My role as editor is not to simply perfect your content; I view it an opportunity to teach clients who wish to improve their writing how to do so. What differentiates me from other editors is that I share with my clients insights into exactly why certain edits are suggested. I point out habitual grammatical weaknesses that persist throughout your work and offer clear instructions with examples to help you to identify and eliminate those from your writing going forward. As you review my edits, youâll find yourself learning and growing as a writer as have many of my clients after working with me.
For authors, another benefit of selecting me as your editorial partner is that I offer resources and referrals to various critical publishing partners to help you to achieve your goals more easily and cost-effectively. I offer special expertise in all aspects of dialogue, specifically tags, action beats, punctuation, and excessive narrative (over-telling vs. showing).
Since the age of three, Iâve been in love with the written word. I began editing professionally at age 16 for the US military; since then, 30+ years later, I’ve edited books, documents, and publications for organizations that include Big 5 publishers, such as Hatchette Book Group, Simon & Schuster, and HarperCollins; âBigLawâ firms such as Locke Lord and Sechrest Minick; and leading human rights advocates such as Color Of Change, Institute for Social Policy & Understanding, and Southern Poverty Law Center. Six years after I started my editing business, Writerâs Digest named me one of the âTop 37 Book Doctorsâ in the US. My author clients have won NAACP Image Awards, book deals, spots on bestseller lists, and countless other awards. Iâm a copyeditor, book coach, freelance editor coach, technical editor, author of the forthcoming So You Want to Be an Editor . . . But Can You Edit? (July 2022), and Associate Editor of Black Sci-Fi Short Stories (FlameTree, 2021).
Iâm also a multifarious entrepreneur with passions for IT, travel, and conference planning. A 9x founder, I am the creator and director of WordWiser Ink, Black Writers Collective, the Black Editors & Proofreaders Network, the Black Book Coaches directory (launching summer 2022), and Boss Events & Travel. Iâm the conference planning consultant for Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA); a mentor with Professional Editors Network, Women’s National Book Association, and The Young Writers Initiative; and a former member of the EFA Board of Directors.
Drama
Fantasy
Historical
Horror
Humor/satire
Mystery
Mythology
Romance
Science fiction
Series
Suspense/thriller
Cookbooks
Creative nonfiction
DIY/how-to
Reference
Self-help
Travel
Content review
Manuscript formatting
Research
Sensitivity reading
Style guide creation
Business proposals
eBook lead magnets
Instructional
Newsletter
Technical
Tiny books
Training materials
American Psychological Association (APA)
Associated Press Stylebook (AP)
Bluebook
Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS)
Gregg Reference Manual
Microsoft Writing Style Guide
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Adobe InCopy
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Apple Pages
Google Docs
Google Sheets
HTML
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Word
PerfectIt
QuarkXPress
WordPress