I’m Julie Kay-Wallace, an English Literature graduate from Queen’s University, that once thought she might go to grad school for 18th century literature. Then, after working through a thesis and looking at my acceptances for a few months, I realized something: I really hate writing essays. Realizing that all I really wanted to do was read whatever I wanted for a change and help the talented authors I know hone their craft, I tossed the grad school idea out of the window and moved to Toronto to get my publishing certificate.
Since then, I’ve interned under Sam Hiyate and Alison McDonald at The Rights Factory – where I really focused my talents as an editor – and worked with many talented authors as a freelance editor. I’m currently part of the Editor’s Association of Canada and the Editorial Freelancers Association.
What I Do
I edit because I love to work with authors and their words. It’s not just about making a work the best it can be (though that is obviously a large part of what editing is for), but also about making it unique. It needs to be yours and it needs to stand out. The same is true of everything, whether you’re writing a conference report or a novel.
What I do, then, is to take your work and help you polish it.
If you’re sending a long work (over 50 pages) we’ll start with a sample. I’ll request 3-10 pages and do a sample edit for you. This helps both of us, because I’ll be able to confirm that you’ve picked the right kind of editing for your work, and you’ll be able to see exactly the kind of work I’ll be doing. After that, we agree on a fee and due date and sign a basic contract. All of this can be done electronically, by mail, or in person. Then, we get to work! I’ll e-mail you occasionally with questions and status updates, and you get to relax and wait until it comes back to you.
Other relevant information: I have worked on every genre and every type of fiction and non-fiction. I’m particularly fond of fantasy and science fiction, but you can send me anything from non-fiction memoirs to epic fantasy novels; I like them all. I read a wide variety of books, and I’ve worked on a wide variety of projects — including your twenty page corporate report. So if you need an editor? Feel free to inquire!
What I Don’t Do
Unfortunately, I’m not qualified to edit your poetry anthology or specialized material. It takes an entirely different skill set to edit a math textbook or an instructional computer programming manual, and yet an entirely different skill set and experience level for poetry. As much as I enjoy reading all of these things, I never did specialize in them.