In the spring of 2018, Annette Sandoval contacted the UMass Amherst Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies looking for a copyeditor for her new novel. A friend of mine worked there at the time, and I connected with Sandoval through her. After a sample edit, she decided to trust me with her book, and I’m so grateful she did. Women Are Like Chickens is a wonderful novel that I really enjoyed reading. I was thrilled to work with an author on fiction, since before I’d mostly worked with poetry and business writing.
I did some basic proofreading, but I also highlighted unclear passages, conflicting information, and other issues I found. It was really fascinating to see how my comments impacted the author’s revision process. I also had a lot of fun editing a piece with a narrative. I know for sure after working with Women Are Like Chickens that I want to work with fiction someday.