First of all, I’m educated in editing. I graduated from BYU with a degree in English, and I have taken classes in editing, grammar, English usage, and fiction writing. I am familiar with multiple style guides (Chicago, APA, Blue Book, and MLA), and I have them on my bookshelf to refer to as I edit. I know the issues and why controversy exists, and I have informed opinions. I don’t edit based on gut feelings or hearsay; I know my stuff, and if I don’t know, I look it up. I continue to learn and stay informed in the editing world.
Second, I am experienced in a wide variety of fields. I was first employed copy editing distance learning high school and university courses on diverse subjects (from Latin to math to American history), and after that, I became one of the most valued members of a team heavily revising user manuals for hospital administrative software on an impossibly tight deadline. After my oldest was born, I transitioned to freelance editing and have continued to freelance for the past 15 years. My clients have included published, unpublished, and indie fiction writers, software companies, craft magazines, and more. I have also helped many doctoral candidates prepare their dissertations for defense and fine-tune things after defense.
Third, I am dedicated to ensuring your satisfaction. If you have concerns or differing ideas, I am happy to discuss and find solutions that work for you. You always are the boss, and I respect that in my editing.
Finally, as a writer myself, I know how hard it can be to get a marked-up manuscript back from an editor. I try to be honest and thorough but gentle and always kind.
A couple testimonials:
“Thank you for your valuable and generous comments. I cherish all of them. I will print out your two documents and study them. Your comments are exactly what I was hoping for. I will surely incorporate the vast majority of them, if not all.”
“I felt your turnaround time was perfect. I thought you had great accuracy. Besides price, one reason I chose you is you found a correction in the sample no one else had.”