I graduated from Bates College with a B.A. in psychology (1981) after graduating second in a class of over 400 from Gloucester High School (Gloucester, Massachusetts), where I won the English Book Prize and was appropriately voted “Class Bookworm.”
I founded SML PROOFREADING in 2019 when I decided it was time to stop proofreading just for friends and bosses for fun and start getting paid for doing the work I love professionally.
My top interests are most types of fiction, memoir, humor, mystery/suspense/thriller. But you may inquire about anything! I will also edit brochures, menus, and newsletters.
With the magic of the internet, my clients have come from a variety of locations, but I notice that many have preferred to hire someone “close to home.” I enjoy meeting the authors (or publishers) in person.
I graduated from Bates College with a B.A. in psychology (1981) after graduating second in a class of over 400 from Gloucester High School (Gloucester, Massachusetts), where I won the English Book Prize and was appropriately voted “Class Bookworm.”
I founded SML PROOFREADING in 2019 when I decided it was time to stop proofreading just for friends and bosses for fun and start getting paid for doing the work I love professionally.
My top interests are most types of fiction, memoir, humor, mystery/suspense/thriller. But you may inquire about anything! I will also edit brochures, menus, and newsletters.
With the magic of the internet, my clients have come from a variety of locations, but I notice that many have preferred to hire someone “close to home.” I enjoy meeting the authors (or publishers) in person.
• Houghton Mifflin Company
• Small publishers
• Chiropractor
• English professor
• College creative writing teacher
• Close friend
• Local newspaper
• Attorney
• Various other indie (independent) authors
• Teacher's guide
• Memoirs
• Fiction
• YA fantasy
• YA horror
• Health/humor
• Journals
• Résumé
Along with spelling, grammar, and punctuation, this includes capitalization, numbers, diction, repetition, consistency of tenses, improvement of clarity, conciseness, style, making sure characters are consistent in name and characteristics, logical timeline, and more. It also includes the front and back covers, spine, front and back matter (acknowledgments, dedication, author bio, etc.)
This generally involves a final check of spelling, grammar, and punctuation, but if I notice anything else that may be questionable, I’ll reach out to you. Communication is important. (I call myself a “user friendly” editor.)
I charge by the hour and make two pass-throughs of the manuscript, the first being careful and thorough, the second, to pick up on things I may have missed the first time.
I reference the Chicago Manual of Style and work best using MS Word’s “track changes.”
The Keys to Effective Editing (2019, Salem State University)
Proofreading and Copyediting with the Chicago Manual of Style (2020, Kirk Perry through EFA)
Working With Indie Authors (2021, Tanya Gold through EFA)
Copyediting: Beginning (2023, Lourdes Venard through EFA)
Copyediting Fiction, Part 1 (2022, Amy J. Schneider)
Copyediting Fiction, Part 2 (2022, Amy J. Schneider)
Book Design for Editors (2023)
Demystifying the Language of Disability (2023, Emily Ladau through EFA)
Proof or Consequences! is the result of over 40 years of clipping typos, misspellings, wrong words, and misplaced punctuation from newspapers, newsletters, and advertisements. It all started when I was in my early teens and I saw a typo in a newspaper ad that made me laugh so hard I had to cut it out and save it so I could laugh at it again in the future.
Thus began my addiction to clipping, and my collection grew over the years. It’s amazing how many laughable errors there are! By the time I hit 60, I had so many clippings, I came to the realization that, Holy s–! I’m 60! If I don’t do something with these now, I never will!
I added my own clever (well, I think so!) comments and illustrations by the very talented artist Ari Scott, and Proof or
Consequences! was born. It is available through Amazon or by contacting me directly (see contact info).
Googan’s Guide: Deep-Sea Fishing for Novices came about in 1988 when I was working at a deep-sea fishing and whale watching company in Gloucester. One evening I was struck by all these phrases and locations discussed by the fishing crew, and my weird sense of humor took over. I quickly wrote down the real words, then my crazy definitions. Thus Cashes Ledge, one of the areas our boats fished, became “a rocky outcropping offshore where one finds money,” and Georges Bank, the “offshore financial institution where one deposits money found on Cashes Ledge.”
The book is cleverly illustrated by Rockport, Massachusetts artist Victor Pallazola. His illustration for Georges Bank is my favorite. You’ll have to buy the book to see why!
Googan’s Guide is pre-Amazon so can be purchased only through me or a handful of local-to-Gloucester retailers (contact me for more info!).
Fun fact: Due to the pen and ink (black and white) illustrations, some people have purchased the book to use as a coloring book!
When I’m not cutting things out of newspapers, I like to read (no surprise there!). My favorite authors are Donald Westlake, Janet Evanovich, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Hannah Mary McKinnon, Louise Penny, and too many mystery/thriller/suspense authors to name. My all-time favorite book is the children’s book Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. Harriet aspired to being a writer. Hmmm. . . . My favorite cartoonist is Mark Parisi of “Off the Mark.”
Boston sports are a great love of mine: Sox, Bruins, and Pats. I love doing jigsaw puzzles, enjoy going out to dinner, to plays, to The Capitol Fools (formerly The Capitol Steps). I’m a member of the YMCA, where my favorite form of exercise is cycling in the pool under four feet of water. I’m also a pet-sitter.
And I pun a lot. And I’m still alive despite that!
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