I hope everyone has been keeping well over the last few months, wherever you are in the world. I am grateful to all of those who have asked me to read for them during what has, and continues to be, a very difficult time for freelancers.

At the moment, I have a large number of ongoing and late-running projects which I am trying to juggle. Covid-19 has affected many of the schedules I had in place before the UK’s lockdown, and I am sure the same can be said for other freelancers working in the publishing industry: projects have been delayed as writers have been physically or mentally affected by Covid-19, designers and typesetters have been inundated with work from publishers who are trying to create digital content as quickly as possible, printers have had to temporarily stop production, and some projects which have continued as normal have then been delayed in paying those who have worked on them. I ask that all of my customers and anyone reading this who requires a freelancer to be kind and patient with us at the moment. I know many of my colleagues have struggled significantly over the last three months. Many of us have been in the odd position of having plenty of work but little payment, forcing us to take on further work while also having to re-arrange deadlines to meet customer needs. This has not been an easy task, but it is made much easier if those we are assisting are understanding and patient.

With the above in mind, I have decided not to take on any additional work until December. This is to give me time to complete my existing commitments and to try to feel “on top” of the tasks on my to-do list.

I hope that those reading this post will understand this decision and will consider contacting me to read future projects.

Once again, I would like to thank those who have sent work to me over the last few months, particularly the individual customers who have been prompt with payment and kind with words. I truly appreciate it.

With kind regards,

Sarah, Proof-Ed.