Bookworm Beginnings
Have your siblings ever teased you for something weird you did when you guys were growing up? Mine certainly do. To this day—I am almost fifty years old now—my brother and sister still love reminding me I carried a dictionary everywhere I went. This naturally led me to becoming a spelling-bee rock star, then a high school and college journalist later.
When I was fourteen, I spent a summer in Manhattan, Kansas, visiting my brother who was stationed there on the Army base. I was alone during the day, but to give me something to do, my sister-in-law hooked me up with a friend of hers who owned a used bookstore. This was my first official job, where I got paid in horror paperbacks for alphabetizing all the books on the shelf.
In high school when I learned how to interview subjects and write the resulting articles, it was the first time I realized that being a writer was a profession within my reach. Though I didn’t pursue that career path right away, it planted the seed for a career I would later become proud of.
From Strength to Success
Before I came back to writing, I pursued many careers that never really felt right to me—even into my early forties. But it wasn’t until I escaped an abusive relationship that I realized I hadn’t been true to myself all those years. That’s when I made a commitment to focus on writing. A chance meeting with the CEO of a publishing company pushed me toward editing. This was something I contemplated over the years, but I never understood I already had the skills I needed to become a successful freelance editor.
While I worked in the medical field, I worked part-time at home as a freelance book editor once I gained the skills and tools I needed to provide quality book edits. In less than a year, I’d gained enough clients to quit the day job that had become a toxic environment, and I worked on building my business full-time.
Grief Sheds New Light
After the pandemic in 2020, it became harder and harder for me to find new clients, so I made a lifestyle shift and focused primarily on being a caregiver for my elderly parents. I’m thankful I got to spend that time with my parents because I didn’t realize my remaining time with them would be so limited.
In January 2024, my mother died from complications of liver disease and cancer. And unfortunately, my father followed her six weeks later, coincidentally with the same health issues. My parents died merely months ahead of their fiftieth anniversary, and this was understandably an awful time for my family. But after taking a few months away from writing and editing to deal with the loss, I decided to rebrand my business to focus more on short-form content rather than full books. This provided me the flexibility I needed to focus on my writing, and it also helped me work my way toward tackling larger projects after taking a break from full-time freelancing.
Editorial Career Highlights
- Worked with a variety of nonfiction and fiction genres as developmental editor, line editor, copy editor, and proofreader
- Promoted from assistant editor to managing editor at a small publishing company
- Promoted to managing editor for an editing guild
- Mentored other editors to help them grow their businesses and develop their editing skills
- Worked with Amazon, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling authors
- Worked with both traditionally published and indie authors
- Published a novel, a book of poetry, and a self-help book
- Worked as a ghostwriter for blogs, fiction (fantasy, cozy mystery, paranormal romance), and nonfiction (business, real estate, finance, self-help, memoirs)
Contact me by email to find out how we can work together.