The New Face in Freelance Editing

Since childhood, I wanted to be a writer. I hoped to be the next Stephen King, master of horror. I pictured myself best-selling, known worldwide, devoted to my craft.

But life happens.

I was swept off my feet by a man in uniform who has been an incredible husband and father to our four beautiful children. For the last ten years, we've followed him across the world, four states and two countries.

The year 2020 has been drowned in infamy. However, for me, it marked me finally building the courage to make my publishing dream a reality. I now have two horror novels and one novella to my credit, with a fourteen-book series in the planning stages.

But something else began that I did not anticipate.

While learning my way through the publishing industry, I met and spoke to many incredible people who gave me advice, encouragement, and an incredible wealth of knowledge. Many of them were editors.

My eyes were opened to the immense amount of assistance and resourcefulness an editor provides to the publishing industry. The magic that a trusted author/editor partnership can create for a reader is unparalleled.

As someone who started out as an author first, I will admit that a good editor worth their salt will never be the cheapest portion of your editing journey, but they will be the most valuable. Because of this, I initially took editing classes to learn to self-edit my work more effectively.

But during the classes, I noticed I had an aptitude for finding the inconsistencies, missed development opportunities, and ways to improve others' works. Most importantly though, I found that I really enjoyed it.

Over the course of a few months, I've built my reputation as a detailed, efficient, and fair professional. After receiving my editing certification from Writer's Digest in November, I founded Horrorsmith Editing Services, named after the genre that inspired it all.

I am incredibly thankful to the authors who took a chance on a newer face in the industry, who gave me the chance to prove my worth and my ability to enhance their manuscripts.

My goal going forward? To always provide 'next level, every level' editing, no matter the author's budget.