Andrea Leeth: Engineer-Turned-Editor

OTB: You’re an engineer-turned-editor. How did that happen?

AL: I worked for the Georgia Environmental Protection Division as an environmental engineer. After about five years, I got burned out with the nine-to-five routine and working inside a cubicle. 

I took a one-year sabbatical and traveled throughout Southeast Asia and parts of South America. I invested in a Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA) and worked and lived in Quito, Ecuador, for two and a half years. 

During this time, and because I was an English teacher for a couple years, a friend who was writing a book asked me to look it over, do some proofreading. I thought, “Maybe I could do this as a profession.” So I started researching the industry. 

A friend who was writing a book asked me to proofread.

I started researching the industry. 

OTB: What training have you had?

AL: I’ve earned a Specialized Certificate in Copyediting from the University of California, San Diego, Division of Extended Studies; a Poynter ACES Introductory Certificate in Editing; and a CELTA from the University of Cambridge (Cambridge English).

OTB: Does your engineering background inform your editing?

AL: If the book is technical — maybe it has pie charts or bar graphs — and I have to analyze numbers, yes, my engineering background is super-helpful. In engineering, it’s all about the attention to detail and solving problems. So when I’m working on fiction or nonfiction, I use those same problem-solving skills to take clunky sentences and make them more clear and effective. 

I think EFA is starting to [increase diversity]. It has a diversity initiative geared to new editors and editors of color.

EDIT (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Transformation)
https://www.the-efa.org/diversity-equity-belonging/

OTB: Tell us about your beta reading services.

AL: I am giving my thoughts from the reader’s perspective. I focus on the characters: Are they developed enough? I highlight which characters I like, which characters I didn’t like — not because they were underdeveloped, but because the writing was so good that it made me not like this particular character’s personality. I share whether I was engrossed in the settings. I talk about the pacing, whether some areas might have been too slow or maybe I felt bored in some areas. I discuss if anything felt confusing. I talk about areas that made me really feel some type of emotion. I don’t correct them, but I will make a note if I see any inconsistencies and it’s obvious and I remember.

OTB: One of your testimonials praised your organizational skills: Can you share for readers any tools or systems you use?

AL: Perhaps the client was referring to my style sheets. When I edit both fiction and nonfiction, but specifically for fiction, I keep track of whatever makes that character the character — height, skin tone, hair color, eye color, personality.

I also include information about the settings — what places the people frequent, the distance between those places, which characters are usually at those places — and a timeline of events, tracking what’s taking place year to year, or season to season. 

If the book is technical — maybe it has pie charts or bar graphs — and I have to analyze numbers, yes, my engineering background is super-helpful.

In engineering, it’s all about the attention to detail and solving problems.

So when I’m working on fiction or nonfiction, I use those same problem-solving skills to take clunky sentences and make them more clear and effective. 

OTB: Do you participate in a community that supports editors?

AL: I’m a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) and the LGBTQ+ Editors Association. I also have a personal community of editors. We share tools for editing, continuing education recommendations, information on available jobs — things of that nature.

OTB: Have you faced any hurdles in getting into/advancing in the copyediting profession because you are a person of color? Or have you observed such barriers? 

AL: It’s more that I face barriers being a new editor and getting access to publishers. Because I didn’t have experience in the publishing world or any connections when I first started, I didn’t have the know-how about to reach out to a publisher to get hired, apart from just googling the company. My plan is to “niche down” a bit more as the year goes on, and focus more on nonfiction. 

OTB: Any suggestions on what offices/employers could do to increase diversity in your field of editing?

AL: I think EFA is starting to do this. It has a diversity initiative geared to new editors and editors of color.

OTB: I’m curious about your latest reads: The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction by Amy J. Schneider and The Copy Editor’s (Life)Style Guide by Jamaal Pittman. What did you think?

AL: The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction is really helpful for its focus on dialogue; filler words; style sheets; and strong verbs, as opposed to adverbs.

I really like how Jamaal just talked about life as an editor and not just editing — like those times when you’re not working, when it’s supposed to be your downtime, and you tend to think about work. That’s something I’m definitely guilty of. 

I love it because it’s just me, my laptop, and the books.

It feels like, “This is what I should be doing.”

OTB: Tell us about a project you’re proud of.

AL: One author acknowledged me in the book and asked me to write a blurb, which appeared on the back of the book. Another author came back for another project. It was nice to see he appreciated the work and to see the improvement in his writing based on the guidance I gave him.

OTB: You live in Mexico, anything to share about that experience?

AL: This is going off topic from editing, but it just feels like the food is fresher and has fewer hormones and all that type of stuff. The beach town I’m in gets quite a bit of tourists, so you’ll see foreigners as well as locals. There’s a growing black expat community here. 

OTB: What resources would you share with fellow editors?

AL: EFA webinars. Webinars not just on editing but on all parts of publishing (e.g., marketing, querying, market research, etc.).

OTB: Is there anything else you’d like readers to know about why you love editing?

AL: I love it because it’s just me, my laptop, and the books. I’m really passionate about it. I’ve been in a few professions, and this one feels like, “This is what I should be doing.”

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