Rowena R
Arizona, United States
“Simply putting on the polish.”
Specialist subjects:
Editing formats:
Education:
Favorite referencing style
APA—it’s much easier to comprehend than CMOS, but CMOS has its good points, too.
Why I became an editor
Proofreading has built my love for reading, fixing errors and helping others improve their writing.
Background and experience
As an office manager, it was my job to ensure contracts were written correctly and that all details were accurate. If I missed something, it could potentially cost quite a lot of money. Creating travel itineraries for large groups required extreme attention to detail. One mistake, and an entire vacation could be ruined. Dealing with the EPA was a whole different extreme. One error, and jobs would be shut down. I have been preparing my entire life for an opportunity like this.
Why I love proofreading and editing
There is nothing I enjoy more than stepping inside a wonderful story and losing myself. Cruising along with the characters, living the excitement, then...CRASH...a misspelled word brings me back to reality. I feel horrible for the author, who has put their blood, sweat and tears into their work, just to have an error rear its ugly head. I want to help authors of every genre present beautiful, concise and clear voices.
Favorite book:
“Dark Rivers of the Heart” by Dean Koontz, “Let's Pretend This Never Happened” by Jenny Lawon and “A Supremely Bad Idea: Three Mad Birders and Their Quest to See It All” by Luke Dempsey.
Hobbies:
Playing with my dogs, taking photographs and hopefully, someday, traveling the world! Until then, I read books, watch movies and play mind games with said dogs.
Editing tips:
If possible, I prefer to read through a project to get a sense of what it’s about and the author's voice. Next, I break out paragraphs. Sometimes, I like to read bottom to top, one sentence at a time.
