Adventures in editing

Ever find yourself restless, ready for new challenges? Me, too. That’s why I have ventured out into a new area in the publishing space.

Copyediting and proofreading

​I am now a copy-editor and proofreader. This is not my day job. I am not ready to give up my role as media specialist to nearly 600 elementary students, nor my role as an occasional presenter at the now-infrequent library conference. I could tell you that I proofread because I catch mistakes in books I read and want to help writers before mistakes get published, or that I actually like grading and catching mistakes. That is all true. And I’m good at it. But what I see is a natural progression in the publishing process. Follow along.

How I got here

I grew up an avid reader and lover of books. That led to my first career as a middle school reading teacher. After staying home for a few years to raise my own little bookworms, I returned to the schools as a media specialist, more eager to connect the right book to the right reader than to teach units about the books, which is what we did back then.

After a few years of buying all the books, reading all the books, and then promoting all the books to my students, I started reviewing them on Goodreads, Instagram, and Facebook so I could share the good ones with a larger audience. This was followed by a contract to review for School Library Journal. All along the way, I was connecting with authors, some with big name publishers and some self-published. By the way, I could hang out with authors 24/7. They are truly some of my favorite people.

And then I looked for something new. A friend suggested that I try editing. This is a friend I have known since I was 14, so when he suggested something, I listened. I tried it, and he was right. I love copyediting and proofreading. I am one of the first to read a new piece of writing. I find it easy to preserve the author’s voice while tweaking things to make sure it makes sense and is grammatically correct. I’s dotted and t’s crossed, and all that. I am helping someone launch their ideas into the world. 

So here we are. I read a lot of books. I connect students to those books. Then I review books that aren’t yet published and share them with people who would like to read them. And now I help authors polish their works before they are published. Maybe one day I’ll back all the way up to the beginning of the process and write a book of my own.

Want to learn more?

Are you an author, blogger, Teachers Pay Teachers creator, or someone who needs editing services for your project in another arena? I’d love to help you with your writing. Connect with me here or on social media and let’s work together.