We’ve been working our way through a series on Making Money as a Writer. Today, we’re talking about two of the most underrated and not-so-obvious ways to make money with your writing: editing and publishing services.

These are related but not the same thing. Let’s begin with editing first.

The essence of editing is that you are getting someone’s writing or book manuscript ready for publication. But there are different types of editing.

If you are great with content organization or story structure, you might consider developmental editing. That means thinking through the structure and flow of the book on the front end. Or, it could mean re-working a book that has not been properly organized or written. Maybe the author is stuck and needs expert help.

You could also consider line editing, copyediting, or proofreading. Line editing is more of an art than a science. It mainly concerns making sure sentences flow as well as possible. Copyediting mainly focuses on the mechanics of language, ensuring that the writing adheres to correct English usage, grammar, punctuation, citations, and so forth. Proofreading literally refers to reading the proof, which is the final version just before or after it goes to print as a last measure of defense against errors.

Another form of editing is working for a magazine or publication. A few years ago, I worked for The Good Men Project as a lead editor. This means people sent me articles, and I decided which ones to run in my sections, which are also called “verticals” in the publications world. Then, I would give the authors feedback if I needed changes. I almost always made changes in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and so forth. It did not pay very well but the experience was absolutely priceless because I learned to think, write, and edit quickly.

If you enjoy the self-publishing process, you can also help others navigate their way through getting their book published. If you are detail-oriented and like to manage complex projects, you can help people get their book cover and interior formatting designed, manage editors, get their book uploaded to Amazon and other online vendors, and market their book.

The bottom line is that if you can write and publish your own books, you can also help other people do the same thing. Most of the writers I know, no matter their level of success, do some type of client work in addition to writing for themselves.

I really like doing client work as one of my income streams because I learn something from every project. Whether you are editing or helping other people publish their books, it’s a great way to serve authors and make money at the same time.

Question: Have you ever considered helping other writers with editing or publishing services? What specific services could you offer?