Written by Megan Ryan

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Have you ever set a nebulous goal of doing more or better networking, but you’ve found it hard to know where to start or how to measure your progress? Or have you found the advice on the subject seems tailored for CEOs or office workers?

I could have answered yes to both of those questions, so I was eager to hear a presentation on networking for freelance editors by Linda Ruggeri in the fall of 2025. That led me to a book she co-wrote called Networking for Freelance Editors: Practical Strategies for Networking Success.

The Logistics

The book is also a workbook, so there are pages of text to read and worksheets to fill out. These include assessing your network and communication and detailing your goals and ideas. While the worksheets are in the book, most of the fill-in-the-blank pages are also available to download from The Networking Studio website.

For me, that is a definite plus! I didn’t have to write in my book. And I can print another copy later or fill them out electronically. (Tip: The pages in the PDF weren’t all in the order they appear in the book, so you might have to hunt for some.)

The Structure

The first part of the book focuses on the bigger picture of networking. It covers what networking is, the different parts of your network, and what kinds of goals editors could set to help grow their network. It guides you in thinking through the networks you currently have and what your freelance goals are. Then you can match up your connection efforts to those aims.

The second part of the book is about tactics and strategies for growing your network in helpful ways. It covers your website, social media use, communications, professional groups, and volunteering—all through the lens of networking.

There are also many resources in the appendices at the end of the book. One of these was a list of professional editing groups. I was surprised to see American Christian Fiction Writers on the list but not the Christian PEN! (I emailed Ms. Ruggeri to suggest she add it in to future editions.)

The Plan

Each worksheet helps you think through your networking goals and strategies, and you distill that information onto a quarterly networking worksheet. When you’re done, you have one page of goals and action steps to take for this quarter.

I liked this format. If I had filled out just the quarterly worksheet, I would have missed the background work to help me create my specific goals. But keeping track of all the various worksheets I’d completed would be overwhelming. The quarterly worksheet is full of info and steps contained on one piece of paper.

There are five categories to list your action steps, but you can decide how many steps you want to add for each section. I appreciated that the quarterly worksheet could be customized to your goals and needs. You could also keep working on those steps for any length of time, though I like the shorter time frame of a quarter rather than an entire year.

The Audience

Another nice aspect of this book is that its advice is specifically for freelance editors. It’s helpful to not have to figure out how to apply advice meant for people in traditional employment to your situation, which may be working at home alone most of the time.

This is a secular book, so it’s not aimed at specifically Christian editors. I don’t think any of the networking ideas conflict with a biblical worldview, though. There is a clear focus on volunteering and serving others, not just trying to get ahead yourself. That resonated with my faith.

The one thing that may bother some Christians is the author’s suggestion to mention your pronouns in introductions and one of the hypothetical editors is referred to with they/them pronouns. These mentions happen without fanfare or overt persuasion. I think you could take these brief notes as a reflection of the reality of our era. It didn’t detract from my experience going through the book.

My Conclusion

If you’ve been wanting to grow your network or branch it out in different ways, I recommend Networking for Freelance Editors. It will help you to create a plan and focus on making the connections that will further your business goals. If you go through all the worksheets, you will come away with a set of specific networking goals that will support your business aims for this quarter of the year.

I read the entire book first and then went back through all the worksheets and created my plan. I came up with two to four action steps to try for a three-month span, including posting to LinkedIn once a week and tweaking my website. Then I plan to evaluate the changes and adjust for the next quarter. Whether the steps I outlined improve my network is probably up to me and the effort I put into them, but I think the book has done its job by helping me map out my goals and action items.

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