The Author's Guide to Hiring Freelancers (Cover Designers, Editors, and More) with Maari Casey
About this episode
This episode discusses how indie authors can effectively hire and manage freelancers for various tasks.
Every indie author eventually needs help: a cover designer, an editor, a website builder, a marketing assistant. But hiring the wrong freelancer (or being a difficult client yourself) can cost you time, money, and a cover you hate. In this episode, Ricci Wolman sits down with Maari Casey, CEO of Uncompany, to break down exactly how to find, hire, brief, and manage freelancers, from the first Google search to the signed contract to navigating a missed deadline. What you’ll learn: How to write a scope of work tight enough to find the right freelancer, and the one "start at the end" trick that cuts the guesswork Where to find freelancers: Reedsy (built for authors), Fiverr, Upwork, and curated agencies, and when each makes sense How to set your budget and why you should always go in a little lower than your real number What the standard revision rounds look like for design vs. editing, and why two to three is the magic number The three questions to ask in every freelancer interview (and the red flags that should end the conversation) What should be in every contract: payment terms, revision rounds, timeline, and the ownership clause that authors always forget How to give feedback…
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