Finally!

I've been freelancing for over a year now and I've been having a crazy amount of fun doing it.

When I started out, I offered my services for free so I could get more experience as I worked my way through a Certificate in Professional Editing and Proofreading. One of the hardest parts of choosing a new career path is finding work without having experience, so I thought the best way to get experience was to work for free.

Not long after I put a few ads out, someone unexpectedly offered to pay for my services. It wasn't much, but I was completely overwhelmed - that someone recognised my skill as valuable was such an incredible feeling.

Since then, I've had some amazing clients who have trusted me with their words, despite my lack of experience and formal qualification, and for that they have my eternal gratitude. These small acts of trust are what built the foundation of my business and with their faith and support I have been able to develop my business into something I am proud of.

An unforseen advantage of being able to proofread and edit for such a wide variety of writers is that I often find inspiration in things they've written, and it just reinforces why I chose this path. Your words are clever, insightful, funny, philosophical and all manner of other things that may be overshadowed by the simplest of mistakes. Your messages need to be communicated, your stories need to be told; all I do is make sure they are heard the way they are meant.

Now, finally, I am pleased to announce that my Certificate is complete. I am now a qualified professional, and thanks to a whole bunch of people who chose to put their faith in me, I even have experience.

Every new project renews my vigor for the job, and I am truly passionate about restoring power to words. Language is such a beautiful, strange, influential thing, and I am excited to further my skills and expand on my experience.

With this qualification signalling the beginning of the next chapter, I felt it appropriate to reflect on my introduction, and give thanks to all of the characters who made an early appearance. I enjoyed, and continue to enjoy, reading every word, and offer sincere gratitude to all who have trusted, and continue to trust, my guidance.

I look forward to the next page.