Lori Garside – Editor

It all started when my grandfather, best selling author E.B. Garside, sat me down near his desk at the newspaper he managed and had me pick out spelling errors - I was fourteen years old. By the time I was in college, I made money typing other students' papers and dissertations after first correcting the written copy - I charged $1.00 per page. I had my own by-line in my college newspaper, as well as in a small newspaper in the small Mississippi town we lived in at the time.

I have worked as a copy editor for a graphic design house, been a letter writer for more than one boss, and even wrote a training manual for a company I was employed with for over a decade.

When arthritis in my neck made it impossible to work as an accounting clerk any longer, I took some time off and re-evaluated. A friend made the decision for me and got me an interview for a Language Arts teaching position at a local middle school. For the next five years I taught 7th and 8th graders how to write and graded/edited countless essays, paragraphs, and research papers. Unfortunately, arthritis reared its ugly head and I had to give that up as well.

Eighteen months later, my computer died and I bought my very first Kindle - a 7" Kindle Fire - and my world changed. I discovered indie authors and joined my first street team. I wrote a scathing review of a book because it was so poorly edited. The author sent me a message and we discussed the details. At the end of the conversation she asked how much I would charge to help her. I was flummoxed. I'd been marking up books as a beta reader and never once considered ever digging in and really editing a book.

Sixty three books later, my business and reputation are growing. I'm proud of my work, but will continue to expand my knowledge of the industry.