Leaving Academia: Becoming a Freelance Editor

Paulina Cossette
  • 5.0 (10)
  • EDUCATION
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

In 2019, I was a political science professor who was fed up with the stress and hostility of academia–not to mention the low pay. I left my tenure-track job and went from barely surviving to thriving as a freelance academic editor. Today, I own Acadia Editing Services, an editing and coaching business that brings in six figures a year.  In this podcast, I’ll discuss the challenges of academia, what academic editing involves, and what life as a freelancer looks like. If you’re willing to jump outside your comfort zone, it IS possible to find joy, true flexibility, and a profitable and rewarding career as an academic editor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Rethinking Education: How to Teach Outside the Traditional Classroom

    3D AGO

    Rethinking Education: How to Teach Outside the Traditional Classroom

    You love teaching. You love the research. So why does it feel like academia is suffocating you? In this episode, I sit down with Kelly Merritt—education PhD, former K–12 teacher in Switzerland, and founder of Define Your Lines—to talk about what it really looks like to build a freelance business from the ground up—while navigating toxic workplaces, health crises, expat life, and the slow, complicated grief of letting go of an academic identity. Kelly's story doesn't follow the typical "I burned out and quit" script. She's been layering her exit for years—thoughtfully, strategically, and honestly. And what she shares in this conversation is some of the most nuanced, honest advice you'll hear about what it takes to make this work. In this episode, we cover: ✏️ Why leaving academia isn't always enough—and what you actually need to heal and build something sustainable ✏️ The difference between strategy and experimentation in business—and why you need both ✏️ How to balance client-facing work with the behind-the-scenes infrastructure work ✏️ How Kelly navigated a full brand refinement six months after launching her first website (and why it was worth it) ✏️ How Kelly serves three different audiences (teachers, students, and writers) with one business—and the thread that connects them Whether you're deep in the details of business-building, still deciding if you can make the leap, or just needing to hear that someone else has been in the messy middle—this episode is for you. Resources Mentioned: Define Your Lines: https://defineyourlines.com Kelly Merritt on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn: @defineyourlines / https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellymmerritt/ Kelly's free self-assessment for writers: Five Pillars of Sustainability and Joy in a Writing Practice: https://defineyourlines.com/writers/five-pillars/ The Academic Entrepreneurs Studio (Paulina's mastermind for academic business owners): https://acadiaediting.com/studio 🎙️ Subscribe so you never miss an episode, and if this one resonated, share it with a colleague who's been quietly dreaming about a different kind of life. Want to end burnout and become an academic editor or coach? Go to AcadiaEditing.com/BecomeAnEditor 2:14 - Kelly's Academic Background 5:09 - Journey from Academia to Business 10:01 - Navigating Academia's Oddities 15:30 - The Decision to Move Abroad 20:15 - Toxic Academic Environments 25:18 - Building a Sustainable Business 30:16 - The Brand Refinement Process 35:11 - Balancing Strategy & Experimentation 40:24 - Defining Your Lines Explained 45:25 - Serving Diverse Audiences 50:07 - The Value of Community 55:00 - The Long Road to Success Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 3m
  2. Academia Uncensored: The Top 5 Reasons Why People Are Leaving

    MAR 5

    Academia Uncensored: The Top 5 Reasons Why People Are Leaving

    You did everything right. So why does academia feel so wrong? In this episode, I'm sharing data I've been collecting for over a year: raw, unfiltered responses from academics all over the world who answered one simple question—What's going on in your life that brought you here? What I found wasn't two-word answers. It was grief. It was burnout so deep it had started destroying people's bodies. It was the specific, quiet devastation of realizing that tenure—the thing you sacrificed everything for—isn't the finish line you were promised. The data are clear: this isn't an individual failure. It's a systemic one. In this episode, I walk you through the 5 most common themes in the responses I've collected from academics who are leaving or thinking about leaving higher ed. I also share what I believe is possible on the other side: a career that uses every skill you've developed in academia, in a context where you're respected, fairly paid, and in control. If you've been wondering whether you're alone in feeling this way—you're not. I've got the receipts. 🎙️ Resources Mentioned: Episode 61 on academic identity, with Tory Wobber and Jen Polk: https://youtu.be/JqdqPkEFdfs 📌 Subscribe to the channel so you never miss an episode If this topic resonated with you, share it with an academic friend who needs to hear it. 🐦‍🔥 Want to end burnout and become an academic editor or coach? Go to AcadiaEditing.com/BecomeAnEditor 4:10 - Devastating Realities Unfiltered Stories 7:45 - Burnout Is Not a Phase 10:55 - Feeling Undervalued and Underpaid 16:40 - The Pain of Institutional Betrayal 21:20 - Reclaiming Your Life and Time 24:15 - Finding Hope Beyond Academia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    43 min
  3. Hosting Your First Writing Retreat? Here's Everything You Need to Know to Make It a Success

    FEB 26

    Hosting Your First Writing Retreat? Here's Everything You Need to Know to Make It a Success

    Hosting Your First Writing Retreat? Here's What You Need to Know to Make It a Smashing Success You've built an editing or coaching business. You love working with academics. And somewhere in the back of your mind, you've been wondering: Could I host a writing retreat? Short answer: probably yes. But the logistics are important. In this episode, I'm talking with Kimberly Hale, PhD—interpreter educator and ICF-certified faculty success coach—about exactly how she plans and runs her academic writing retreats. Not the inspirational version. The real version: how to find the right space, feed people well, handle airport logistics, price it so you actually earn money for your time, and navigate the very particular headache of getting paid by universities. Here's what you'll learn: 🏠 The first question to ask yourself before you book anything (hint: it's about vibe) 🏠 How Kimberly structures her retreat across Thursday evening through Sunday lunch 🏠 Her approach to food, dietary preferences, and why feeding people is harder to plan than you'd think 🏠 Where she finds participants and how she markets without advertising to her own university 🏠 How she handles institutional payments, purchase orders, and slow-paying universities 🏠 What participants actually accomplish—and how that becomes your best marketing If you're an academic editor or coach thinking about adding retreats to your business, this episode will save you a lot of trial and error. 🎙️ Subscribe to the channel so you don't miss a new episode. 📌 Resources Mentioned: Kimberly Hale's website: https://facultysuccesscoach.com 🏠 Kimberly's upcoming writing retreat (March 19–22): facultysuccesscoach.com/retreat 💰 Discount code for $300 off the March retreat: INL2026 1:40 - Overwhelmed? Find Your Academic Path 4:05 - How To Balance Faculty and Business 7:10 - Unlock Your Productivity Secrets 11:50 - What is Coaching vs. Mentoring? 18:30 - Master Your Writing Retreats 25:00 - Join Our March Writing Retreat! 33:50 - Main Takeaways for Your Career 🐦‍🔥 Want to end burnout and become an academic editor or coach? Go to AcadiaEditing.com/BecomeAnEditor Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    37 min
  4. Why Your Academic Job Search Isn't Working (Hint: It's Not Your Resume)

    FEB 19

    Why Your Academic Job Search Isn't Working (Hint: It's Not Your Resume)

    Burned out, overworked, and secretly Googling "alternative careers for PhDs"—but not sure what you actually want to do next? This episode is for you. In this conversation, I sit down with Jen Polk, one of the most well-known and trusted post-academic career coaches, to talk about what it really takes to figure out your next move after academia. Jen has been doing this work since 2013, and she has helped dozens of PhDs—from postdocs to full professors to tenured department chairs—find career clarity and build lives they enjoy. Here's what we get into: 🖋️ Why so many tenured professors (not just grad students) are leaving academia right now 🖋️ The #1 mistake academics make when starting a job search—and why "converting your CV to a resume" is a symptom, not a solution 🖋️ The self-reflection question that Jen uses with every single client (it's deceptively simple yet powerful) 🖋️ Whether you need coach training to become a coach—and Jen's honest, no-BS answer 🖋️ What Jen's PhD Career Clarity Program looks like and who it's for 🖋️ Why small-group coaching can be more powerful than one-on-one support (backed by what actually happened in her program last week) If you've been feeling lost, stuck, or like academia has wrung every last bit of joy out of you, this conversation will remind you that you're not alone—and that there's a way through. 👉 Subscribe so you never miss an episode. Resources Mentioned: Jen Polk's PhD Career Clarity Program: https://fromphdtolife.com/ Jen Polk on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-polk-phd/ Want to end burnout and become an academic editor or coach? Go to AcadiaEditing.com/BecomeAnEditor 2:40 - Academic Background to Coaching 7:00 - How Coaching Changed Her Life 10:00 - The Rise of Post-Academia 14:00 - Why Tenured Faculty Leave 18:00 - Global Higher Ed Challenges 22:00 - Finding Your Next Career Path 27:00 - What is "Flow" State? 31:00 - Resume vs. Clarity 36:00 - The Power of Community 42:00 - Coaching vs. Mentoring 47:00 - PhD Career Clarity Program 53:00 - Finding Your True Calling Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    45 min
  5. Don't List Your Credentials, Tell Your Story: The Real Secret to Attracting Clients

    FEB 12

    Don't List Your Credentials, Tell Your Story: The Real Secret to Attracting Clients

    💡 When you're starting your freelance editing or coaching business, the instinct is to offer everything to everyone. But what if niching down is what gets you more clients? In this episode, I walk you through the counterintuitive truth about developing a profitable niche—and why your credentials aren't what's going to sell your services. What You'll Learn: 💡 Why "being for everyone" is actually limiting your income 💡 The common mistake I made when I started my business 💡 How emotions—not analytics—drive hiring decisions 💡 Why your first niche WILL change (and why that's okay) 💡 How to journal your way to discovering the people you're obsessed with helping 💡 The 6-month feedback loop: when to expect clarity on your niche Key takeaway: Your niche isn't about your credentials. It's about the collection of people who hear what you say and feel hope. It's the people drawn to you because of how passionate you are and the real solutions you've discovered. This is what you should lead with in your marketing to land consistent clients. Resources Mentioned: Map Your Academic Business Workbook – Download at AcadiaEditing.com/map BAE Program – 12-week live cohort for academics becoming freelance editors or coaches Want to end burnout and become an academic editor or coach? Go to AcadiaEditing.com/BecomeAnEditor 2:14 - Stop Being for Everyone 4:32 - Why Broad Messaging Fails 7:02 - Credentials Don't Sell Services 9:26 - Emotional Connection Drives Hires 11:30 - How to Start Niching Down 14:05 - Map Your Academic Business 16:27 - Journal Your Ideal Client 19:19 - The Non-Traditional Scholar 22:17 - Burnout Mom's Struggle 24:20 - Find Relief Through Your Services 27:40 - The Messaging Feedback Loop 31:07 - Listen to Your Customers 33:51 - Refine Your Messaging 36:30 - What People Truly Want 40:24 - Offering Hope and Relief 42:33 - Your Unique Solution 44:20 - Be Real Be Passionate Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    51 min
  6. "I Finally Have a Life": What One Poli Sci Professor Gained When He Gave Up Academia

    FEB 5

    "I Finally Have a Life": What One Poli Sci Professor Gained When He Gave Up Academia

    What happens when everything looks perfect on paper but your life feels like it's falling apart? Today's guest, Daniel DeRock, was a successful assistant professor of international political economy at a "dream" university—yet he walked away. Why? In this episode, Daniel shares the truth about burnout, the hidden costs of chasing credentials, and how he's now building a thriving freelance business that finally honors all of who he is. In this conversation, you'll hear: ☑️ Why Daniel left academia despite appearing to "have it all" on paper ☑️ The moment he decided to quit (spoiler: it was sudden and definitive) ☑️ How health problems and work-life balance pushed him to the breaking point ☑️ Why he's now doing a fiction book coaching certification alongside academic editing ☑️ How to build a business around what you actually want, not what you "should" want ☑️ The power of claiming your full identity when you leave academia Daniel's journey is a reminder that success in academia doesn't equal happiness. He was doing everything "right"—defended his dissertation, got the postdoc, landed the faculty job at the university where he'd studied abroad. Yet the constant task-switching, budget cuts, isolation, and unsustainable workload made him reach his limit. What's beautiful about Daniel's story is that he didn't just escape academia—he's actively building a business that brings together both his academic expertise AND his passion for fiction writing and the literary world. He's not abandoning his credentials; he's leveraging them in a completely new way. This episode is for anyone who's been told they should be grateful for their academic position, or who's struggling to admit that their "dream job" isn't actually working for them. If you're considering leaving academia or starting an editing/coaching business, watch this episode. And if you're ready to take the leap, check out my program, Becoming an Academic Editor or Coach—a 12-week group coaching program paired with lifetime access to the course materials. Resources Mentioned: Daniel's website: flowstateediting.com Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-derock-988883302/ Want to end burnout and become an academic editor or coach? Go to AcadiaEditing.com/BecomeAnEditor [2:30] Daniel's Academic Background Double major in political science and English, studying in the Netherlands [5:45] Graduate School Journey Master's degree and PhD in Amsterdam, field work and teaching experience [9:20] Burnout During PhD Teaching full-time while finishing dissertation and applying for jobs [12:15] Landing the Dream Job Assistant professor position at his study abroad university [15:40] Health Deterioration Stress-related health problems and work-life balance issues [18:30] Budget Cuts and Increased Workload Doing the work of multiple people without support [21:00] The Decision to Leave Abrupt departure from academia after reaching breaking point [24:45] Early Interest in Editing Proofreading for colleagues, freelance editing during PhD [28:20] Discovering the Path Forward Finding Paulina's course and realizing editing could be viable [32:10] Starting the Business Registering Flow State Editing, first clients from colleagues [35:50] LinkedIn as Marketing Platform Returning to LinkedIn and building presence [38:40] Types of Editing Work Copy editing, developmental editing, coaching for academics [42:15] Expanding into Fiction Editing Interest in creative writing and book coaching [45:30] The Challenge of Niching Down Balancing academic editing with fiction editing interests Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    48 min
  7. Academia Trained You To Overwork. Here's How to Undo It In Your Business

    JAN 29

    Academia Trained You To Overwork. Here's How to Undo It In Your Business

    🎯 SETTING BOUNDARIES AFTER ACADEMIA: Why Freelance Editors & Coaches Struggle (and How to Fix It) When you're in academia, you're trained to sacrifice---your time, your health, your family, your peace. You're made to do more with less. You're "voluntold" to serve on committees and take on projects, all without extra compensation or appreciation. But here's the problem: when you leave academia to start your own business, those harmful patterns don't magically disappear. You bring them with you. In this episode, I walk you through: ✓ Why academics struggle so much with setting boundaries ✓ The specific boundaries every freelance editor & coach needs ✓ How to charge for extra work without guilt (yes, that second revision round counts) ✓ What to do when clients push back or ask for "just one more thing" ✓ Real talk on sustainability: why boundaries aren't selfish, they're essential ✓ How to communicate boundaries without over-explaining or apologizing ✓ The difference between boundaries rooted in fear vs. boundaries rooted in clarity If you've ever: 🎯 Worked way beyond what you promised (and not charged for it) 🎯 Felt paralyzed by guilt when setting a boundary 🎯 Over-explained yourself to a client 🎯 Taken on rush jobs you didn't have time for out of fear they'd leave Felt obligated to respond to emails immediately 🎯 Stayed on a call longer than you planned because you didn't know how to end it ...then this episode is for you. Your worth doesn't come from the amount of time you work. It comes from your expertise, your skills, and your labor. You deserve to be paid well for the value you provide. And you deserve a business that serves your life, not the other way around. To use your skills to build a rewarding and profitable academic business, join the next cohort of Becoming an Academic Editor or Coach (BAE): AcadiaEditing.com/BecomeAnEditor To grow your existing academic business, join The Academic Entrepreneurs Studio: AcadiaEditing.com/Studio 2:45 - The "voluntold" problem in academia 5:30 - When obligations become exploitation 8:15 - Sacrifice myth perpetuates exploitation 11:00 - Unlearning academic patterns after leaving 13:45 - Boundary #1: Set your work schedule 16:30 - Using your calendar as boundary 19:15 - The vacation trap: never taking time off 22:00 - Why real rest keeps business sustainable 24:45 - Boundary #2: Stop over-delivering work 27:30 - Permission to be "good enough" 30:15 - Scope creep: "just one more thing" 33:00 - Charging for work beyond contract 35:45 - Boundary #3: Don't undercharge clients 38:30 - Why nervous energy repels quality clients Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    47 min
  8. Is Consulting Your Escape from Academic Burnout? What Happens When You Stop Doing Free Labor

    JAN 22

    Is Consulting Your Escape from Academic Burnout? What Happens When You Stop Doing Free Labor

    You’re overworked, underpaid, and doing way too much "service" for zero recognition. Burnout isn’t a surprise—it’s the system. So what if the real problem isn’t you, but the way academia exploits your labor? In this episode, former professor Rachel LaTouche shares how she went from a traditional tenure-track path to launching a thriving consulting business. She didn’t even know what "consulting" was at first—and now she's booked out, well paid, and finally working on her own terms. Rachel started small—on Upwork. But one client turned into a department-wide contract, and that pivot away from free labor in academia led to a sustainable business. Her story is proof that you don’t need it all figured out to begin. If you’re finally realizing that you've been unfairly giving away your time and energy for free, this conversation will open your eyes to what’s possible outside academia. Consulting might be the post-academic path you didn’t know you needed. 🎧 Listen now to hear: How Rachel realized her "side projects" were actually consulting gigs The questions she asked to get started—without a website How she booked her first clients (and how you can, too) The difference between B2B and B2C consulting—and how to choose Want to end burnout and become an academic editor or coach? Go to AcadiaEditing.com/map Resources mentioned: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rlatouche/ https://www.hireraretalent.com Registration for Rachel's program opens Feb 1, 2026! Go to her website for more info! 2:17 - Researching Workplace Culture 4:29 - Why Grad Students Need Support 5:20 - Faculty Life Challenges 6:17 - Discovering Consulting 8:37 - Navigating the Pandemic Pivot 10:17 - Landing Your First Client 13:57 - Evolving Your Consulting Business 18:57 - The Consulting Futures Lab 20:34 - Program Structure & Goals 22:08 - Embracing Your New Identity 24:05 - Valuing Your Expertise 25:12 - Setting Business Boundaries 26:34 - The Power of Talking About Yourself Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    51 min
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About

In 2019, I was a political science professor who was fed up with the stress and hostility of academia–not to mention the low pay. I left my tenure-track job and went from barely surviving to thriving as a freelance academic editor. Today, I own Acadia Editing Services, an editing and coaching business that brings in six figures a year.  In this podcast, I’ll discuss the challenges of academia, what academic editing involves, and what life as a freelancer looks like. If you’re willing to jump outside your comfort zone, it IS possible to find joy, true flexibility, and a profitable and rewarding career as an academic editor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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