Interviewed by Alice Loweecey
Michelle Horn has slogged through the trenches of corporate marketing and advertising. I recognized a kindred spirit right away—we’ve both spent many years in that profession! Now she proofreads, copyedits, and does substantive and developmental editing. She has many different projects under her belt, including business communications, education, Christian spirituality, inspirational biography, and general fiction.
What did you do to pay the bills before becoming a full-time editor?
I ran the marketing services department for a local company. I was fresh out of college and worked my way up. The job required me to be knowledgeable about everything the company did. It was a great opportunity because when you wear many hats, you get to learn many aspects of business.
What books have influenced you most in work and life?
I can’t put my finger on one in particular—I imagine that there were many books influencing me. I think reading is the best way to develop a feel for language. It’s much more effective to learn to write and edit by reading good books.
What was the last book you read every spare second, propped on the counter while you cooked dinner, waiting on “hold,” leaving ten minutes late for work because you HAD to know what came next? Nonfiction counts!
I love to read, but I can’t say any book had that kind of hold on me since I graduated college. Before that, I read all the time and worked my way through a very large library collection of Agatha Christie, Nancy Drew, Sherlock Holmes, and Charlie Chan (among others) in one summer. Now, I tend to be interested in nonfiction, especially the history of the area I currently live in.
While we’re on “reading for pleasure,” what do you take to read on a long afternoon at the beach?
Well, my youngest is three, so an uninterrupted afternoon at the beach by myself is not something in my immediate future! This summer, I would probably just find something in the gift shop or take a bunch of magazines.
About the business of editing: What’s on your must-have-for-perfect-editorial-work bookshelf?
Woe is I by Patricia O’Connor
The Copyeditor's Handbook by Amy Einsohn
Several style guides and dictionaries
Magic Eye 3D (because one should not take one’s work too seriously!)
Since you began editing, can you read a book without cringing over typos and the occasional factual error? Should I even mention the newspaper?
It depends. I think the Journalism department of a certain university should publish an error-free document (they don’t).
I’ve had the same reaction to my local newspaper. I’ve been known to malign “spell-check” as a tool of the devil. In public.
I can be more tolerant of publications from other sources, but I always think, “You need a good editor.”
What’s the most unusual editing project you ever had?
Let’s just say they’re all unique in their own way!
What’s your ideal editing space—music, ergonomic chair, purring cat at your elbow?
My ideal editing space would be outside on a deck with my laptop, in late spring, with temperate sunshine warming my toes, singing birds delighting my ears, and green leaves gently swaying against a blue sky.
What a peaceful image. It’s winter here in the Northeast—where both of us live—so I completely agree. Spring! Now! Lest we wander off into a balmy daydream, please tell me your advice to a newbie trying to break into the current editing market.
Two things. First, network! Who you know is very important. Second, be willing to take those editing tests. If you’re going to edit, you have to be able to do excellent work (no typos) under the pressure of deadlines.
What words of wisdom did your editing mentor inspire you with when you were a newbie?
My editing mentor possessed a good work ethic as well as an uncompromising standard with regard to printed material.
What was your most rewarding editing job?
There isn’t a “this job was the one” answer to this. My most rewarding editing jobs are when the client tells me the finished product is exactly what they were trying to achieve.
And last, who has been your spiritual inspiration?
I think anyone who endeavors to challenge their own theology and lives according to a deeper understanding is an inspiration.
You may contact Michelle by e-mail.
