1. What is your background in editing?
I have a B.A. in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing. Being an English major, I did extensive reading, writing, and editing. I was a T.A. in my senior year for The Chair of the English Department. I also tutored two students who needed to graduate and were not doing well in their beginning English classes.

I have been writing and publishing since I was sixteen. I started out in modern poetry, which is mostly what I studied as my emphasis for my Bachelor’s. At the age of nineteen I presented my abstract on Women’s Studies in Literature to The Wisconsin Society of Literature, Sciences, and the Arts. I was one of only two college students presenting. The rest of the presenters were college professors. I spent lots of time editing my papers in college. I graduated with a 3.75 GPA and was part of The Honor’s Society and The English Honor’s Society.

I then went on to prepare my poetry portfolio for graduate school. Only one hundred students are allowed into the program every year. I was accepted, but changed my mind and switched to Library Sciences, in which I had a 4.0 GPA. I realized I didn’t need another degree to write. That’s when I started my temping work and started writing on my lunch breaks and on weeknights and weekends.

I did a few years of temp work, mostly at a bank and as an Executive Secretary. All my temping work, except data entry at the bank, included letter writing as a secretary and typing up reports, all edited by me.

Then I landed a more challenging job as the Senior Coordinator for Rockwell Automation. I became the writer and editor of their intranet site for employees. I also wrote and edited the employee newsletter. I even wrote detailed instructions hung up in the lab explaining OSHA regulations, etc. All of this was particularly important. Rockwell Automation develops high horsepower motors for other factories and has a contract with The United States Navy. If someone doesn’t follow instructions, it can be a life-threatening situation for everyone.

Of course, I had to be OSHA trained myself, so I could do inspections and write up reports every month on every lab setup. Those reports needed editing. I also needed to learn how to properly use different types of fire extinguishers, which was fun because the fire department came and lit large fires in the parking lot one day. We had to put them out to get certification. I was the only woman in the 90s working in Research and Development on the floor besides one tester, so I was a trailblazer back then and I enjoyed it.

I have edited in the creative writing/publishing world for Eighth Towers Press including not just their books, but also their CD covers. Often, I had to write and edit the CD covers from the musician’s native language translated into English, translated into Italian translated into English, and then there I was asking my friend what he meant in Italian. Sometimes I was left guessing at the meanings because other languages don’t have one word for an idea in English. *laughs*

I co-founded Alien Press during Covid, along with Sarah Walker, Phillip Breach, and Gordon Smith. I am also co-founding Tiny Tales of Horror Quarterly now with Sarah Walker. It is a spinoff from Weird Fiction Quarterly, which is a flash fiction quarterly. Tiny Tales is going to be a 1,000 word Quarterly, not a 500 word Quarterly.

Now Chris has recruited me to be the editor for Eidetic Quarterly and I’m working with Thomas Stewart, my Art Director. He will also be doing submission readings with me, since he’s doing all the interior art.

2. How long have you been editing for PsychoToxin Press?
Well, I was just recruited. The inaugural issue of Eidetic Quarterly is my first dip in the pond. *laughs*

3. What do you edit for this publishing company?

It’s Eidetic Quarterly.

4. Is there anything specific you hope to see when deciding whether to accept a manuscript?

Grammar you can learn, being able to tell a remarkable story is more difficult. I also don’t want to see any AI created stories or fan fiction, which could bring lawsuits. And I don’t want to see a thousand and one Cthulhu spinoffs that are alike if we decide to do Lovecraft. Be original. You don’t have to rewrite the same story that’s already been told, and if you do choose to write the same story, you better have a different take on it.

5. What are some common mistakes you see in manuscripts?

Comma splices, problems with indentations and spacing. But the most annoying thing of all is writers just not following submission guidelines. If you can’t follow simple guidelines when you submit, it makes me wonder how easy you will be to work with on edits.

6. Are there any editing goofs you tend to overlook in manuscripts?

I will overlook a few editing goofs here and there if it’s a good story. If it’s not a good story and there are editing goofs, you will get a rejection. If I am reading and the first page has a ton of editing goofs, it makes me less likely to continue reading, even if the story seems interesting because the goofs will jump out at me and detract from the storyline.

7. How do you work with an author as their editor?

My experiences have been through email. I try not to use three words and always give a compliment as well. The three words I avoid are “should,” “could,” and “would.” They are demeaning in sentences and authors tend to shut down when they read those three little words, I’ve found.

8. Have you ever had a negative experience with an author? If so, how was it resolved? 

I’ve had a few. My first advice as an editor is not to respond right away after reading their comments on a manuscript or their email. Take some time to clearly think about what the author has said. Is it a fair point? Is it not? Sometimes an editor can be wrong. We’re not gods. Then respond. If it’s an ugly email, wait a day. And never, never put anything in print that will hurt your reputation. Words in email or on paper will stay around forever. If there is a way to resolve the situation by talking it through that is the best ending for both of you. If you are not able to do that, then you must find the gentlest way to let that author go, but only if it is a HUGE issue … say their overall constant disrespect, unwillingness to work with you, etc. If it’s just a difference of opinion of one change, I can respect that. A writer’s work is their baby, but they also need to realize it’s an editor’s job to make their work shine even more.

9. What happens if an author does not agree with your suggestions?

Well, as I said in the answer above, I wait and don’t reply hastily. Then I try to communicate with them. If it’s a small detail and just a matter of opinion, that’s one thing. If it’s a grammatical error, I can argue all day and have seen other editors do this by using examples. *laughs*

10. How long does it typically take you to work through edits on a manuscript when going on the first round of edits?

It really depends on the quality and size of the manuscript. That’s a hard question to answer succinctly.

11. Do you feel that it's important to have a background as a professional editor before becoming an editor at a publishing company? 

If you are a good writer, then I think you could be good at editing. Everyone must gain experience somewhere. How can you ever gain experience for a new position, if no one ever gives you a chance? You might be missing a new great editor.

12. Are there any books or editing courses you recommend to anyone who wishes to pursue editing professionally?

I know some people will groan, but I think you can learn a lot about writing in general from two books and one of them is Stephen King’s On Writing. It really is an enjoyable book. The other one is Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing. I do like the editing tool, ProWriting Aid. It’s much better than Word or anything else I have tried on the market, if you are looking for an editing program to use while you are working on a manuscript. I also suggest reading your story aloud. Often, this helps a writer find an awkward sentence or a mistake they might not have caught.

As for editing books, I haven’t specifically read any. I learned all my editing in high school. I clepped out of English I and English II, which are where you learn about grammar and how to write a research paper in college. I would take a course at a community college where I can interact with people because this is how I learn best.

I pulled a few books off the internet, which I am now putting on my TBR list because they look great. Here’s my list:

·Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

·Comma Sense: A Fun-Damental Guide to Punctuation by Richard Lederer and John Shore

·What Editors Do: The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Editing by Peter Gina

·The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler

·Actually, The Comma Goes Here: A Practical Guide to Punctuation by Lucy Cripps

ABOUT NORA:

Nora B. Peevy is a cat trapped in a human’s body. Please send help or tuna. She is an Olympic champion sleeper and toils away for JournalStone/Trepidatio Publishing as a submission reader, is a co-founder and co-editor for Alien Sun Press, a reviewer for Hellnotes, illustrator for Weird Fiction Quarterly, the co-founder and co-editor of Tiny Tales of Terror Quarterly, and the new editor for Eidetic Quarterly. Ms. Peevy is published by Eighth Tower Press, Weird Fiction Quarterly, The Wicked Library Podcast, Sudden Fictions Podcast, and other presses. She is also reading screenplays for the Lovecraft Film Festival again this year and has stories coming out in five collections so far. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English Degree with a Concentration in Creative Writing from Cardinal Stritch University and is a contributor to Getty Images. Usually, you can find her on Facebook (as Onyx Brightwing) begging to escape her human body or get tuna. She naps in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

NOTE: PSYCHOTOXIN PRESS HAS SHUT DOWN.