Editor Highlights
Zoë Bernard
The English language has always been a big part of my life in some manner. Before I was born, my mother worked in editing in the magazine world, and she studied English in college and was a lover of literature. She also liked to write in various forms (such as fiction and poetry) her whole life. My childhood home was stuffed full of books, and both my parents regularly encouraged me to read whatever I was interested in—when I was old enough, my mother created a little chart where I could mark down and rate all the books I was reading. My favorite chapter book was The Giver. I was a shy introvert (still am), so I spent much of my time reading and writing my own stories.
Surprisingly, I did not major in English when I attended college, only minored in it—I’d become interested in psychology while in high school, so I chose a major that was a mix of anthropology, psychology, and sociology (called Human Development and Social Relations).
I started really getting into editing after I graduated college. I had a few internships where I did a bit of editing (aside from my normal duties), but nothing professional until my mother put me in contact with an acquaintance of hers who was working at Highlights Magazine at the time, and they took me on as a freelancer. I also handed out business cards to some booths at the Chicago Printers Row Lit Festival, and I got a few small freelance jobs from that.
I honestly don’t really remember how I realized I wanted to make editing my career. Maybe it was partly my mother’s influence. Maybe it was also because I enjoy puzzles (I read a lot of mystery books), and I see editing as a puzzle: what word would work better here? How can I condense this sentence? I get a sense of satisfaction from putting all the pieces together to make something better than it was before. I also love the world of words—the wall above my desk is covered in Post-It notes with interesting words, and I own three books that are collections of strange, out-of-use words.
I had little experience and only a few small freelance jobs—not enough to live on—so I realized I needed to do more to educate myself on my chosen career path. I looked at quite a few editing certificate programs and finally decided on the one offered by the University of Chicago’s Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies. Because I had student loans and could not yet afford to live on my own, a course close to home that I could complete while also doing freelance work (thus getting more real-world experience) was ideal. It didn’t hurt that I’d also had this certain certificate recommended to me multiple times!
Getting the Editing Certificate from the Graham School opened many more doors for me. Now I can call myself a professional editor instead of just someone who enjoys correcting people and being a pedant!
PAI hired me in 2015, and I’ve been editing here ever since.
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