th century poets attempted to express concepts for which English does not have adequate language (see Henville 2012; 2014). I enjoyed both teaching and research, until the final year of my doctoral degree, which began with a serious back injury and ended with a six-week strike that left me too angry at the hypocrisy I saw in my institution and its faculty—and too burned out—to seriously pursue a faculty career. 

Fortunately, I’d taken part in a co-op program in my undergrad, so I knew that I could use informational interviewing to learn about alternative career pathways that might suit my strengths, interests, and personality. I wanted that insider’s view on different types of work and work environments so that I could figure out what step I should take. I spoke first with people who had finished their PhDs in my program, and from there asked for more contacts and more connections, so I could chat with more people. Ultimately, I decided to pursue a job as a research grants facilitator—that is, a staff member at a university or research hospital who helps researchers to apply for and secure external funding to do their work. I liked that the work would enable me to use my skills in understanding the nuances of language, pull on my teaching abilities, and yet allow me to work with the same people over multiple years, rather than face the repeated semesterly churn of teaching. 

After finishing my PhD, I took a temporary contract at a university—I started that job two or three weeks before my viva—which, after six months, I used as a springboard to land a permanent job as a research grants facilitator. I was lucky that my first permanent position was only four days per week, which allowed me to pursue tonnes of side gigs writing, teaching, supporting research projects, and doing my own thing as an editor. Two years into that role, I registered as a small business, won a small editing scholarship, and began publishing my monthly advice column, “Ask Dr. Editor,” which is published in Canada’s higher-ed magazine, University Affairs. 

While running my own business, I transitioned day-jobs from research grants facilitation into graduate student career development—highly meaningful work, but work that I found hard to sustain while also taking on more and more freelance clients. In September 2022, I decided to take a year-long leave of absence from my day-job; a few weeks into that leave, it became clear to me that I didn’t want to return to being an employee. I was enjoying the full-time freelance life too much.

I love the freedom and flexibility that working for myself provides. If I have a rough night with insomnia, I can sleep in and start my day late. I can also get my hair cut and my teeth cleaned while other folks are at their 9-to-5. I can secure federal funding for small and medium businesses, and use it to do things like improve my website, develop online courses, and build free resources like writingwellishard.com and editingafteracademia.com and the anithustle retreat workbooks. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend self-employment to other folks with PhDs considering this option, and I wrote about why for Inside Higher Ed back in 2023. 

Of course, working for yourself also comes with challenges: if I accidentally take on too many projects, or if a piece of work takes longer than I expected, I’ll have to work evenings or weekends. It was harder for me to get a mortgage than it would have been if I had an employer. I struggle to hire good help with the parts of my business that need an external eye. I always fall behind on sending out my invoices. But I’m doing this work without the support of a partner’s salary, and living in a high cost-of-living city, so these challenges aren’t insurmountable. I’m lucky that I deeply enjoy my work. I get to conduct research and learn about others’ research projects. I am well-connected with supportive, generous colleagues. I’ve cultivated mastery of the types of texts that I edit, and I find my day-to-day work enriching and engrossing.

If you’re interested in discovering if editing might be the right career for you, I created a mini-course called “Transitioning into a Career in Editing: A Microcourse for PhDs”; for those serious about pursuing freelancing or consulting, I have a course called “Strategic Marketing for Freelancers and Consultants.” Or you can check out editingafteracademia.com to find former academics who now edit in a diverse array of disciplines, and ask one of them for an informational interview. It’s the first step that I’d recommend to anyone thinking of shifting careers.