This week, I’m joined by freelance writer and editor Samantha Hanni. Learn and laugh along with us as we cover serious topics, like whether your editor needs to share the same beliefs as you and how to tell if your message is landing with your readers, and not-so-serious topics, like roller coasters and creative ways to repurpose your edited darlings.
Music: Harlequin by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3858-harlequin
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Show Notes:
@mrs_hanni on Twitter, or mrshanni.com
The Bloom series, Change the Conversation, and other works by Samantha: https://mrshanni.com/books-resources/
Krissi Dallas, Phantom Island series: https://krissidallas.com/
Transcript:
Ariel: Hi there and welcome to Edit Your Darlings, a podcast that tries to take the sting out of editing by talking with darling authors about their experiences. I'm Ariel Anderson, and today I'm joined by Samantha Hanni. Samantha is a freelance writer and editor who's authored four books, including three gorgeous volumes of devotionals for girls in a series called Bloom and Change the Conversation, a book on teens and dating while keeping the faith. She's also edited and written more than 100! 100! articles and posts for clients in mental health, Christian living, and lifestyle industries. Some of her work has appeared on the YouVersion Bible app, Devotional Diva, To Love Honor and Vacuum, and Families Alive. Samantha and her husband live in and work on their fixer-upper home in Oklahoma with their dog Podrick. Thank you so much for making time to talk with me, Samantha!
Samantha: I'm so happy to be here. I can't wait for our conversation.
Ariel: Fun fact, the first roller coaster I ever rode was the Silver Bullet at Frontier City in Oklahoma. It was my seventh birthday, and my dad bought me platform shoes so that I'd be tall enough but I don't recommend that.
Samantha: I love that. Many people that I've talked to have their own sketch stories about Frontier City, myself included. The summer that I turned six, I actually had a broken arm all during swimming season. It was tragic.
Ariel: Oh no!
Samantha: Yes. So we went to the park as a family, we were riding some ride down a rafting river, I don't even remember what it was called. And we had so use a plastic bag to keep my cast dry. And this stranger sitting next to me helped me hold it up so the cast would stay dry. I don’t recommend that, either.
Ariel: But there are good strangers in the world.
Samantha: That is true. That's the takeaway.
Ariel: So let's get into the questions. I wanted to know which came first in your career, the writing or the editing? And how does being a writer and an editor kind of balance out for you? How do you manage wearing both of those hats?
Samantha: Writing and editing kind of developed together because I went to school for journalism. But I fell in love with AP style, like any good—
Ariel: Oh no!
Samantha: —yes, grammar nerd. So I became then one of the copy editors for the newspaper there on campus. But I was still writing articles also for the paper. So they've really developed alongside each other. After graduation, I got an internship as a copy editor for a publishing house. So had to quickly gain some CMOS skills. Even though there's definitely overlap with AP style, there's notable differences, which I had to train myself to notice.
Ariel: Quick aside. She mentioned the word CMOS. And you might be thinking that that's something that grows under the ocean, but it is, in fact, Chicago Manual of Style, also known as CMS, also known as CMOS. Okay.
Samantha: Currently, I would say I’m probably about 80/20, of 80% editing and then 20% writing right now, because I'm not currently working on a book of my own. So I like doing both. I like as I'm editing other people's work, I can start to notice, I want to incorporate that the next time I work on something, or I definitely want to avoid that. And then when I do go to editing, I can't remove that editor, the editor mindset and so I think that helps keep me super streamlined and focused when I go to read my own work.
Ariel: It doesn't slow you down?
Samantha: No. I mean, sometimes I do have to kind of say to myself, okay, for a set amount of time, I'm not going to go back and kind of revise myself or anything. But I think that's the main thing that I like is that it just helps keep me focused as I'm working, whether it’s on an article or a longer project.
Ariel: So you've worked with beta readers and freelance copy editors/proofreaders for your own books. And I'm assuming the articles you've contributed to publications have gone through some editing as well, right?
Samantha: Yes.
Ariel: So how did you choose the people that you shared you work with? And what sort of feedback has been particularly helpful for you in improving your writing? How did you know that it was good feedback?
Samantha: So I think the best example is looking at the devotionals series, the types of editors and beta readers that I worked with on that project. With the devotional series that I wrote, it's geared towards girls ages 9 to 14.
Ariel: Tough age!
Samantha: Yes. So that's the target demographic, but that is not who is buying the book.
Ariel: Right!
Samantha: It’s gonna be their parents, it's going to be grandparents, teachers, aunts. And so I knew off the bat, I was gonna have to have a wide range of, it's gonna have to be kids, it's gonna have to be adult. I was also able to reach out and get some feedback from people at a local seminary. And so having the content looked at through that lens as well. So I think it just depends on your project. You may not have such a wide range of demographics you're trying to incorporate, but I knew that with this one, I was going to need that to see how it was landing with the actual people, the girls who would be reading it. Did it feel too babyish, or did it feel like too over their heads? And then with their parents, seeing how the concepts landed with them, of if they're going to be walking through that book with their daughters, how were they receiving the message? So that was super helpful to get such a wide range of feedback.
And then with the editors that I worked with, or I guess it was one specific one for this project. I chose someone that she mainly did copy editing, there was some line editing in there. And then it was a faith-based editor. So she could look through the work through that perspective. And I can see if there was some, some holes in my concepts or anything that needed to be addressed.
Then as far as the feedback that I was getting, whether it was on this project, then also on the books that I wrote upon teens and dating, and then just, you know, in general, throughout other writing projects I've had, it's always super helpful when someone else that’s not been reading and reading and reading your manuscript, which is what authors get trapped into, is just kind of pointing out where there's some holes where some additional research is needed. All of my writing is nonfiction. I needed that on some different projects. And even though I had read through it many times and thought I've been thorough, I really missed some pretty big spots, so that that was helpful.
And then another thing that is helpful, I don't know how much this would fall into fiction, but with nonfiction it can be really tempting to place yourself as kind of the hero of the story, or as the main person, when that maybe is not how you're going to best connect to your reader. I'm really big on reader first, creating a great experience for your readers. And so that's another piece of feedback that I got from an editor, is she kind of showed me how I was opening the book with a personal story and a personal focus. And then when we tweaked that to let the reader step into that experience themselves and kind of see themselves as the main character in the story and then I can sprinkle my own personal perspective throughout the book, it suddenly just clicked into place. And it worked so much better. And I would not have been able to see that for myself.
Ariel: You said that the books were for like 9- to 14-year-old girls. Did you have any people, young people in that demographic look at your work before it was published?
Samantha: Yes. And I got good feedback from them that they were enjoying it. One of my favorite pieces of feedback was a mom send a picture of her girl’s book, and it was dog eared throughout the book of her favorite passages.
Ariel: So when you do get feedback, and something needs to be pulled out of the book, what do you do with those darlings that you're editing out? Do you kind of pat them on the butt as you wave them out the door and just delete them? Or do you save them forever in a little side document of possibilities?
Samantha: Well, first of all, I'm totally in love with that title. And I think I will go change that document to read “The little side document of possibilities.” I love that. There's obviously some things that it's easy to delete out if it... if I know that I've said something more clearly, or I just know that I'm not going to want to revisit a topic.
More often than not, I do save quite a bit. There's been numerous instances where I like I have remembered that I have written something and I trust myself that I haven't deleted it. And I’ve hunted around and found it and it's helped me either finish a post or it's been the new idea of a post. I even, with a devotional book that I wrote for those preteen girls, it was originally written as a one-year book of devotions. So I had some seasonal material in there, like when you come around to Christmas or some different summer or fall activities. When the books kind of developed into the form that they are now, which is three separate books, I changed the organization of it, but I kept all that seasonal material. Well, then the holiday, the Christmas stuff that I pulled out eventually became a YouVersion plan. So that... I just don't get rid of stuff because you never know.
Ariel: There are so many creative things that you can do with it, you can print it out and chop it up and make it into an art collage. You can turn your darling into a T-shirt and sell it as merch.
Samantha: I have created a Christmas ornament from the year that my third book came out. I used... it was either a proof copy or a copy that had an error, and I shredded some of the pages and put it in a clear glass ornament. It's one of my favorites.
Ariel: Oh my gosh, I love that. I see those gorgeous like carved book arts. And I've always like, “No, not the books!” But a proofed copy that has typos!
Samantha: Right? All bets are off.
Ariel: Let me tear that to shreds. And then your written work just seems to be so personal because you're writing this nonfiction, which a lot of people if they're writing nonfiction, they're writing about like, animals? Or, you know, all kinds of different topics, but yours are very specifically centered on your faith. And I wonder how that plays in when you get to those editing stages. Do you think that it has flavored your experiences at all, either because your editors might not be as willing to kind of poke and prod at your beliefs or because you're working with editors who already hold the same beliefs?
Samantha: This is this is a great question, and I think it's pretty nuanced, depending on what your project is and what you're looking for with an editor. So with my books, when I was looking for those editors, I did choose people that had the same faith that I did, and I let them know up front, obviously, I want you all to look for typos for, you know, big holes in the concepts for formatting, but I want you to let me know if you think something could be said clearer, keeping in mind the age group that I'm writing to, and I want you to, to be able to call me out when necessary, and they were able to do that. They got that goal.
So for me, that was important, because I wanted to see how the message was going to resonate with someone of similar beliefs. So I invited that type of feedback beyond actual copy editing or line editing.
But it just kind of comes down to someone's publishing goals. If someone, you know, simply wants a copy edit done on their manuscript, then it doesn't necessarily matter the beliefs of the editor. However, if that really does matter to an author, whether you are seeking out that input or you, you really don't want that, then it is worth it to advocate for yourself and to find the right fit in an editor. You want an editor who's going to be able to be a good guide. But you have to let them know kind of upfront, as much as you can. Especially it's hard as first time authors to maybe know where you want to go with your publishing route. But an editor is supposed to be there as a guide. And so if you can let them know, here's kind of what I want my path to look like, they can provide that type of help for you.
Ariel: Yeah, I love that word, self-advocacy.
Samantha: Yes.
Ariel: It's so important. And it's so hard to find, it takes so much strength.
Samantha: You know, it just may take some time then to find to find the right person. And it is tempting, because the writing process takes a long time, the editing process takes a long time, and it can maybe feel like you're not getting anywhere, you're not moving forward. But this is a relationship that you're going to—if you want to look at it that way—you're going to be in it for a while. You may choose to work with them on other projects. And so it is worth that effort, even if it is more difficult to find that fit.
Ariel: Yeah, I think it's really obvious when it's a bad fit. And it can be trickier when it's an okay fit. But I do believe that every writer, if they have the option, should keep looking for that, like, chef's kiss, perfect understanding between themselves and their editor. And that doesn't mean like you said, it doesn't have to be same-same, right. But it should be respect-respect.
Samantha: That's a good way to look at it, and a situation that I've run up against and some of the authors that I've worked with, when I'm editing their work, a lot of them do fall in there, a lot of them are faith based. And so and they know that I am faith based as well. But they just may still have some differing beliefs, or just, you know, we all have different life experiences, we can’t all experience the same things. And so I've had some where they have talked about actually infertility, and I can tell that they have not had any experience with it, or there's not anyone in their lives that have. That’s something that my husband and I have dealt with, and I was able to bring that perspective and experience and kind of leave a comment, still leaving it up to them how they wanted to address it. But I was able to say, “Hey, I know you're not intending this, but this is how this might land with some of your readers. And here are some points to consider.” And so there's a wide range of experiences of where that could apply. I think going back to that, doesn't have to be same-same, because then you know, an author can learn from some of the editor’s experiences that they may not have, and vice versa, editors can learn from their authors as well. But if you go back to respect-respect, that just lends to a healthier relationship.
Ariel: Yeah. And then there's a little bit of emotional labor that comes into the copy editing stage where we do have the onus on us to identify, hey, I don't think this is going to land right. But as copy editors, we don't have all of those same experiences. So there might be times where we have to say, “Hey, I think more research needs to be put into this. I think maybe a sensitivity reader would be the way to go here.”
Samantha: Yes, and so I think it all comes down to how are you wording those suggestions to the author by still letting them know like, I'm not trying to take control from you. What I always go back to is, writing a book is really hard, it’s one of the hardest things I think you can do. And so if you are going to go to that effort to share a story—whether it's fiction, or whether you are sharing some kind of perspective or life experience with nonfiction—if you're going to go to that effort, and you want readers to enjoy it, why not go to that effort? Like why not do all that you can to provide a great reading experience for your readers?
Ariel: Mmm, that’s so good. Yeah. So, I looked through your website, which is darling.
Samantha: Thank you.
Ariel: And I just came up with these questions, just really, I'm curious. So, a new client sends you a manuscript, cause you’re a copyeditor.
Samantha: Yes.
Ariel: A new client sends you manuscript and asks you what sort of editing you think they need. Because maybe they could use a proofread or maybe they can use a dev edit. What are you looking for to make that determination?
Samantha: I'm kind of mainly looking at how they talk about their project, and that was going to depend on their experience. So if I have a really new author, it's mostly going to be about “well, I had this experience or I just felt like it was time to write my life story.” That is, I kind of tend to attract that type of that manuscript, again, nonfiction, life story, memoir, that type of thing. So that's just a lot of the queries that I get. So I look at how they are talking about that. And if it kind of feels like—and this is a great place to start, right, we all need a place to start—but it’s like “I kinda just wrote this.” Maybe they haven't thought... they haven't thought yet about their publishing goals, what’s that gonna look like? Is this something that they just want to be able to share with their family, which is great? Or if this is something that they're going to maybe self-publish and really start to market and make this their thing, that's going to influence how they talk about it.
I'm going to pay attention to their experience. I mean, if they have written before, if they really have a clear direction and focus for their manuscripts, you know, maybe they're not going to need that developmental edit, because the idea is very nicely formed. And so maybe they are going to need some line editing and a solid copyediting. But if it is someone that maybe they're not super clear, even on the focus of their manuscript, maybe they're not done with it yet, that's going to be a clue that maybe a developmental edit would be helpful for them.
I've learned to kind of ask some of those questions up front on my questionnaire, and that helps me be prepared when we go to the discovery call of what they might be looking for. And I do take time to explain actually the types of editing before even... I want to hear about their projects first, and then I explain the types of editing, and usually through that, they kind of get an idea of like, Oh, I think that's what I need. So sometimes they come to that realization on their own, once they better understand the levels of editing that's available to them.
Ariel: When you say discovery call, do you mean you're literally on the phone?
Samantha: Yes, so I love doing either Zoom calls or just regular phone calls, because I think that helps me connect to them personally. And I especially like being able to do zoom calls and see people's faces, as they're talking about their project. That's helpful for me to kind of see where they're at in this process.
Ariel: Maybe this is weird because I host a podcast, but oh, oh, I hate phone calls. That make me so uncomfortable! Oh, you know,
Samantha: I can definitely identify with that. But I think when I'm doing these calls, it's pretty focused on what, what we're going to be talking about. So I don't have to, you know, kind of hunt around for the things to say, because I have kind of gotten into my routine with them and so that helps take away some of that anxiety, but I definitely feel, yeah, if I can make an appointment online and not call, then I will definitely do that.
Ariel: You know, with podcasting, there is sound editing, and I can take out all of the times where I repeat myself or stammer, and there's none of that on a real-life phone call. I’m just... off, how do I represent myself? Ooh, that’s hard.
Samantha: Yes. Even yesterday, I did a call with an author because she had emailed me a question and then as I started researching it, I realized it was going to be more complicated and not translate well over email. And so that's what I've learned is that I want them to understand where I'm coming from, I want to get a sense of who they are. And so that just comes across better.
Ariel: What do you love to edit? Like when you open a manuscript for the first time, what just makes your heart go pitter patter?
Samantha: Yes, I love it—and it's not just, you know, one specific genre necessarily—but when the author has been has done their legwork, they are super clear on what they want to share with their readers. And they are super clear on the journey they want their readers to take that that's another thing that can really focus your writing. Whether it is fiction or nonfiction, there's, there's always a journey in a well written story. And your readers are hungry for that. So when I open up something, even if it's, we're still working through some of those initial drafts, but I can already tell that this is going to change a reader’s life. That's what gets me excited, when I can see that this is going to... whether encourage them or change their perspective or let them know they’re not alone. Man, I get excited for that.
Ariel: That's tasty. I love... I just like opening it and finding, like, really cool concepts. I'm mostly speculative fiction. So you know, I got a sample this week that I was not expecting it to be so cool, because the author was like, “Honestly, I’m really inexperienced. And I've never worked with an editor before. But, you know, please, help.” And I opened it. And it was just the coolest concepts. And way unexpected, and it was really clean, too. I was really, like, shocked how clean it was. And I was like, I don't even know... How has this not been edited? I don't understand.
Samantha: That is the best feeling.
Ariel: That's a superpower.
Samantha: Right! But you know, as we're saying this something else that comes to mind about what gets what gets me excited, because again, going through the editing process is such a journey, if this is your first time writing, and you may be thinking like, “Well, how do I know if my concept a solid or I don't, I don't know how that's going to feel,” I think the other thing that does get me excited is to be able to see the author themselves go on the journey, if maybe they were resistant to editing before or unsure, and to see them gain confidence, and to see them gain communication skills between them and myself. That's also really exciting. Because there's things that you learned about the writing process that help us in all areas of life. So even just seeing that personal journey that the author takes is exciting.
Ariel: Oh, so you get to hang out with the manuscript through multiple rounds of editing.
Samantha: Sometimes, depending on what the author chooses, sometimes it's just copy editing. For one of the main jobs that I have right now, it is copy editing for a publishing house. And I just do the copy editing. So the manuscript has been through some initial reviews when it arrives to me, and then I don't do any of the proofing or any of the layout after it leaves my computer.
Ariel: Do you get to do a cleanup round.
Samantha: Yes, I do. I am able to, you know, revisit it with them a few different times. But then there's others that, either through personal connections or they found me on my website, and they may decide that they want to do, you know, a line edit and a copy edit. I've worked with some people even on developmental edits and kind of seeing their project from the very beginning. That is exciting.
Ariel: I almost never get to see a manuscript again. The vast majority of my clients are either proofreading and so it never comes back to me, or copy editing and they're independent authors and decide they want to do their own cleanups. And so I just have to wave it away. Say, “Bye bye, manuscript, I wish you the best.”
Samantha: That would be hard because there's often some new things like oh, I want to be able to explain this or I want to see what their response is and that would be tough.
Ariel: Well, it's a balancing act because, yeah, I want to see how it goes. But also, there's so much anxiety of getting it back and wondering did the author like my changes? Are they going to just stet everything? Are they going to yell at me in the comments? Which has only happened once, and that was such a bad project.
Samantha: Yeah, it's hard. Some of the strangest comments that I've gotten back, there was a particularly long section that just had a lot of run-on sentences, and it needed to be broken up. But the author was pointing out how, basically how powerful it was when it was spoken. And I said, well, I think you still need to change it. Because how we read things is different than how we listen to things. And yes, you might be able to get away with some of these run-on sentences if you were just talking to someone, or giving a speech, but when you're reading it, I was like, you're going to lose your readers. Then I've also had authors just undo punctuation changes that were definitely correct when I left them, and then they changed it back to the wrong way. So that’s fun.
Ariel: Welllll... Is it wrong? Or is it author's style? Because that’s allowed.
Samantha: That is. This one, though, was like, no, definitely not right. But I am learning to better educate my authors on like, hey, you do have a lot that’s your call, and so kind of educating, either beforehand or as we go, so I do... I'm learning better ways to do that. But in this case, it was a we need to stick CMOS, as we quoted it before.
Ariel: Tell me more about those author muscles that you don't think they flex enough.
Samantha: So there's a couple of categories. So sometimes it is that they just maybe aren't aware. So things that come down to just a simple style stuff like about capitalization, or the author that I was talking to yesterday, we were talking about how she wanted to do her citations, her notes section at the end of the book. And so she was showing me an example of something that she wanted to do. And she's like, “But I don't know if I'm allowed to do that.” I’m like, “Well, it's there in a published book already, like you are totally able to do that, we'll just make sure it's consistent all the way throughout.” So I think it just comes down to like, don't be afraid to ask those questions, you know, when it comes down to the simple style stuff.
When it comes down to maybe some concepts or like phrasing of how they want to say different things in their book, I think it comes down to how is it going to land with our reader. And so if there is a turn of phrase, or just something that you feel like shows your author's voice and you just want to hang on to it. Okay, I can understand that. But if it's going to be anything that makes your readers stop and go, “What? Huh? I'm going to have to look that up, or that doesn't make sense, or that's weird,” if what you're saying, even if you feel like, “oh man, this would be really cool if I could just say it like this,” but if it's gonna provide an obstacle for your reader, you just might want to reconsider that. There's so much content out there, you're fighting for your readers attention, and they could put down your book in any second. So give them as few reasons as possible.
Ariel: Do you think that authors are intimidated by you?
Samantha: I hope not intimidated by me. I think that maybe by the process itself, and I think because they either don't know what to expect, or they're just maybe afraid that their words are going to get chopped up and the return unrecognizable to them. Because, you know, you pour your heart and soul into a writing project, I totally get that. And I try and think through my own, you know, experiences as an author being edited. And so I think that's what can feel intimidating. But I hope authors as they learn about the process, and as they learn kind of what to expect, that they do know it's going to be a lot of work, but it's a doable process, and that their words are going to just shine so much brighter after they get done through the editing process. Or that is... that's the goal, right? As they move through all of those phases. So I sure hope they're not intimidated by me. But I hope that by educating and empowering authors about what the editing process looks like, that they feel like they're more able to step into that.
Ariel: Yeah. I feel like I am the least intimidating person ever. I couldn't intimidate my own cat. Which, no one can. And I just can't believe that more authors don't bring those questions, because they're afraid of how they're going to be received.
Samantha: Right! Or they just pull... you know, like, I've had some just change stuff back without even asking me like why something was, was changed. Or, you know, like you said that they are maybe too afraid. And so I think that's something that you have to grow in as an author. If this is what you want to do and if this is the industry that you want to hang out with, we all have to kind of gain some confidence, work those question asking muscles.
Ariel: Well, speaking of questions...
Samantha: Yes.
Ariel: Let's move to the questions that I ask every author I talk to. So first, what do you hate about the editing process?
Samantha: Definitely anything that's fixing annoying formatting. I don’t enjoy that. And so I try and utilize my tools in Microsoft Word as much as possible to make that less of a headache.
Ariel: And then from the writers side of it, with your writers hat on, what bugs you about being edited?
Samantha: The point where I am in my journey, I've been doing this for the last 10 years in some form or fashion, I get annoyed when I don't get detailed feedback. I want the direction. I want the challenge. I want to hear how it's landing with someone else. And, because this is the author's prerogative, I may not make certain adjustments, but it's going to give me something to think about, and maybe it'll apply more to the next writing project. So I want to hear the comments. And so when it's a little bit light on that, that’s what annoys me.
Ariel: What's the most common bit of feedback you receive on your writing?
Samantha: I can tend to try to go too many directions with my writing, and keeping it super focused, because I don't want it to feel like I'm not exploring certain nuances with a topic. And so that's why I start introducing a lot of different concepts. But in reality, it just needs to be simplified. That's a common piece of feedback that I get on my writing, and then sometimes I'm maybe too nervous about how something is going to land and that comes across in my writing. There's like a lack of confidence, or just a lack of kind of standing behind my own work. I've gotten that as well. And so those are two areas that I'm working on in my own writing.
Ariel: Do you have any last words of advice?
Samantha: So one thing that I like to tell my authors is to stay focused on building real good writing habits. Whether you are working on a book, maybe you just finished it. Maybe you think you might want to write a book. It's not maybe always about writing a book, because there's going to be an ebb and flow throughout your writers career. You’re not always going to be focused on that, but you're going to probably need to always be writing something, and so start building a good habit.
If you've never written before, or if you're just starting out, like, don't set the goal to write a whole book within two weeks. Just make a habit of writing for 10 minutes every day and do that for a while and then you'll be surprised at how you can then begin to build on that habit. But we sometimes set up like super lofty goals, and then when that doesn't happen, we get discouraged and don't try again. Set smaller goals.
Ariel: What are your goals? Do you go for like 1000 words a week?
Samantha: So it's kind of weird to quantify that right now since I am editing more, but I tend to just set deadlines of when I know I want to have a first draft done and when I want to have the final thing done and then I kind of back into it from there. So that's typically how I do it, is just get my first draft cut off to stop tinkering with it. I need to have the first draft done, and then whenever I need to submit it. So sometimes that goes quickly if I am just writing articles, but for longer projects that I can have more time to spread that out, so I break it up into milestones like that.
Ariel: Okay. Well, the last portion of our program is a Hot and Wholesome Gossip Corner. Are there any other writers or creators doing something you're excited about? Any shoutouts you want to give or people you want to lift up?
Samantha: So, one of the authors I’m excited about is actually a family friend of ours. She’s working on the final installment of her teen fantasy series. So that is Krissi Dallas. Her fifth book came out last November, and she’s working on the sixth. So I just have just enjoyed that series. I think I enjoy it because I mainly write nonfiction but I love reading fiction, and this is different from what I normally pick up, but her characters and her setting just grab you from the very beginning. And so it’s called the Phantom Island series.
Ariel: Cool. Teenage fantasy is my jam!
Samantha: It’s super fun. And actually my husband gifted me the first two books while we were still dating, and well it was funny because it was right around finals for college my last semester, and I definitely spend more time reading those books that week than I did studying, but it all worked out.
Ariel: Well, if you want to check out Samantha’s work or think she might be a great fit for your next editing project, you can follow her on Twitter as @mrs_hanni, or head over to her website, mrshanni.com. Thank you again for talking with me, Samantha! This has been great.
Samantha: Thank you so much for having me, Ariel. It’s been such a fun conversation.
Ariel: If you loved this episode of Edit Your Darlings, why not share it with a friend? Remember to rate and review on Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast fix. For show notes go to edityourdarlings. com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @editpodcast, or I'm @arielcopyedits. Until next week, cheers!