I was 18 or 19 years old when I knew I wanted to be an editor. At the time, I was correcting my partner’s college paper as a favor and thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool to do this as a job?”
Guess what? It is really cool.
If you think back to movies you’ve seen, editors are portrayed a certain way. Workaholics, sassy, bossy, cut-throat and no nonsense. In the movies, they dress well, make good money, and work in high-end offices in the biggest cities. They’re the boss. Just look at The Devil Wears Prada.
What’s not to like?
Plus, I was really good at it. I found sections that needed rearranging, lots of typos, and small tweaks that made big improvements. It all felt natural and easy – like something I was born to do. I enjoyed telling this person what they had done wrong (tee-hee), and they benefited by getting a better grade.
When I was 21, I enrolled in college as an English major to become a book editor. My path was set. Sure, I studied classic literature and writing, but I immersed myself into linguistics. I wanted to know all the grammar rules, why English is the way it is, and how it evolves. At one time, I considered getting a Master’s in linguistics. I love the language that much.
What I didn’t realize was how competitive editing jobs are and how competitive the book publishing industry still is. After college, I landed a job at a magazine publishing company, which would eventually lead to books. Right?
Once I had experience, a publishing company would snatch me up, and I would become the stylish editor who lived in my head. People would love to hear about my job, and I’d go to parties and network with best-selling authors.
What Actually Happened: Enter RGP
That was 20 years ago. Here we are in 2024, and I never got a job as a book editor. I have edited several books as a contract editor, but no book publisher would even call me back to schedule an interview. However, I continued to hone my skills and become a queen in all types of content. Ads, postcards, cookbooks, novels, comic books, professional letters, resumes, social media posts, blogs… there’s nothing I haven’t edited and proofread.
Then one day, Jennifer Grace called and asked, “Can you edit books?”
There was only one answer. Yes.
The rest will be a glorious journey that starts now with Raven and Grace Press, a hybrid book publishing company. I don’t have a fancy office or tons of people on my team. Yet. What I do have is the sassy, no-nonsense, hard-working attitude and a love for the written word. I believe in the art of storytelling and how writers can fight battles with a pen – or nowadays a keyboard.
Writers can change the world, and every person has a story to tell. They just need guidance, a good editor to catch the little things, and a partner to make it all come together.
That’s why I’m here. To show everyone, especially writers, that dreams really do come true. You just have to say “yes”.