The following was, at one time, presented as the inaugural post on a blog that never quite took off. I hesitate to say I'm about to begin again, but I've overhauled my website and would like to at least give the blog a new home. Maybe it will continue growing this time!
Here are a few notes on where I am coming from. They will appear as my first article on LinkedIn but they also made up the first blog entry on my new webpage. While the webpage is new, I have been developing my business in its current form for a few years already. Freelance work has been my mainstay for at least fifteen years already — and how did I get here?
I can begin by saying that my multidisciplinary BA emphasized, in order of importance: Classics, English and German (my majors); French and Art History (minors). Honestly, I think of it as no limitation when I say the best way for me to apply such a degree was to take it to Japan. Here, the degree would qualify me for a Specialist in Humanities visa eligibility status and I could begin working as a teacher.
Starting as a teacher of English as foreign language, I took a special interest in English-language literature. For those students who chose to explore this interest with me, the challenge was steep at first. However, as they kept with it they learned to discuss literary texts and their broad, human themes. I believe each of my students developed an understanding that could be applied in conversations and discussions of the highest order.
Other students, usually researchers, came to me with a different challenge foremost on their minds. I learned, early on, to apply my best human touch while helping such students with the texts they needed to publish. I learned to discuss and appreciate those texts, whether they had developed in the context of an academic institution or that of a cultural institution. And, over time, these became my main areas of work as an editor.
Of course, even for those to whom English is a native language, I offer full support: I work with academics (and their manuscripts) from around the world, through variations that have developed from my teaching career under two main categories: editing and consulting. I am excited to see where it goes from here!
