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. How to Market Your Academic Business... Without Feeling Gross

    17H AGO

    How to Market Your Academic Business... Without Feeling Gross

    You think marketing will be gross. But what if it doesn't have to look the way you imagine? If the word "marketing" makes you cringe—if it conjures images of pushy salespeople, empty promises, and Instagram influencers claiming you can make $250K from a $47 mini course—I get it. Completely. But here's what I want you to consider: the resistance most academics feel toward marketing isn't really about values. It's about fear. And once you see marketing for what it actually is (hint: it's just letting people know you exist), it might stop feeling so gross—and start feeling like something you actually enjoy doing (and you're really good at). In this episode, I'm breaking down: 💡 Why academics are conditioned to distrust marketing—and why that's not entirely wrong 💡 The sneaky second layer of resistance that's really just self-doubt in disguise 💡 What marketing is when you strip away all the noise 💡 How you've already been doing it your whole academic career 💡 How to make marketing feel like connection instead of a transaction 💡 Your first concrete homework assignment to land your first private clients Whether you're terrified to put yourself out there or just convinced that marketing requires you to become someone you're not, this episode is for you. 📌 Resources Mentioned: Episode 72: Niching Down https://youtu.be/EWbD4y9j378 Episode 77: How to Land Your First Coaching Client https://youtu.be/yK_mRRAFmTo 🔔 Subscribe so you never miss a new episode, and if this resonated with you, share it with a colleague who's thinking about leaving academia. 🖥️ Save Your Seat for my 3-Day Live Training, April 8-10, 2026. Go to AcadiaEditing.com/live 1:35 - Facing Your Marketing Fears 3:10 - Values vs. Self-Doubt Resistance 5:05 - The Truth About Marketing 7:40 - How Academics Already Market 10:15 - Your Marketing Control Center 12:00 - Overcoming Rejection Fears 14:30 - Warm Outreach: Your First Step Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    36 min
  2. The Money Stuff Nobody Tells You: What a Financial Planner Wants Academics in Business to Know

    MAR 26

    The Money Stuff Nobody Tells You: What a Financial Planner Wants Academics in Business to Know

    Think you want to leave academia and go freelance? You should watch this. Most academics who dream of leaving their job focus on the exciting stuff—landing clients, working from home, finally having freedom. But there's a whole other conversation that almost nobody is having: the financial one. What happens to your retirement accounts? Can you actually afford health insurance? When do you really need an LLC? In this episode, I sit down with Inga Timmerman, a finance professor and Certified Financial Planner (CFP) who works exclusively with academics. She's seen it all—the people who quit too soon, the people who drain their savings in six months, and the people who get the transition right because they planned ahead. Here's what we cover: 🪙 The savings benchmark you should hit before you quit 🪙 Why mixing personal and business finances is a bigger mistake than you think 🪙 What to do with your TIAA account (and whether to roll it into an IRA) 🪙 Honest talk about health insurance in 2026—including options most people overlook 🪙 Why you probably don't need an LLC yet (and when you do) 🪙 What to do—and not do—with your investments when the market is in chaos Whether you're building a side hustle in academic editing or coaching, or you're deep in your exit planning, this episode will help you think through the money side of your transition clearly and without the panic. 🔔 Subscribe so you don't miss new episodes every week. 🐦‍🔥 When you want to take the leap, find out more about launching an academic editing or coaching business: https://AcadiaEditing.com/BecomeAnEditor Resources Mentioned: Inga's podcast: Academics and Their Money, https://attainablewealthfp.com/welcome-to-academics-and-their-money/ Work with Inga: https://attainablewealthfp.com 2:05 - Academia to Entrepreneurship, Inga's Journey 4:31 - Why Top-Tier Research Felt Hollow 6:58 - Impact Over Ivory Tower 9:12 - Launching a Business as a Hobby 11:35 - Mastering Academic Niches For Clients 13:58 - Academic Financial Fears Addressed 16:21 - Planning Your Exit 18:44 - Budgeting For Business Independence 21:07 - Smart Spending, Avoid Shiny Objects 23:30 - Navigating Taxes As A Business Owner 25:53 - When To Leave Academia Full-Time 28:16 - Health Insurance Hurdles & Solutions 30:40 - Retirement Accounts After Academia 33:03 - Protecting Yourself, Insurance Needs 35:26 - Business Structure, When To Start 37:49 - Market Volatility 39:55 - Get Expert Help, Find Your Advisor Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    43 min
  3. How to Land Your First Coaching Client (When You Have No Idea What You're Doing)

    MAR 19

    How to Land Your First Coaching Client (When You Have No Idea What You're Doing)

    He had no coaching packages. No clients. No idea how to run a sales call. And then, in week 5 of his BAE cohort, he signed his first client to a 6-month coaching contract. 🥳 In this episode, I'm walking you through one BAE student's journey—from "I have no idea what I'm doing" to landing a real, paying coaching client faster than he ever thought possible. I'm calling him Michael to protect his privacy, but his story is real, and it's one that I know you'll find instructive. Here's what you'll hear in this episode: 🎧 How Michael went from joining BAE to having a website, a LinkedIn profile, and a niche—all within the first month of his cohort 🎧 Why a referral from a former colleague turned into his first real client inquiry (and how he almost let fear talk him out of it) 🎧 What a discovery call looks like, and how it's different from a sales call 🎧 Why I pushed Michael to raise his prices—and why he was glad I did 🎧 How to handle the nerve-wracking gap between your client saying "I need to think about it" and "I'm in" 🎧 The mindset shift that separates academics who stay stuck from those who actually launch I also share what's been happening in the current cohort with other BAE students—including someone who landed TWO dissertation editing clients in a single day, and two MORE just a few weeks later. 🤯 The big lesson running through all of this: you are never going to feel ready. The fear doesn't go away. But you CAN (and should!) do it scared—and that's exactly what growth looks like. 🎙️ Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss future episodes on life beyond academia, freelance editing and academic coaching, and building a business that brings you joy. Want to end burnout and become an academic editor or coach? Go to AcadiaEditing.com/BecomeAnEditor 2:30 - Define Your Niche & Build Your Website 5:15 - How To Land Your First Coaching Client 8:00 - Master Discovery Calls For Clients 11:45 - Price Your Packages With Confidence 15:00 - How To Nail Your Sales Call 19:30 - Key Takeaways For Business Growth 23:00 - Join BAE Core Or Accelerator 30:00 - Why You Have To Do It Scared Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    36 min
  4. Rethinking Education: How to Teach Outside the Traditional Classroom

    MAR 12

    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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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
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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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