I have some exciting news to share with you all! About a month ago, I officially opened my passion project business that I’ve been dreaming of: JB’s Book Editing. I want to start this column by getting into the nitty-gritty of what led me to start my company, which still feels surreal to say because I never saw myself as the type of entrepreneurial person, in that respect.
But if I’ve learned anything in my 25 years it’s that if people aren’t making space for me, I have to carve out a space for myself. So, to get back to the matter at hand, my editing business is my attempt to make space for myself in an industry that is very hard to get into, from a traditional angle.
And looking back, creating this business has been a seedling in the back of my mind for years; because many of you who have followed me for a while know that books and writing are my life. Reading words on the page and stringing them together to correlate with the emotions coursing through my veins has honestly gotten me through some of the hardest times of my life. But another one of my greatest passions regarding the written word is editing. Reading and writing are passions that I discovered at a very young age, but editing is a passion that I stumbled upon while I was in high school.
Now, for someone with as good a memory mine, it’s embarrassing to admit that I don’t remember if I’ve shared the beginning of my writing journey in this column; so, please forgive me if this sounds at all repetitive to you. It’s not an exaggeration when I say I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember.
I started writing creative nonfiction at the age of 8 when I saw an advertisement for a school-wide writing contest on a bulletin board in the main office at my elementary school. And something indiscernible at the time was awakened in me as I stared at the poster. I composed my essay and entered the contest, but I didn’t tell anyone. Having spent most of my childhood under the prying eyes of nurses and other medical professionals, I was astutely aware, even at that age, that there were very few things in life that belonged only to me. And one of those few things that always felt like my own was my writing.
Ironically, as an overly cautious person, some of the most momentous events in my life have come from the few impulsive decisions that I’ve made. When I entered that contest, I had no idea what it would amount to; so I kept it a secret, and several months later I found out that my essay had won third place. I also was asked to read my essay aloud in front of an audience at a local Barnes & Noble Booksellers.
I distinctly remember the feeling of that moment. It was one of the few, rare moments that my brain actually allowed me to bask in an achievement I had earned. And 8-year-old Joanna basked in that glory so much. It felt like I had stumbled into unveiling a huge part of my identity, and it turns out I had.
I entered that same contest twice more. In fourth grade, I won second place, and in fifth grade, I won first, beating out my main elementary school competition. And up until high school, I was dead set on becoming an author, at least until I discovered how rare it is for an author to be successful and to make a living from their work.
It was at 14 that I discovered that I could have writing be my side job/passion, but I would have to come up with something else for my primary career path. It was also around that time when I watched the movie “The Proposal,” starring Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock, with my mom. And Bullock’s character looking glamorous strutting around New York City while reading manuscripts was one of the initial things that completely sold me on being an editor.
It has always been a dream of mine to live in Boston or New York City one day. Therefore, seeing that movie was the literal iconography of what I imagined life as a book editor must be like.
In the 11 years since I first saw the movie, the shiny facade of the profession of book editing has been dulled slightly as I’ve gained more experience in the field. However, it has not dampened my passion for the art. In fact, there are very few things in life that bring me greater joy than getting my hands into a manuscript and identifying which elements work and which do not.
The primary reason I started my own book editing business is because I want to keep my hand in the career that I most enjoy while I look for full-time employment opportunities.
Over the past year and a half, I have had the privilege of stumbling into helping a couple of authors developmentally and line edit their manuscripts and, quite honestly, it has been one of the greatest joys of my life to help them. Editing books is something I’ve dreamed of doing for forever; and while I may not be doing it officially for a publishing house yet, it’s a start!
Gazette columnist Joanna Buoniconti is a freelance writer and editor. She is currently pursuing her master’s at Emerson College. She can be reached at columnist@gazettenet.com.