Diana didn’t start out as a copy editor, though you wouldn’t guess that from her background: As a preteen browsing a bookstore in Pittsburgh, she bought “Errors In English” and “Spell It Right!” from the half-price bin. Her favorite eighteenth birthday gift was the Associated Press Stylebook. She took the advanced copy editing course at UNC-Chapel Hill—as an elective.
What she can do for you: As a seasoned editor with twenty-five years of experience—including more than a decade in the book publishing industry—Diana can train an eagle eye on your work, editing for grammar and style, clarity and consistency. Contact her here.
book proofreading + editing
Diana has been proofreading and copyediting for Penguin-Random House since 2008, having edited more than 100 books, including those by Sophie Kinsella, Allison Pataki, and Alan Bradley. She has strong knowledge in the Chicago Manual of Style and can spot inconsistencies in even 600-page documents. Point of pride: The first production editor she worked for at Random House called the big catches she made “Dianas,” as in “I see you caught another Diana.”
book editing
Diana was the main book editor for two nonfiction books: Sam and Friends: The Story of Jim Henson’s First Television Show and May You All Live Happily! Margolis Family Letters, 1908–1933.
news copy editing + story editing
Diana not only has solid grammar skills and a deep knowledge of Associated Press and APA styles, but she is able to quickly fact-check, question holes in stories, and boil down complicated information to the bare necessities. Among the news organizations she’s worked for: POLITICO, The Washington Post Express, and The Virginian-Pilot. Among her freelance clients are Arnold Ventures, Eater, Foreign Policy, the Police Executive Research Forum, Red Havas, the University of Houston, the University of Virginia, Virginia Magazine, and the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism. At nearly every news editing job she had, she took it upon herself to create, maintain, and enforce newsroom style guides—and she continues to do similar work for freelance clients.