Overview
Let me help you put your vision into words to remember!
The intrepid Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style" taught me to edit for direct, engaging prose that communicates clearly to the average reader.
In my most memorable editing projects, I have brought together disparate elements into a cohesive whole. I focus on the big picture and have proven my ability to stitch together the writing of multiple authors in "Designing Effective Women's Ministries" by Jill Briscoe, Laurie A. McIntyre, and Beth Seversen. In recent Reedsy developmental editing projects, I have guided authors toward the best framework for their work (i.e., chronological vs thematic) and offered catchy chapter titles.
I have edited bestselling authors John Ortberg ("Soul Keeping") and Karen Ehman ("Keep It Shut"). I have also found a special love for fact-checking when proofreading heavily documented works such as "The Question That Never Goes Away" by Philip Yancey. First rushed to print as an e-book, I was able to eliminate discrepancies not caught in the first edition. Of the fifty books I have worked on as an editor and proofreader, four made the Christian Bookseller's Association Bestsellers list twenty-two times (Ortberg, Ehman, Melanie Shankle, John Manion). "Keep It Shut" made it onto the NYT Bestsellers in Relationships.
Book which have acknowleded my contributions include:
"Recovering from Churches that Abuse" by Ronald M. Enroth
"Designing Effective Women's Ministries" by Jill Briscoe and Laurie A. McIntyre
"The Christian Writer's Manual of Style," by Robert Hudson (Zondervan)
"The B.U.I.L.D. Project" by Bernard Ruffin
"The Weight of Worry" by Morgan Williams
"Taking the Long View" by Rebecca Shoop
I have an intrinsic desire to bring order to the world I encounter, be it picking up some bit of litter on a hike or cleaning up a manuscript to make it shine. Let me help you polish your writing into clear prose to enlighten and inform your reader.
Services
Non-Fiction
Languages
Work experience
Self-employed
In my editing and proofreading, I comb manuscripts for errors and I can rewrite as needed for clarity and to focus the author's intent. Depending on the publishing stage, I ensure formatting and usage are consistent with house style of the final publisher. For manuscripts early in the process, I can give advice about organization, chapter names, and weeding out extraneous material as your developmental editor. I often advise my independent clients on potential next steps and ideas on marketing.
Self-employed
Quick turnaround proofreading projects. Trained in coding the manuscripts for headings, bold and italics using Microsoft Word custom macros. Proofread and tested functionality of electronic files for release as CD-ROM software.
Self-employed
Quick turnaround projects for Zondervan Publishing House. This period included copy editing for Designing Effective Women's Ministries, which required integrating the writing of three different authors and a reprint for Charles Swindoll.
Zondervan Publishing House
My internship with Zondervan Publishing House helped me to learn the publishing industry. I was tasked with reviewing unsolicited manuscripts, entering corrections from paper manuscripts to electronic copy, writing back cover copy, and reviewing blues, the final copies from design before sending a manuscript to print. I then transitioned to a temporary postion to help with the workload during the medical leave for a member of the editorial staff. During this time I helped with content editing on a book with various testimonies to make it a cohesive whole.
Portfolio
Shauna has 29 reviews
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Shari P.
Nov, 2024
Mike A.
Feb, 2024
Todd S.
Nov, 2023
Jose S.
Aug, 2023
Ellen R.
Feb, 2023
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