As a writer, you should write! When you’re in your zone, you shouldn’t have to worry about a million details and rules, or about maintaining absolute consistency. Let me do that for you! I work directly with authors, writers, and publishers on articles, academic papers, and both nonfiction and fiction books.
Copyediting
My goal is not to blindly follow rules or impose authority, but instead to make it as clear and consistent as possible for the reader. I follow style guide rules (Chicago or AP), but sometimes following a rule causes unnecessary awkwardness. In those cases, I refer to my number one goal—to make it clear!
Indexing
I also write high-quality book indexes that include not just names and terms, but broader concepts. No software or app can write a book index automatically. Beyond marking names and terms, indexing requires thinking like a reader, identifying concepts, removing unhelpful items, organizing it perfectly, and reorganizing it again.
I have ten years of experience working with authors and publishers, eight years of experience working in media and advertising, and a degree in journalism. I have been involved with publishing for over a decade, and copyediting and indexing have been my focus since 2014. Words are my passion.
My story
After receiving a degree in journalism with a minor in English from the University of Missouri, I spent my career in media advertising sales. I also assisted an author with research and compilation of a four-book series on the overland trails, which was published by University of Oklahoma Press. Finding myself increasingly interested in publishing but without a background in it, I chatted with my contacts at the press, asked questions, read books about the industry, took online classes, and visited OU Press to learn all I could.
The more I learned, the more I dabbled—book design, self-publishing, research. But I found I had a special enthusiasm and talent for copyediting and indexing. After much studying, testing, practice, and intermittent freelancing in various publishing tasks, I began shifting into this business in 2014, went part-time in 2015, and became a full-time freelance copyeditor and indexer in 2016.
Since then, I’ve been blessed with consistent work and happy authors and publishers. And I’m always learning more and staying on top of the latest Chicago Manual of Style and AP Stylebook guidelines.
In 2020 I began offering occasional services in book design, e-book creation, and self-publishing with Amazon. That side of my business is called Three Trails Publishing Services. Stay tuned for more about it in the near future!