I've written since I was a kid—poetry, then stories, later essays. As a teenager, I had some poems published, and I served as an editor for several school literary magazines. When we had a great image in our art lit mag that was missing some writing, I wrote it. If we didn't have an image I got out my camera or drew something that fit the piece. I think that's part of the fun of writing and creativity as a whole, you will figure it out—even if you're stuck and worried you never will.
While I became a professional editor in 2022, and I've been described as an Empathetic Developmental Line Editor, which resonates deeply. Writing can be very personal, and while I try to be as open and honest as possible in my feedback, first and foremost I remember that the writer literally brought those words into existence. (This is part of why I started making custom handwriting fonts, because then the author can literally share their words in their own hand.)
As a developmental editor, I sometimes get manuscripts that are incomplete or need some rearranging. Those may require putting on my Curiosity Alchemist hat with the author to fill in the gaps, or creating a reverse outline to find the best spine and order for their words. As a line editor, the work already has good organization, but it may need some polish in the reading flow or just some word substitutions to broaden the audience. (While I can proofread, you'll see that's not listed here. There are many types of editors, and I'm strongest in developmental and line edits. That means I will offer rewrite and rewording suggestions.)
Most of my professional publishing experience has been editing manuscripts of 35,000+ words—Human Beings First & Doubtful to Decisive to name a couple—but I also enjoy editing shorter pieces. I'm drawn towards the intersection of nonfiction and how to books. However, I would love to delve deeper into fiction—I love cozy and speculative, especially fantasy leaning. My mind loves dreaming up characters, weaving worlds, and talking through the A/B/C story strands of it all. As an AuDHD queer nonbinary adoptee, I also give great authenticity and sensitivity feedback—including pointing out things unrelated to my identity due to being an HSP who is able to empathize deeply with other people's experiences.
I enjoy collaborating with all creatives, whether they need someone to help brainstorm, get that character off a ledge, or if it's even a book/project worth pursuing. (I'll tell you a secret, if you're thinking about it‚ yes it is. It just may not look like you thought it would at the beginning.) Some of my favorite collaborations were through Joseph Gordon-Levitt's creative community, HITRECORD. I was part of both Emmy wins for HITRECORD on TV & Create Together, contributed to The Art of Breaking Up published by Harper Design, remixed other hitRECorder's characters for Joe's scriptwriting class project, and I remixed Joe's Hot Popsicle idea. In his own words from when he featured my RECord: "This is fantastic! I had just two words: "Hot Popsicle", and I thought it'd be a cool name for an all-girl punk band. @beautyofthelake really ran with it.
She's curated a ton of images here, and written bios for each band member. So much fun to see!"
So what are you working on? What are you writing—or not writing as the case may be? Let's see if we can get those creative juices flowing and right your ship, so to speak.
P.S. Please reach out and say hi, because I don't work with strangers. Tell me about yourself and/or your project or idea before we work together. Thank you!
