The story behind “chasin’ tumbleweeds” is, dreams are like tumbleweeds, and I believe you should always chase your dreams.
I’m a dreamer.
My dreams are big, colorful, and multi-dimensional. I’ve never wanted to do just one thing.
I want to do all the things!!
I’m a bit of an enigma in that, I’m super-creative. I’ve been an artist my entire life, drawing, painting, photography, and design.
I’m a writer too.
Again, all the things!!
But as creative as I am, I’m just as analytical, and I’m also a stickler for routine and structure all of which contributing to my love of the-structure-of-words and stories.
See, tying it all together!!
I also have a sometimes-super-annoying attention to detail.
I’m the one who finds the typos and errors that no one else notices, in the email, on the menu and on the social media posts (i.e. ”your” when it should have been “you’re” or “i” instead of “I” or “there” instead of “three”). I’m the one who catches incorrectly capitalized headings and titles. I’m the one who catches inaccuracies in the storylines of books, TV shows, and movies. I’m the one who catches script “flubs”, when someone says the wrong word or pluralizes the wrong word. I’m the one who catches factual inaccuracies and genre inconsistencies.
I’m a big stickler for storyline consistency, catching “holes” in storylines and book-to-movie adaptations.
And with my experience in graphic design, I’m very quick to picking out flaws in design and formatting.
It wasn’t until I was offered, completely by happenstance, my first proofreading and editing assignment in 2009 when everything started to click and I realized that my “sometimes annoying” was actually my superpower! 
I always have a mad-desire to rearrange wording and tinker with formatting so everything is perfectly polished and reads just right.
Although my main objective with proofreading and editing is fixing the errors, my goal is to also maintain the writer’s voice and brand, keeping within the project guidelines and boundaries, as well as the expectations of target audience, always respecting the writer’s preferences.
I take my work very seriously but I also believe that the creative process should be fun, not stuffy or intimidating.
So if this is your first project, no need to fear.
I specialize in manuscripts, teleplays and screen plays, but I also offer general proofreading and editing services for a variety of other content as well including websites and social media.
If it can be read or watched, I can fix it!
My services include:
- Proofreading
- Copyediting
- Line Editing
- Content Editing
- Developmental Editing
I am super-excited to launch some additional services in 2022!
- Manuscript, Teleplay, and Screenplay Consulting
- Coaching (Writers and regular humans too!)
- Online Courses
- Technical Advising
- Publishing
With manuscript, teleplay, and screenplay consulting, I will review and provide detailed notes on characters, storyline, overall consistency, factual accuracy, etc. For manuscripts, I also offer evaluation for the potential of cinematic adaptation for film and/or television.
I offer writer coaching, assisting with the writing process, keeping you on task and on schedule, helping you through writer’s block, facilitating in creative conception, character development, storyline and overall consistency and details, factual accuracy, etc. while proofreading and editing along the way.
I also coach regular humans too!
- Structure, routine, and productivity
- A focus on organization, efficiency, and progress
- Overcoming perfection
I cannot wait to launch my online courses! The first of which is scheduled to open mid-January.
As a technical advisor, I will make sure your Western genre portrayal is accurate, genuine and on point, including verbiage, costumes, and equipment, along with general and background details.
We are very excited to be launching our publishing division a little later in the year, offering a self and house publishing packages.I offer
Dreams are like tumbleweeds and I believe in always chasing your dreams.
Chasin’ Tumbleweeds Media™ was born out of my love of writing and words; of books, TV, and movies and has grown with my desire to provide valuable content, support, and learning opportunities, on a social platform for women.
I believe in doing “all the things” and not just settling on one thing or another.
There are schools of thought that say you should do one thing and do it very well.
But I say you can do all the things and do them all very well!
I love proofreading and editing and writing. I love books, TV, and movies. I love coaching and creating online courses.
Life is short, we should do all the things we love!
Proofreading is all about finding errors both small and large that were either missed or introduced during editing. This phase ensures that the document’s final draft is completely free of grammatical errors (i.e., subject–verb agreement problems, incorrect word choices, improper punctuation usage, and incorrect spelling, general errors in grammar) as well as formatting and typographical errors.
This phase also ensures that the document adheres to the chosen style, whether it be The Chicago Manual of Style, the AP Stylebook or perhaps the writers own “style guide”.
- Subject–verb agreement problems
- Incorrect word choices
- Improper punctuation
- Incorrect spelling
- General errors in grammar
- Formatting
- Typographical errors
- Style guide consistency
- Improve readability
- Ensure style of writing is consistent
- Text flows organically
- Grammar, punctuation & continuity
- Check for factual accuracy
Copy editing is the stage in which a piece of writing, the “copy,” is reviewed and edited to improve its readability. Copy editors ensure the style of writing is consistent, and that the text flows organically from one sentence to the next. They also check the work for grammar, punctuation, and continuity, providing suggestions on how to best convey the message of the writer. In addition to content editing, copy editors can act as fact-checkers, which is especially necessary if the writing is nonfiction and involves vetting of real information.
Line editing, also referred to as “stylistic editing”, focus’ on preserving and elevating the writers’ style at the sentence and paragraph level; line by line.
Line editing does not focus on structure, plot development, or characterization but tightens sentences through rewriting and reorganization of content.
If there is an issue making a sentence or paragraph difficult to understand, a line editor makes edits so the text reads better, more easily connecting with the reader.
- Flow
- Clarity
- Language
- Redundancies
- Repetition
- Word use
- Inappropriate tone
- Character and plot development
- Argument threads
- Dialogue
- Pace
- Inconsistences in storylines
- Factual errors
- Sections/chapters
- adding, moving, or deleting of text
- plot or character development
- dialog or descriptive text
Content editing focuses on character and plot development, argument threads, dialog, pace, inconsistences in storylines, factual errors, and sections/chapters, offering feedback which may suggest certain passages be rewritten or advice on adding, moving, or deleting of text; or helps with plot or character development via dialog or descriptive text.
Developmental editing is a thorough and in-depth review of your entire manuscript, teleplay or screenplay. It examines all the elements of your writing, from individual words and sentences to overall structure and style. In fiction, this edit will also address any issues related to plot and characterization. Good developmental editing will keep your target audience in mind and assess your work in relation to industry standards and expectations. Only once your manuscript has been revised, reshaped, and developed will it be ready for a copy edit and proofread.
- Subject–verb agreement problems
- Incorrect word choices
- Improper punctuation
- Incorrect spelling
- General errors in grammer
- Formatting
- Typographical errors
- Style guide consistency
With manuscript, teleplay, and screenplay consulting, I will review and provide detailed notes on characters, storyline, overall consistency, factual accuracy, etc. For manuscripts, I also offer evaluation for the potential of cinematic adaptation for film and/or television.
As a coach, I assist with the writing process. Basically, keeping you on task and on schedule, helping you through writer’s block, facilitating in creative conception, character development, storyline and overall consistency and details, factual accuracy, etc. while proofreading and editing along the way.
I also offer coaching to regular humans too, not just writers .
- Structure, routine, and productivity
- A focus on organization, efficiency, and progress
- Overcoming perfection
As a technical advisor, I will make sure your Western genre portrayal is accurate, genuine and on point, including verbiage, costumes, and equipment, along with general and background details.
We are very excited to be launching our publishing division a little later in the year, offering a self and house publishing packages.
…it always helps to have a fresh set of eyes look over your work – whatever it is – whether you’re a seasoned author, an influencer blasting out a social media post, or a new author self-publishing your first book.
Your brain knows what you want to say and is very likely to shift into “autopilot” when you’ve read and re-read something a thousand times, glossing over typos and errors in grammar.
It’s much easier for fresh eyes to spot the errors, or better yet, a professional proofreader whos eyes are trained to find even the most elusive errors and the slightest typos.
I promise you – it’s worth the investment – even on a social media post.
I started reading a new book last night, written by a best-selling author. It’s the first book of hers that I’ve come across so I was skimming through her Instagram to get a little better acquainted with her message. In one post, a very sweet and heart-felt message for her sons birthday and instead of “three” she posted “there”.
I’m guessing she probably “proofread” it herself, and of no fault of her own, her eyes missed it because her brain new what it was supposed to say.
Something as seemingly simple as this can discredit an influencers authority.
I’ve even seen this in professionally published books. It’s really very unfortunate, because in that instance I did not buy the book.
Not that losing one sale is going to make-or-break a best seller, but one sale, then another, and another adds up.
So just think about it.