I came to editing in a roundabout way, but my love of the profession is deep in my bones. Before working in the field, I earned a PhD in English and American Literature from the University of Virginia. I love to read, and found writing my dissertation quite satisfying, but given the vagaries of the academic job market, I eventually decided to pursue journalism instead.

Writers tell me that my real forte is helping them carve out a clean, compelling, and well-structured story from a mass of engaging but unfocused material. In fact, I seem to approach many things in my life as a manuscript in need of an overhaul. When my office gets messy and out of control, I “edit” it. When my garden starts to look like a jungle, I trim the excess and shape the remainder. I’ve even been known to tell my husband that it’s time for a beard-and-mustache edit.