The Write Stuff

“I dream of an art so transparent you can look through it & see the world,” written by the poet Stanley Kunitz, has long been my mantra when in terms of writing—mine & yours. When it comes to your writing, my goal—whether I’m doing substantive editing, copyediting, or proofreading—is for it to ring as clear as clear, as true as true, for it to be as highly polished as a mirror that can then reflect your ideas dust-free to the reader.

“I never made a mistake in grammar but one in my life & as soon as I done it
I seen it.”—Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)

My editing career began by default more than design. I waitressed & bartended my way through Columbia University—while supporting my rock-star-wannabe boyfriend! When I graduated, I didn’t have the holy grail of a fat manuscript defining my destiny, guiding my path forward. What to do?

I decided to be practical & take a job in publishing until inspiration had her way with me. I started at Natural History Magazine & in a few years’ time ended up at The New York Times, where I was a staff editor at the Sunday magazine for a dozen-plus years, then for the Op-Ed & Editorial pages.

I left The Times & NYC for a more outdoorsy life in Boulder & the freedom to pursue my own creative & spiritual goals. I’ve since edited paleo-lifestyle books & books anchored in Buddhist & Hindu philosophy, I was an editor & writer for Yoga International for several years, & have been involved in many book-length projects for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Caesar is not above the grammarians.”
—Tiberius, Roman Emperor 42 BC – AD 37)

I’ve been blessed to work with both veteran & virgin writers. I’ve equally enjoyed having half-hour conversations with, say, Michael Chabon over a comma in his short story & helping a newbie find her writing groove or understand the difference between “which” & “that.”

I studied the craft of writing in a private workshop with the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Phillip Schultz for seven years & am a voracious reader (ask me what I’m reading now!)—I LOVE words & the infinite ways we can use them to express emotions & ideas, to create a mood, to hold the reader’s attention.

“If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.”– Elmore Leonard (1925-2013)

Regardless of whether your project is a novel or website copy, whether you’ve been writing for decades or are a first-timer, as an editor it is my great pleasure to help you find the right words & to organize them so they light up the page (or screen) & draw readers in like a moth to a flame. ✍🏻

Image by expresswriters from Pixabay