Do Freelance Editors Need a Niche? Reflections from BLE

White lattice work in the background with a green succulent and the words 'find your niche' in the foreground

For a long time, we avoided choosing a niche as freelance editors. Not because we didn’t have interests or strengths, but because niching down felt risky. What if it meant fewer clients? What if we boxed ourselves in? What if we chose the wrong one?

So we did what many freelance editors do. We edited everything. Academic papers, web copy, reports, blog posts, fiction, short stories – the odd curveball project that made us question our life choices. It felt flexible. Sensible, even.

Turns out, editing everything isn’t the same as building a sustainable editing business.

Taking the Niche Leap

Last year, we deliberately chose to define and focus on a niche. Not because someone on the internet told us to, but because we’d reached the point where “keeping our options open” was actually holding us back.

Below is a compilation of what we learned and that we hope will be useful to other editors. Do freelance editors need a niche in the first place? We did, and this is what changed when we finally committed to ours.

Table of Contents

    What We Actually Mean by a “Niche”

    Don’t think of a niche as small or limiting. Think of it as a specialisation – a space you’re going to master and be known for. Because, quite ironically, niches are varied.

    Sometimes the niche is the subject. Sometimes it’s the type of client, the content, or even how you work.

    A niche can be defined by:

      • The type of text you edit (manuscripts, reports, blogs, journal articles)
      • The genre or sub-genre (academic monographs, edited collections, non-fiction)
      • The type of organisation you work with (publishers, agencies, corporates)
      • The subject matter (health, finance, travel, education)
      • Or a combination of these

    Ultimately, it comes down to one thing: clarity.

    Niching Clarifies Your Elevator Pitch

    We can’t be the only freelance editors who’ve had this conversation:

    “So, what do you do?”

    “We’re editors.”

    Blank stare.

    “…we work with text and manuscripts to help authors and publishers get it ready to publish.”

    A faint lightbulb appears.

    “Oh, books! But isn’t that dying out because of ebooks and AI?”

    FML.

    Firstly, you don’t need to explain yourself to people who aren’t your target audience anyway. But it does highlight the importance of clearly explaining to prospective clients what you do. Niching helps with that.

    Instead of trying to explain the entire editing industry, you define your work within clear parameters. You make it easy for the right people to understand you and to know whether they need you.

    When “Editing Everything” Stops Working

    The thing with casting a wide net is that you’re not guaranteed a catch. You’re trying to satisfy everyone on every platform. All this really does is stretch you thin, because you’re prioritising quantity over quality. Instead of putting your best effort into 1-3 types of clients, to really connect with them and solve their problems, you’re putting minimal effort into 10 clients (likely with minimal results).

    In turn, this might lead to restless nights, obsessively refreshing inboxes, and blindly applying to anything remotely related to editing. Worst of all: the sense of failure that just looms.  

    In our case, we initially targeted many content types, including: 

      • Manuscripts
      • Academic work
      • Corporate work
      • Fiction and short stories
      • Blogs and landing pages

    It looked diverse and felt flexible. But it wasn’t strategic. So, we took a structured approach.

    Our Structured Approach to Niching

    These steps are based on the process we followed when we pivoted. 

    1. Follow the Income

    The first question to ask yourself: Which services are actually generating money?

    Remember, you’re not a failure. You’re trying to make a strategic, professional change. So, start with what you’re already doing right and see if you can build on it.

    After looking long and hard at our situation, we noticed two things:

      1. Academic work was consistently strong.
      2. Interestingly, so was non-fiction, even though we weren’t actively promoting it then.

    The choice seemed obvious: Prioritise academic and non-fiction work and sideline fiction and online work (not completely off the table, but available in selective cases only).

    2. Audit Your Services

    Look at the types of editing you offer. They’re all different, which is why many editors specialise in 1-2 types. For example, developmental editing is intensive and can take multiple rounds. It may also require a lot more interaction with the author. On the other end of the spectrum, proofreading is meticulous, almost clinical in some cases.

    Try to find a balance between what’s already working for you and what you enjoy doing. Editing isn’t a quick job, so don’t offer services you secretly dislike or aren’t really confident in. You may be stuck with them for hours (…days…weeks). Plus, this uncertainty can reflect in the quality of your work, ultimately to your client’s disadvantage.

    Developmental editing is the perfect example in our case. It’s not really our cup of tea. However, we’ve completed several manuscript assessments AND enjoy them more. So, formally introducing manuscript assessments made sense. Language editing remains our bread and butter, with line editing and proofreading coming in second. Checking references has always been a guilty pleasure, so that also remained front and centre for academic texts.

    3. Identify What Makes You Different

    This is arguably the hardest question: What makes you different from other freelance editors?

    The job market is competitive (understatement) and you need to find something that makes you…well, you. It can be any number of things, and that’s why the question is so tricky. Sometimes it’s a subject thing. Editors with accounting degrees can bring authority to accounting content. The same with medical and legal content. Other times it’s an experience thing. An editor who used to work in hospitality or travel before freelancing brings hands-on industry knowledge to the table.

    It can be a technical thing. You know particular software or formats intimately, making you the ideal person to outsource to. Sometimes, your niche finds you. It’s something completely random but somehow still works out.

    For BLE, we were publishers before we became freelance editors. This means we understand editorial workflows, production schedules, and internal processes. We know how decisions are made and what pressures publishers face. Other editors working with publishers may not.

    In short: We speak publisher. That became our differentiator.

    4. Define the Client

    Last question: Who are your clients? And the other side of that coin: Who do you want your clients to be? 

    Working with clients is essentially a relationship. You don’t want to invest in a bad one. Some factors that can help you evaluate your clients include:

      • Do they respect your profession and experience? If they ask for your input, do they consider it seriously or undermine it?

      • Do they pay on time? A very practical consideration. You shouldn’t have to fight to have each invoice paid.

      • Do they respect your time or set unrealistic deadlines? Expecting you to work nights and weekends regularly isn’t sustainable.

      • Do you agree with their workflows? It might sound silly, but sometimes the logistics of a job just makes it too impractical.

    Because our publishing background sets us apart, targeting publishers as our clients is natural. This includes traditional, independent, hybrid, and publishing service providers. 

    After going through this pivoting process, our elevator pitch became:

    We offer professional editing services for academic and non-fiction publishers.

    Easy to say, easy to remember, and most importantly, easy for publishers to understand and ask follow-up questions.

    Why Having a Niche Made Everything Easier

    Now that you have a plan, you have to execute it. And that’s where having a niche really makes a difference. With a clearer picture of your ideal client, finding them gets easier and drafting pitches isn’t so confusing. You’re channeling your energy into quality now.

    Leaning into your experience (that makes you stand out) also helps. If you already have industry knowledge, you can continue keeping tabs on it. You know who the big players are and hear about new ones when they come along. You’ll know which directories make good starting points, whether any organisations are worth joining, and where the good networking opportunities are. Even if you don’t, following the right accounts on social media and a good old-fashioned search can tell you.

    A hand arranging letters on a wooden surface to spell the word 'niche'.

    Now, a slight reality check: You’re likely not going to be flooded by offers and contracts immediately. Hustling requires patience and persistence. Sometimes, you make contact at exactly the right moment and get the job right away. Other times, you’re a bit off and the answer is “that’s nice, just not right now”. Also, remember that you don’t need everyone to say “yes” – just the right few.

    We sent about 20-25 pitches. Three resulted in paying jobs. Two became recurring clients. It’s almost a year later and things are still steady.

    What Other Freelance Editors Can Take Away

    If you’re considering niching down, these are the practical lessons we learned:

      • A niche isn’t about shrinking your opportunities. It’s about clarifying them.

      • Look at your income patterns, not just your interests.

      • Pay attention to which services actually convert.

      • Notice who pays on time and respects your expertise.

      • Use your past experience as leverage.

      • Your niche should make marketing easier, not more complicated.

      • You don’t need everyone to say yes – just the right few.

    A Niche Isn’t a Life Sentence

    Let’s get something clear: choosing a niche doesn’t mean locking yourself into one type of project forever. You’re choosing a direction. 

    When we leaned into our niche last year, it wasn’t about shutting doors but walking through one with intention. We’d reached a point where we knew what kinds of manuscripts lit us up, what clients we worked best with, and where our skills delivered the most impact. Instead of keeping everything open “just in case,” we decided to build depth.

    And that depth changed our business.

    Could we pivot in the future? Of course. Freelance editing is wonderfully flexible. But right now, our niche gives our business structure and focus. It makes decision-making easier and conversations clearer. Our growth is now intentional.

    It’s not the size of the net – it’s the bait.

    Blue Leaf Team

    The Blue Leaf Editing team has over 15 years of combined editing, publishing, and book industry experience. We’re passionate about content and storytelling, and sharing our knowledge with others.