There’s nothing I love better than reading a well-told story. It brings me joy to be an editor, working with writers of every skill level, helping them hone in and deliver their message clearly, effectively, and with personal flair.

Like anyone with a passion for writing, I drafted short stories, essays, poetry, and an amateur novella or two throughout childhood. I first attempted a novel at age 12, typed up on a PowerMac. I didn’t know I would become an editor; I thought I would be a million other things, but I loved the idea of writing and reading as a full-time job.

I think I got about 130 pages deep into that first manuscript before the computer crashed. I attempted again over the years to write more novels. (Hell, I’m still trying now!)

I filled entire bookcases with poetry in my teen years, got one or two published in random places (and I’m starting to publish poems now as an adult!). I collected books and read voraciously while earning a BS in psychology and tackled masterpieces like Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Hunchback of Notre Dame as light, “fun” reading material while working full-time jobs in my 20s. No big whoop.

As a young business professional, I found myself as the default “go-to editor” and “team proofreader,” always responsible for checking a document before it was “sent out” wherever it was going. Office mates, managers, even people in other departments would ask me to write copy for them or double-check and act as editor for their work. In my spare time, I would write argumentative essays to my friends about why I liked certain songs more than others. People told me I should “be a blogger,” but I didn’t know how. I didn’t even really know what that meant.

I decided the best thing to do, of course, was to return to school for a second bachelor’s degree and an MA in English. Specializing, of course, in literature, publishing, and editing.