Is the fear of losing your health insurance keeping you trapped in academia? This worry keeps a lot of chronically ill academics stuck in jobs that are making them sicker—and the premise is worth questioning.

In this episode, Paulina talks with D. Scott, PhD, JD, a former academic who developed a chronic illness during a postdoc at the University of Edinburgh and slowly realized the tenure track wasn't survivable for their body.

Instead of forcing themselves into another job for the benefits, D. chose their health, moved back to the US, and built a freelance academic editing business that's now in its sixth year and booked through December.

D. gets honest about the stuff nobody explains:

⚕️ how to research which states give you real support,

⚕️ why freelancing gave them more flexibility than any "stable" job ever did,

⚕️ how they pace work around an unpredictable body, and

⚕️ why raising your editing rates matters most when you physically can't work more hours.

In this conversation, we also cover:

👉 Why the fear of losing health insurance is more workable than the worst-case stories suggest

👉 How to schedule and book clients when your energy isn't guaranteed

👉 How to stop assuming clients think about money and deadlines the way you do

👉 The chronic-illness and disability editor communities that make this work less lonely

If you've been telling yourself you're stuck because of your health, you absolutely have to listen to this episode.

▶️ Hit subscribe so you don't miss the next conversation.

To work with D., get in touch here: dscottedits.com

For more on building a freelance editing or coaching career after academia, visit AcadiaEditing.com/map

Resources Mentioned:

📌 Northwest Editors Guild — monthly "Editors with Chronic Illnesses, Disabilities and Neurodivergence" Zoom call (open to non-members; sign up through the Guild's website calendar): https://www.edsguild.org/meetings-events/

📌 LGBTQ Editors Association — Slack community with a dedicated chronic illness, disability, and neurodivergence channel: https://lgbtqeditors.org/

📌 Resources to research marketplace options and health insurance brokers:

https://www.kff.org/affordable-care-act/state-indicator/state-health-insurance-marketplace-types/

https://www.healthcare.gov/find-local-help/

Timestamps:

00:00 Why chronic illness and freelancing comes up so often

04:30 D.'s path: the PhD, Edinburgh postdoc, and getting sick

09:00 Letting go of the tenure track

13:30 Researching states, Medicaid, and choosing New Mexico

18:00 Landing as the pandemic hit, and why editing was the plan

22:30 The health insurance reality: Medicaid, marketplace, and brokers

27:00 Choosing health over career and a new relationship to work

31:30 Scheduling around an unpredictable body

36:00 Money mindset: boundaries and raising your rates

41:00 Finding your people: chronic-illness editor communities

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You've been doing everything right—teaching, advising, serving on committees, even organizing a union—and still hitting a wall.

Annie Brubaker did all of that for 20 years, watched her salary get frozen for 12 of them, went on a 29-day strike, and finally decided she was done waiting for an institution to value her.

Then she landed 7 editing clients in her first 12 weeks as a professional editor.

In this episode of the Leaving Academia podcast, Annie talks about what actually moves the needle when you're starting a freelance editing or coaching business from scratch—including the mindset shift that helped a self-described perfectionist get her website out the door before it was "ready," and why networking felt way more natural than she expected.

What we cover:

🌟 How Annie went from non-tenure-track faculty to 7 paying clients inside a single 12-week BAE cohort

🌟 The minimum-viable-product mindset that helped her stop overthinking and start landing clients

🌟 Her specific outreach strategies: informational interviews, cold emails, local nonprofit connections, and more

🌟 Why she chose to name her business after herself—and what that decision meant to her sense of ownership and identity

🌟 How LinkedIn stopped feeling like self-promotion and started feeling like finally getting to say what she thinks

🌟 Why Annie credits the BAE community with getting her clients years faster than going it alone

Connect with Annie:

Annie Brubaker Writing Consulting — abwritingconsulting.com

LinkedIn: / anniebrubaker

Resources Mentioned:

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Becoming an Academic Editor or Coach (BAE) program: AcadiaEditing.com/BecomeAnEditor

The Academic Entrepreneurs Studio: AcadiaEditing.com/studio

3:15 - Why Academic Faculty Should Unionize

7:20 - How To Overcome Institutional Burnout

11:45 - Building A Successful Editing Business

15:10 - How To Find Your First Clients

18:55 - Mastering The Art Of Self Promotion

22:30 - Future Goals And Final Thoughts

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You're worried AI is going to kill academic editing and coaching. Here's what's actually happening—and why it might be the best news you've heard all year.

If you've asked yourself, "Should I even bother starting an editing or coaching business when AI is taking over?"—this episode is your answer.

Paulina Cossette has been watching the industry closely, and the picture is more nuanced (and more hopeful) than the doom-and-gloom narrative suggests.

In this episode, she walks you through exactly what's changing, who's using AI to edit, and why human editors and coaches are more in demand in the AI era—not less.

In this episode, you'll hear:

👉 Which AI isn't going to steal your clients (and who exactly is using it for editing)

👉 Why AI is genuinely bad at the technical parts of academic editing (yes, including citations)

👉 The AI backlash that's growing steadily—and what it means for your business

👉 What a good editor or coach actually sells (hint: it's not grammar checks)

👉 Real 2026 results from BAE members: 7 clients in 12 weeks, matched stipend income, first $10K month

👉 How to position yourself so the right clients say, "That one. I want her."

Whether you're considering academic editing as an exit from academia, already freelancing and wondering how to level up, or building a coaching business alongside your editing work—this episode will give you clarity and direction.

Resources Mentioned:

🎯 Erin Servais's AI for Editors program: aiforeditors.com

🎯 Episode 58 of Leaving Academia (interview with Erin Servais)

🎯 Free roadmap for academics who want to build a business: acadiaediting.com/map

🎯 The free Homepage Blueprint for landing private clients: acadiaediting.com/blueprint

🎯 The Academic Entrepreneurs Studio: acadiaediting.com/studio

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