True Story

A year before his death, Hunter S. Thompson requested my phone number.

It was 11 p.m. on a Monday when I received the message from documentary filmmaker Wayne Ewing. A part-time resident of Woody Creek, Colorado where he lived in very close proximity to Thompson's famed "heavily fortified" compound, Ewing also spent a portion of the year living four blocks from me in Southern California.

I had written an article about his documentary Breakfast with Hunter, and Thompson, my greatest literary influence, wanted to discuss it.

My initial reaction was "crap!" immediately followed by "shit!" Did he like it? Did he hate it? I gave my number to Ewing and paced and perspired until the wee hours awaiting his call like a love-struck schoolgirl.

The call never came. Later, devastated by news of Thompson's suicide, I sent a note of sympathy to Ewing. His response, dated Feb. 24, 2005, 7:17 a.m. was as follows:

“The reason Hunter wanted your phone number last year was to thank you for the excellent job you did reviewing Breakfast with Hunter and to compliment the quality of your writing. I am sorry that the two of you never actually connected on the phone, but Hunter truly appreciated your work.”

True Confession
An editor once called me an edgy chick; I found her characterization favorable. Having high standards, for myself and my clients, can be a double-edged sword as it sometimes requires a take-no-prisoners posture. The result is always worth the pain, though. (Snip.)

True Crime
I christened myself the Serial Comma Killer in the early aughts when I was excused from a proofreading job because I used the AP style guide rather than the APA. Needless to say, all those naughty serial commas met their due, and so did I.

 THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL = EDITING

If professional editing seems like an unnecessary expense, you may discover that going without it is more costly.

Every day, I see evidence of poor editing and lax proofreading. You see it, too.  From blog entries and Twitter posts to newsletters and, worst of all, news articles, it's everywhere—and it's not a good look.

The importance of precision, accuracy and congruence to effective communication cannot be overstated, and in most cases only professional editing can achieve it.

It's not just about Oxford commas and properly placed semi-colons. It's not just about a second pair of eyes. It's about training. It's about experience. It's about quality. With demand for content at an all-time high and climbing, quality control has never been more important. As competition among creators accelerates in response to the demand, quality is what sets your content apart.

"I can’t recommend Michel enough for any editing project. She was prompt with her work, had an eagle’s eye for catching mistakes and her copy editing and suggestions made my writing more concise and clear. My book is better because of her work."
--Lisa West, Author of Follow the Feeling: A Roadmap to Emotional Healing (2019)

"Michel was the first writer I had the pleasure of editing at the VC Reporter, and over the years, I was consistently bowled over by the quality of her work. Right away I recognized a true peer, a writer who had the chops and intelligence to tackle any subject with an investigator's acumen and a poet's soulfulness."
--Hillary Louise Johnson: Author, Editor, Publisher