Sean Hodge Takes Over as Editor of FreelanceSwitch

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For those of you in the know, you’ve probably noticed that Amanda Hackwith has moved to the Rockable Press side of our business following the release of her successful book Freelance Confidential: The Whole Truth on Freelancing. She’s still a full-time Editor at Envato, but is now putting her skills to use creating books and other Premium educational content.

I’ve taken over Editing FreelanceSwitch, which is really exciting. I’ve been in the drivers seat for a couple months now, so things are running smoothly. No big speed bumps in the transition. I’d love to hear any suggestion you all have, and I’ll drop some information about myself here so you can get to know me.

Big FreelanceSwitch Fan

Yah, I’ve been a fan of FreelanceSwitch since the beginning, back when Collis, Leo, and Skellie were posting regularly on the site – and well before I came to work for Envato. I’m still in awe of N.C. Winters amazing Freelance Freedom comics, am super excited to work with our regular writers, and have been hard at work bringing in new voices to post on the site. I look forward to adding more material and have some new ideas that you’ll see added to the site slowly.

Freelancing Experience

My background is in graphic design and web design. I did some Drupal theming, logo design, blog writing, and various graphic work back in 2007, and earlier before coming to work for Envato. I don’t do much freelancing now, but in the past I’ve gone through the trenches of building a client base, learning to balance finances, and build a reputation, all while working from oversees. So I’ve walked in freelancer’s shoes.

Blog Editing Experience

I’ve been editing blogs for Envato since early 2008 when I took over Editing Psdtuts+, which I managed to help grow into a powerful force in the design community. I also launched Vectortuts+ with Envato and am still the Editor there, along with my new role here as Editor of FreelanceSwitch. This splits my full-time workweek with Envato in half fairly evenly. So I’m a full-time permalancer and very happy in this role. Envato is a special company, which cares about it’s employes, and works to empower it’s users to reach their goals. I feel fortunate to be a part of this team.

I’ve worked on other exciting projects at Envato, such as the short lived Creative Sessions, which we rolled into the functionality of our Tuts+ blogs. That was a very cool project, much like running an online magazine – commissioning a cover each month was very exciting. I also managed the launch of the Tuts+ Marketplace, assisting Skellie with getting that off the ground. It’s a project that didn’t take off like a rocket, but is still growing steadily in the hands of Jeffrey Way and other marketplace managers.

Aside from editing various blogs and sites for Envato, I’ve also written quite a bit for various design blogs on the web, and have a passion for teaching through this medium.

My Office and Interests

I’m big into reading blogs on writing, design, illustration, and online business – books as well on my iPad. I try to draw as much as possible, more of a hobby now than a career focus. I just want to keep active with it for now.

I live in Mount Dora, Florida. We recently bought a house here. I’ve been married for ten years, have two young children, the youngest is only a few months old. I recently rented a small office space in the downtown area of the city I live in. Our home was just getting too crazy to work from, so now I have a quiet place to get things done in, with a short commute (only about a 10 minute drive). I love my man-cave of an office.

In the great coffee debate, I usually prefer less work, rather than a perfect cup. At my office I use a Keurig. There is no stove there so it’s perfect for that space. I do appreciate a good cup of Joe though and at home use a Stovetop Espresso Maker.

In the geeked-out Mac vs. PC debate, I’m Mac all the way. I’ve been using Mac’s since the iMac looked like a huge colorful brain (back then mine was snow white actually). I now use a 17″ MacBook Pro with an external monitor.

Interviews

Here are some interviews I’ve done.

• Meet the Staff: Sean Hodge
• Meet Sean Hodge, Editor of Psdtuts+ and Vectortuts+
• Interview with Psdtuts+ and Vectortuts+ Editor Sean Hodge

Twitter

Here are the Twitter feeds I manage, my personal one, as well as the FreelanceSwitch and Envato Vectors accounts.

• Personal Twitter: @seanHodge
• FreelanceSwtich Twitter: @FreelanceSw
• Envato Vector+ Twitter: @envatovectors, my posts there have ^SH attached

Over to You

I’d love to hear any suggestions you all have. Is there anything you would love to see implemented on FreelanceSwtich? Feel free to drop any questions you have about me or the site below.