What It Means to Be an Editor

In December 2012, April Michelle Davis was interviewed as a participant in the Regency Square Mall book fair, Celebrate with a Book. Below is that interview.

Founded in 2001 by April Michelle Davis, Editorial Inspirations provides exceptional editing, indexing, and proofreading services to both publishers and authors. Each task is approached with a greater understanding of the various aspects of the publishing process. The intent of the author and the publisher is always kept in mind—from the first word to well beyond the end.

How did you get into your current editing position, April?

I was a part-time freelance editor, indexer, and proofreader for over six years, beginning in 2001, before I quit my full-time job. Working in-house for a magazine gave me a new perspective. Plus, some prospective clients ask if I have worked in-house, and I can say yes! I slowly built up my clientele, and when I had enough clients, had enough money saved for a buffer, and was making enough money freelancing, I quit the in-house position to focus more on my own freelancing career.

What do you find satisfying about owning an editorial services business?

When working in-house for the magazine, I knew I wanted to own an editorial business. I wanted to work on a variety of projects with a variety of people. One year after I decided to freelance full time my son was born. Since then, I have appreciated owning a business even more. My son is able to stay home with me, and I am able to work from home and have flexible hours, allowing me to enjoy spending time with my son.

What fortune-cookie-sized advice would you give other editors interested in beginning their own editing/proofreading/indexing businesses?

Like it, love it, live it. Like your genres, love what you do, live your profession.

If you weren’t editing/indexing/proofreading, what would you like to try as a career? What’s a job that fascinates you?

A teacher. I love learning and am always looking for new books to read and new classes to take. That is one reason I love what I do—I get to learn about the subject matter of the project, many of which I would not have read on my own but were very interesting, allowing me to expand my horizons even further.

Many publishing professionals don’t have published books of their own. Why did you choose to publish a book?

The importance of an index has been greatly undervalued in recent years. I felt that by publishing a book about indexing, I could help educate other writers about the necessity of an index for many types of books. In this book, I show how to write an index, but I also show how it is not a simple task. Many authors believe they are the best people to index their books. I hope that after reading my book, many authors will not only see the value of having an index, but also see the value of hiring a professional indexer.