And That's a Wrap!
Saying thank you and goodbye to 2021
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Image credit: Daria Shevtsova from Pexels
Total book projects: 37
13 from new clients (hooray for new clients!)
24 from returning clients (hooray for returning clients!)
Books copyedited: 26
Beta reads: 11
Each December, I like to look back through my calendar to remind myself of the books I worked on throughout the year. In addition to editing, I do a fair amount of beta reading. I’ve read some amazing manuscripts over the years from authors who deserve to have the fame that lesser authors (celebrities whose work is often ghostwritten) seem to enjoy.
I also like to promote those I’ve worked with once they’ve published—if I can introduce even one new reader to a terrific author, then you never know how many more people that new reader will tell. If you’re a writer, your people are out there. You just need to find them, and I’m happy to help you do it. (Yes, this is a long post, but well worth reading, if even only portions at a time.)
January
I started January with a thrill. Literally. Author Matt Becker is currently querying his thriller, Run, which I had the pleasure of copyediting. I really hope someone recognizes this genius of a plot and picks him up for publishing, because if you like thrillers, you will absolutely love this one. His website is MattBeckerBooks.com and from there, you can find him on Twitter (where he’s currently not as active because he’s a new dad!) or Instagram.
I beta-ed (betaed? beta’d? whatever) the first of several books for author Jewel Allen. Jewel is a prolific writer of sweet romance, and I always enjoy the manuscripts she sends my way. I’ve worked on a handful of books from her Riverdale Ranch series and the Lake Powell Firefighter series throughout 2021, and each time, it feels like meeting up with old friends again. You can find her author page on Amazon and check out her series for yourself.
Also in January, I connected with someone new for a beta read. Melissa Janisin asked me to beta her memoir, and I found out she’s even from my hometown(ish) area, Pittsburgh, PA. Her manuscript was poignant, snarky, hopeful, sad, and everything in between. Her writing style and manner of looking at life’s ups and downs is similar to my sense of humor. She writes for all kinds of places and keeps a blog called Goodness Madness.
February
In February, I made a new friend who spent most of her adult life in France as a missionary. Jan Kent published a Christian devotional that I edited, Picture the Scripture, earlier this year, complete with photos from her own life and journeys from over thirty years overseas.
I renewed a connection with a previous client, Shaun Horton, copyediting his short story, “Burrows,” which was creepy fun to read. Shaun writes horror, and he comes up with unique plots and descriptions that make me look over my shoulder.
March
I was contacted by Dancing Lemur Press in March and ended up on their editing team, which I was super happy about, having read a solid number of the books they’ve published. The first book I got to work on for them was written by none other than Alex J. Cavanaugh, author of the Cassa space science fiction series. CassaDark, the fourth book in the series, will be available in April of this coming year, and if you haven’t read the previous books, you’ll want to get started now, because they’re completely enjoyable, well-written sci-fi.
Kim M. Watt poked her head my way a few times this year, first with the next Gobbelino London book, A Melee of Mages, then the sixth Beaufort Scales Mystery book, Coming Up Roses, and finally, a quirky collection of short stories (volume one!), aptly titled Oddly Enough: Tales of the Unordinary. I love working with Kim and am forever encouraging people to read her books. She has a number of them available on her website to read for free, and I’m pretty sure it’s because she knows that once you read them, you’ll want more.
April
I always enjoy middle grade fiction, and I had the fun opportunity to work on two middle grade manuscripts this year, both by Charles Shadle, who writes his granddaughters into magical adventures. Charles’ wife, Suzannah, is a traveling nurse, and they wanted to provide a way for their granddaughters to “see” and learn about the places they visit. The first of the Jace and Maddie Adventure series, Christmas at the Biltmore, is available now, and Treasure on the Bayou will make its appearance in the upcoming year.
An interesting beta read I did in April was for author Jodi Lew-Smith, who created a wonderful retelling of Jane Eyre, only in reverse—I hope to see Asa James on bookshelves soon, because Jodi’s storytelling was extraordinary.
May
The Living Sword series came back into my life, with author Pemry Janes wrapping up the third book, The Burden of Legacy, and sending it my way. The way Janes weaves his fantasy world is amazing and unique, and I’m already looking forward to what he has in the works next.
June
My love of organized crime stories got a healthy fix from author Craig Durrant in early summer. I’ve beta read for him before (he wrote an incredible law firm thriller that makes John Grisham’s books sound like a preschooler wrote them), and this time, I got to go deep into shady dealings with Kings of Jersey. I hate that the querying process takes so long, because I want these books on my shelves and to send readers his way.
Author Ciofki put together a second volume of his Goth-Ick Tales, this one titled Woe Side Diner, a collection of a disquieting microfiction horror stories, each clocking in at exactly 100 words. I also talked about writing microfiction with Ciofki on my blog earlier this year, and you can read that here.
July
Children’s picture book author Ray Price contacted me during midsummer to edit his latest, My Sister Is a Monster, which will be out for publication sometime next year. His second book, My Brother Is a Werewolf, is out this month and continues Price’s commitment to writing books that encourage children through inclusivity.
Another new author came into my life, thanks to a referral from another editor. Call from the Crossroads is the first book in a series by S.K. Ehra, and it is GOOD. Really good. The right kind of creepy, the right kind of suspense, the right kind of murder mystery to be solved. All with a supernatural element that makes perfect sense in the real world.
August
The end of summer brought a workbook my way from author Heidi Love, and I’m trusting that it will impact many who are on a healing journey from trauma. Heidi teamed up with watercolorist Linden O’Ryan to create Knowing Acts, first raising money for it to provide the book for free to women who have suffered abuse and trauma (and the PTSD that accompanies it), and now making it available on Amazon for anyone who can benefit from it. Heidi has written of her own experiences and the victory of healing, and is currently querying her memoir, Laughing at the Sky.
Dancing Lemur Press came my way again with a Beauty and the Beast retelling from author Deniz Bevan. Druid’s Moon will be available next September, and if you’re a sucker for retold fairy tales, you’ll enjoy this one.
September
I worked with four new authors (new to me, but all published before) in September—all of them referred to me by other professionals, which was extremely cool.
First, I was contacted by Arya Matthews, which is the pen name for a husband and wife writing team (how sweet, right?) who wanted me to edit the second book of their sweet romance series (Reluctant Heartbreakers & Sweet Troublemakers). Their terrific stories are all about musicians, which caught my attention right away, and after working on unBREAKable, we decided we liked each other just fine and they sent unSUSTAINable just a couple months later. Of course I went back and read the first book, unREASONable, because I HAD to find out how it all started. And this month, I’m working on book four in the series for a January release.
The next new author in September was a wonderful surprise, brought about by a long-ago conversation—back in 2013–14, in fact, when author Ann Warner and I struck up a conversation on someone’s blog comments. It ended with her saying, “I already have an editor, but if I ever need your services, I’ll be sure to keep you in mind.” And she did! I had the pleasure of copyediting The Babbling Brook Naked Poker Club, Book Six in her cozy mystery series. The first book in the series is free on Ann’s website, so I read it to familiarize myself with the series. When I told her how much I’d enjoyed it, she gifted me with the other four books so I could catch up and not have any spoilers by the time she sent the MS to me. If her primary editor ever has a scheduling conflict again, I would love to work with Ann again.
The third new author came to me through another editor’s recommendation, and I’m so glad. Hank Paper is a writer of short stories and articles, and he’s also written a handful of books that include his photography, because yes, he’s also a professional photographer who’s traveled all over the world to get the beautiful shots you can find on his website. His short story collection will hopefully be available sometime next year.
Author number four was recommended to me in a “six degrees of x” fashion: a developmental editor friend sent a writer my way, and then another writer from the same writing group, Jennifer Shaw Wolf, contacted me. She already had two YA books traditionally published (I’ve read Dead Girls Don’t Lie and loved it), and she wanted to self-publish the next one—the slow process of traditional publishing doesn’t always work for fast writers. Meant to Die came across my desk and knocked my socks off with how intricate the plot was. I had to keep reminding myself to slow down and actually edit.
October
October wrapped up a book edit that started as the author’s “diversion” during NaNoWriMo in 2017, turned into a beta read for me in early 2019, and resulted in not only a full-blown incredible fantasy book by Carolina Cruz but also a daughter-in-law for me in 2020! The Unwanted Prophet was published in November of this year and, as the proud mother-in-law, I have no shame in bragging about the cover art also produced by the author (you can find her as @ninawolverina on most social media, if you’d like to see more of her art).
November
In between editing and beta in November for previously mentioned authors, I had the adventurous idea to take on National Novel Writing Month, not to write a novel but to write 50K words’ worth of blog posts and stories for Medium. And I succeeded! It felt like an ambitious undertaking, but I really wanted to challenge myself to establish a more regular habit of writing, and I knew if I could manage the 1,667 words per day, I could potentially have thirty posts at the end of it all. I hit the monthly word count (50,471, actually) and came out with more than thirty posts in various stages of readiness. It was exhausting and exhilarating, and I plan to use the experience as self-encouragement to set aside regular writing time.
December
So here we are, in December now. I try to keep my schedule extremely light each December because of the busyness of my other job, but of course I’ve snuck in a job—just a small one, really—for a favorite author, because . . . well, because I can do what I want.
In the middle of all the editing and beta reading, I managed over the year to attend a few webinars and take a couple of classes—one of them for editing memoir and the other for editing children’s picture books. Each was extremely enjoyable and gave me even more tools to do my job well.
I say this every year, but I mean it with all my heart: I love what I do, and I thoroughly enjoy the people who hire me to do it. I know this has been a long, long post, but if you’ve made it this far, please consider clicking on some of those links and trying out a new author or two. Whether you like fantasy, adventure, romance, or mystery, there’s something here for everyone, and it’s never a bad idea to support the writing community by purchasing a book or two.
Happy holidays, and may your new year be the best one yet!
