Inspiration

Sep 02

On writing: Interview with scientist-author Katharina Vestre

By Cristina N. Author interview, Inspiration, Writing

“Writing is my way to keep falling in love with science.”— Katharina Vestre

In The Making of You, the author’s talent for storytelling coupled with a scientist’s eye for detail makes readers turn page after page, while the fresh, clean, and lean writing style appeals to everyone. To discover the secret of Katharina Vestre’s writing process, I decided to interview her.

You started writing your first nonfiction book, The Making of You, in 2015, when you were an undergraduate. It’s unusual for students to spend their summer breaks working on a book. Apart from your genuine interest in the subject, what made you decide to write a pop science book? Read More

Aug 10

The best nonfiction books I read in 2020

By Cristina N. Book reviews, Inspiration, Reading

The 2020 lockdowns forced me to swap my long daily walks for long reading sessions, so for the whole year I was many books ahead of my Goodreads Reading Challenge. Here are five of the best nonfiction books I read during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A note on how I choose the books for my lists: If I think about a book long after turning its last page, it’s a great book. If I read it again, it’s a book I love. And if it’s a great book that I love and I think you might like it too, I add it to my list of the best nonfiction books.

The Making of You: A Journey from Cell to Human by Katharina Vestre (author) and Matt Bagguley (translator) Read More

Jul 20

My online volunteering experience: Why I proofed free e-books for free

By Cristina N. Freelance, Inspiration, Proofreading

This post is about my online volunteering experience between 2015 and 2020. During this period I proofed English texts for Distributed Proofreaders, a not-for-profit organization that digitizes books and converts them to e-books, which you can download for free from the Project Gutenberg website. Most of them are public domain books, and the rest are copyrighted texts distributed with permission in the United States.

(Unfortunately, Italy has blocked access to Project Gutenberg since May 2020, because its website was blacklisted as containing material that infringes copyright laws.)

Here’s what I did as a proofreader volunteer and why I loved contributing to creating free e-books for Distributed Proofreaders and Project Gutenberg.

How I became a proofreading volunteer

Aug 04

The best nonfiction books I read in 2019

By Cristina N. Book reviews, Inspiration, Reading

We all have our strategies to discover the best nonfiction books. Friends’ recommendations, editor’s picks, and book reviews are some of them. If you don’t know what to read next, this article may help you choose a great nonfiction book. I’ve selected a travel book, two language books, two memoirs, a history/humor book, and a psychology book. Read More

Apr 13

On self-publishing: Lessons learned from failed projects

By Cristina N. Inspiration, Lessons learned, Writing

Publishing a paper, a book, or an article is hard work. When you succeed, it feels amazing. When you don’t, all you want is to put the failed project behind you and move on. But you shouldn’t. Not so fast, at least. A failed writing project is more than wasted hours and effort. It can teach you a lot.

Here are some of the most valuable lessons you can learn from a failed writing project.

Feb 20

6 Creative ways to get original business blog ideas

By Cristina N. Business, Content writing, Inspiration

A very successful blogger confessed he comes up with business blog ideas by spying up on his competitors. He’s considered an authority in his field, and many content marketers look up to him for inspiration. It’s surprising he needs to borrow ideas from others.

At first glance, his strategy seems smart: Seeking truly original business blog ideas takes effort, so let your competitors do the hard work, borrow their ideas, and turn them into better content than theirs.

But what if your competitors are in turn cutting corners? What if they’re not creative at all and they’re in turn borrowing others’ business blog ideas? Then by using their blog as inspiration, you’ll end up creating content that looks like a re-repainted stolen bicycle.

If you’re willing to put in the effort to seek inspiration for your digital content, here are other ways to find original ideas for your business blog. Read More

Jun 28

Nonfiction books for your summer reading list

By Cristina N. Books, Inspiration, Reading

If catching up on your reading is something you’d like to do this summer, be very selective with the titles you pick. Chances are you’ll read less than you expect, so make each book count.

To simplify your search for the best nonfiction books, here’s a list that includes a psychology book, a book about creativity, a memoir, and a nature book. Read More

Jun 19

Should you quit your PhD?

By Cristina N. Inspiration, Lessons learned, PhD life

Maybe a major event happened in your life that reshuffled your priorities. Or you’re thinking about switching careers and no longer need an advanced degree. Or maybe you’ve been offered a great job that won’t leave you time to continue your doctoral studies.

In any of these scenarios, answering the question “Should I quit my PhD?” shouldn’t be too hard for you.

But if you’re like many doctoral students, you’re considering quitting your PhD because you no longer love your research, you still haven’t got the data or funding you need, your doctoral advisor ignores you, or you feel your research is going nowhere.

In these other scenarios, “Should I quit my PhD?” is a difficult question. To find the right answer, you first need to examine a lot of things. These include your reasons for choosing to pursue a doctorate in the first place, your reasons for wanting to quit, your alternatives, your economic situation, and much more.

Having been in your shoes, I know how hard it is to make the right decision. The following information is meant to help you decide what you should consider before you make a choice. Read More

Sep 28

Why I worked as a freelance editor on Upwork and why I quit 2 years ago

By Cristina N. Freelancing, Inspiration

This post was written in 2017 and revised in 2022.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”—Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

This quote describes almost perfectly my experience as a freelance editor on Upwork.

When I decided to become a freelance English editor, I didn’t know where to start. I had no clue where to find projects and I lacked both professional editing experience and confidence in my skills. So I did what many newbie freelancers did at the time: opened an Odesk (now Upwork) account.

For those who have never heard of Upwork, it’s a website that connects freelancers with clients. Freelancers get paid through the platform, which keeps a big chunk of their earnings. Freelancers and clients rate each other at the end of each contract.

It took me several months to get my first job on Upwork. I completed it and received my first 5-star rating. Getting new contracts became easier, though still incredibly frustrating. Before I knew it, I was spending all my time on Upwork. I submitted proposals in the morning, and I worked on my projects in the afternoon and evening.

Almost 200 successfully completed contracts and thousands of unsuccessful job bids later, I realized I was just plowing the sands. I was wasting precious time completing applications for jobs that were later canceled, Upwork had doubled its fees, and the quality of the job postings was plummeting. What was I doing on Upwork?

So, in 2015 I made a big decision: quit Upwork, get a website, and work on building my own client portfolio, not Upwork’s.

In this post, I’ll describe what it’s like to work as a freelance editor on Upwork. Then I’ll tell you why I used Upwork for so long and why I decided to close my account. I hope this information will give you an idea about what to expect if you work on Upwork as a freelance English editor.

Are you looking for a freelance editor and want to make the most of your budget for editing? Avoid paying third-party fees by hiring a freelance editor directly. Send me a message at editor@languageediting.com.

Apr 25

My trip: How I became a freelance English editor and proofreader

By Cristina N. Freelancing, Inspiration, Lessons learned

I was born in Bucharest, Romania, and learned English when I was 11 years old. Two decades later I became a freelance English editor.

Who needs freelance English editors?

When I was a fledgling research scientist, I didn’t know there was such a thing as a freelance English editor or proofreader. Only publishers had copyeditors and proofreaders on staff, I thought. Research scientists who had manuscripts in need of revision didn’t hire freelance English editors. They asked a colleague whose first language was English to review their drafts. That’s what people around me were doing. I didn’t. I should have. Read More

The Making of You: A Journey from Cell to Human by Katharina Vestre (author) and Matt Bagguley (translator) Read More

How I became a proofreading volunteer

Who needs freelance English editors?

AIM: Help and inspire people to improve their written communications