Earning more in less time is not just about getting higher fees for your work. It’s also about being more productive and approaching client projects more efficiently.

And a key part of writing productivity is effective editing.

Editing is one of the key phases of any writing assignment. Yet I find that most of us don’t have a step-by-step process for the editing phase. We tend to approach editing in a somewhat haphazard manner. And don’t always know when we’re truly done making the piece as good as it can be.

My guest today is writing coach Daphne Gray-Grant, author of Your Happy First Draft: A Practical and Painless Guide to Obliterating Writer’s Block. Daphne is no stranger to this podcast. She was one of my first guests on the show over 10 years ago, and she came on again in 2019 to discuss strategies for banishing writer’s block.

In this episode, Daphne shares the 5 biggest editing mistakes she sees writers make—and why avoiding them is so important. She shares some really practical strategies and tips for avoiding those mistakes and making your editing much stronger and effective.

When we’re in a challenging economy, most of us operate from a place of fear.

And fear causes us to either keep our fees the same or to lower them.

But I have a different recommendation for you today. I’m going to challenge you to RAISE your fees—starting today!

Now, before you start thinking I’m crazy and out of touch, hear me out. Because there are many ways to do this wrong ... and only a few ways to do it right.

The way most writers attempt to raise their fees is by going to existing clients and telling them that their fees are about to go up across the board.

And yes, if you do it that way, you probably won’t get very far. I’m not suggesting you completely avoid this approach. But I’m suggesting that this method has the most risk and the most limited upside.

You may get a few clients to agree to the increase. But it’s a very stressful process to go through. And frankly, there are much better ways.

What do I recommend instead? I’ll share my specific recommendations in today’s short episode below.