Today we meet Brenda Hill, Author, Instructor, and Freelance Editor. Brenda shares some “glories and the agonies” of her career. “I hope it helps some new and not so new writers.”
 
Can you briefly describe your job/position? Tell us a little bit about your company.
 
My husband and I owned a bookstore in Denver in the 1980s, and during that time, I met several writers. Since I’d previously been a proofreader for an aerospace corporation, many asked me to check their manuscripts. Word spread and soon I was proofing more and more manuscripts. I didn’t edit until much later, after I’d taken several writing classes and learned fiction writing techniques—which, by the way, is a never-ending process. I’m always learning.
 
After selling the bookstore, I concentrated on learning as much as I could about writing, and I began writing my own novel. I founded my editing business, joined an international critique group, and edited for a small press.
 
Today, I still edit, but because of time constraints, I concentrate on first chapters. They’re exciting, full of promise, and critical to a writer’s success. If an opening chapter drags or puts an editor to sleep, the rest of the wonderful story that follows will never be read.
 
I love working on first chapters. After listening to agents and acquiring editors talk about what they look for when reading a submission, I enjoy working with writers, making sure they’ve used the elements needed to interest a reader.

To read the complete interview, which tells about my struggle to learn story structure, please click on Chelle's address: