Technical editing includes proofreading a pattern for grammatical mistakes, accuracy, clarity, consistency, and wordsmithing, as well as checking all the quilt math (yardage requirements, cutting instructions, piece counts, and usage in the assembly instructions), diagrams/figures, and construction methods. I will also make suggestions, as needed, for additional tips or clarifications I think would be helpful to makers using the pattern. If a pattern includes templates, I will print and check them for correct sizing.

I work with both quilting and embroidery patterns.

Each service is charged at an hourly rate, which is discussed with new clients when they reach out to me. My time is tracked in my invoices and is openly shared with clients at their request so they can see my time and billing information. Hourly time is billed in five-minute segments. Invoices are sent via Quickbooks at the conclusion of each project and are expected to be paid within two weeks. Quickbooks offers a variety of payment options.

I also appreciate (though don't require) a credit in the pattern and/or website listing for my technical-editing work, much as one credits their longarmer, etc. Tags or mentions on social media are also appreciated. I believe we should all be doing our best to acknowledge the work of others in our products.

While it varies based on the complexity, quality, and scope of the pattern, most patterns can be edited within a few days’ time once I reach them in my schedule. Clients are given a timeline for how quickly I will be able to schedule them when they contact me. Current clients are given preference. The first pattern I edit for someone generally takes the longest because it establishes a tone and their specific vocabulary, which they can then incorporate into future patterns before they come to me, taking care of some of the initial clean up.

I can be very flexible with each client depending on their needs, but most choose to send me pdfs of a finished pattern, and I edit the pattern within the pdf using Adobe Acrobat, leaving tracked changes and comments. I’m happy to discuss other options if needed. After my initial edit is concluded, I will send the document back to the client. The work can be concluded at that stage, but most clients will generally make the edits and then come back for a quick check of the updated pattern.

Perhaps. I do sometimes offer pattern-writing services (ghost writing), though my schedule is currently closed to new clients for this service. I will update this page if that should change.

I address the specifics of this service with each client, but for ghost writing, a client will generally provide the quilt design and rough sizing, as well as the color scheme and desired number of sizes, and I’ll take it from there. Per the client’s preference, this service can include a range from providing written instructions in Word for you to place into your own layout (most basic) to also creating the accompanying figures in Adobe Illustrator and fully laying out the pattern in Adobe InDesign (most involved). I suggest that designers have any ghost-written patterns tech edited by someone else as it is very difficult to be sufficiently critical of one’s own writing.