About Your Editor
I know the rules. And I know which rules are not, in fact, rules.
I grew up dutifully observing the motley and prodigious list of language rules that Miss Thistlebottom* dictated separated the correct from the incorrect. Before you break the rules, I reasoned as my ear for style developed, you’ve got to know what they are. Later, I learned that most respected grammarians were happy to do without a good many of these restrictions. I revised my maxim: before you break the rules, know which rules are not, in fact, rules. This knowledge of the indisputables and the debatables, alongside my readerly attunement to style, has allowed me to respond to the full gamut of editorial challenges with informed judgment and clear feedback. In my work at a scholarly journal and as a freelancer, I have edited a wide range of projects, from articles by seasoned journalists to dissertation chapters by scholars for whom English is a second language.

I am responsive to your editorial preferences.
I am comfortable across the spectrum of editorial involvement, from revising for clarity and concision to correcting only indisputable errors. My own approach to editing balances respect for the author’s writing style with a sense of what will stand in the way of reader comprehension. I usually edit in accordance with The Chicago Manual of Style, but I am happy to work with other style guides or develop a customized style sheet based on my client’s preferences.

I love what I do.
There is a stereotype of copy editors as curmudgeons who ruthlessly (even gloatingly) rip apart an author’s perfectly intelligible prose. Although I find a certain satisfaction in polishing a text into its final, error-free form, I did not choose to be an editor because I delight in correcting others’ mistakes. I am an editor because of my lifelong interest in language and the challenges of communication. For me, facilitating the connection between writers and readers is engaging, joyful work.

* You can read all about Miss Thistlebottom and her mélange of apocryphal rules in Theodore Bernstein’s Miss Thistlebottom’s Hobgoblins: The Careful Writer’s Guide to the Taboos, Bugbears and Outmoded Rules of English Usage.