My Background
Editing experience starts with extensive reading, and I have been a voracious and omnivorous reader all my life. I was one of those kids who read the cereal boxes at the breakfast table, or the shampoo bottle in the shower, because I couldn't not be reading.
Though I'd read whatever I could get my hands on, my first loves (after outgrowing The Baby-Sitters Club and Goosebumps) were classics and literary fiction. From my teen years to my 30s, that was almost all I read. Then, in my 30s, I started reading genre fiction, and now I can't get enough fantasy, scifi, horror, and romance -- still mixed in with my beloved lit fic, of course.
My editing experience comes from practical application. I have taught high school English and Special Education for nearly two decades. This has given me extensive experience understanding and communicating the elements of craft to novices. Most importantly, it has honed my ability to deliver kind, actionable feedback focused on what a piece of writing -- and its writer -- need most.
When I turned forty, I started writing my own book, and since then I’ve been involved in writing and critique groups where I've been been providing increasingly in-depth feedback for peers.
Nothing lights me up more than helping someone elevate their writing, and this realization has led me to pursue professional editing.
I get to take my favorite parts of teaching – identifying goals, creating plans, and providing tools and suggestions to help them meet those goals – and apply them to my editing practice.
My Qualifications
- BA of English, University of Washington
- MA in Teaching, University of Washington (Endorsements in English and Special Education)
- Seventeen years teaching High School English and Special Education
Editorial Freelancers Association Member (click for profile)
Continuing education through EFA and self-study
My Focus
I am open to inquiries for all topics, but the list below gives some ideas of my preferred genres and topics.
Editing Specializations:
Developmental Editing
Line Editing
Genres & Subjects
Adult Fiction
Preferred genres:
Speculative (sci-fi and fantasy)
Literary
Horror
Romance of any genre
I have an especial affection for “weird” and cross-genre fiction. My very favorite books are genre fiction that is “elevated” in some way; you know, those books that make you go, “Wow, that was way better than it had any right to be.”
Adult Non-Fiction
Adult Nonfiction (short)
Open to most topics, but especially comfortable with: Disability; Education; United States politics; California and Western US history and politics; Social justice history and philosophy; financial crime.
Not open to most violent true crime or highly technical subjects.