A couple of weeks have passed since I’ve had the opportunity to blog, so I thought I’d get started again by telling you a little about my background in the world of writing, editing, and design. (If you want, you can read the official version on the About Us page.)
Sixteen years ago when I started college, I was an English Education major. I really didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do with my life, but I knew English was one of those classes that I did well in and didn’t really have to think about (unlike classes related to math and science!). After about a month of a somewhat boring education class, I decided teaching wasn’t for me and dropped the education major. By the end of the first semester, I was a Publishing major with an English minor.
Most of my college courses focused on the crafts of editing, writing, and production. With the combination of my major and minor, I felt like I was immersed in the world of words. One of the highlights of my college years was a 2-semester internship in the university’s textbook publishing house. During the 2nd semester I worked with the English authors on updating the current high school English curriculum. (A few years later I had the opportunity to teach from that curriculum including one of the books I did extensive work on.)
My first job out of college was in public relations, and about six months into the job, my boss asked I was interested in adding graphic design work to my list of duties. I knew a little bit about art and design since a couple of my college courses touched on the topic. After agreeing to the work, I set about teaching myself all I could about good design.
The coworker I was replacing recommended a book that became a lifesaver – The Non-Designers Design Book by Robin Williams. (I shared about this book in a previous post.) I studied the examples in the book and put every piece I designed through the test of the author’s four rules. Even though it’s been over 10 years since I first learned the rules, I can still recite them. Ask me something design-related that I learned in a college class and I know I won’t have a clue!
A couple of years later, I landed in the English classroom teaching somewhat reluctant high schoolers. (Who really looks forward to going to English class anyway?) All of those grammar rules I learned in my editing classes really came to life while I was teaching. I think I learned more than the kids did too! During my years of teaching, I started working on manuscripts doing both editing and design work.
Another highlight of my teaching career included being the school yearbook advisor. I loved teaching the kids what I knew about design and photography, showing them how to make an entire book look cohesive, and now watching many of them dabble in the same things in their lives.
After four years of teaching, I moved to another state and started working for a local newspaper. The work I did at the newspaper really helped solidify the direction I was going with my life. I loved designing ads and other pieces like business cards, yearbooks, and postcards.
In the end, it became apparent that I was in a dead-end job, and I decided to venture out on my own. Over three years later I’m still happily in business for myself, making a living out of the “little” projects I always did on the side while working other jobs.
My passion really lies in editing, but I love the instant gratification of designing pieces. I think I need some of that instant gratification because manuscript editing can be a lengthy process at times, and the fruits of my labor aren’t visible until weeks, sometimes months, later.
So that’s a little bit about me. Again, if you want the boring “professional” version, check out the About Us page.
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