I’ve been a freelance editor since 1991, when I answered a “Get Paid for Reading Books” ad in the back of a magazine and ended up working for Harcourt Brace (and Jovanovich back then) editing elementary English and math textbooks. From there I worked my way up to college-level textbooks, then branched off into trade nonfiction and academic reference, and along the way discovered a knack for working with difficult material—and an appreciation for intelligent authors.
I hav
e the odd distinction of becoming an editor through successfully avoiding freshman English. It finally caught up with me when I applied to graduate with a BA in Classical Civilizations and discovered I still needed to meet an English requirement. The Extension Department happened to be offering a class in copyediting that quarter. I had never heard of it, but it filled the requirement. The class turned out to be completely fascinating, and I’ve made editing my career ever since. Good thing, because there wasn’t a lot of demand for classical archaeology in Minnesota at the time.
Check back later and I’ll explain why a degree in classical civilizations provides such a good background for editing.
Affiliations and Credentials
- Bachelor of Arts in Classical Civilizations, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
- Member, Editorial Freelancers Organization
- Member, World History Association
Here’s my LinkedIn Profile