D. Willson, author of the memoir A Jar Half Full, paid tribute to her aunt Laveda with this collection of poignant memories and lessons her aunt taught her. She wrote it as a loving gift to her aunt, then decided to publish it. That’s where I came in. In her case, it was a matter of general proofreading, as that is all some works require. Each chapter was its own little story, so there was no overarching continuity to maintain, no fantasy world that needed explaining. It was a quick and easy project to edit, but D.’s vivid writing brought her aunt to life and made me feel as if I knew her. Reading this little volume is like gaining a new family member. We should all do such things for our loved ones.
Of my editing, D. said:
“As someone who blogs most of the time, I often lose track of the hard, fast rules of writing. In writing for publication, however, I needed someone to put a careful and critical eye on my work. While I may have been able to catch many of the obvious errors I make, Robert was able to show me patterns and ‘bad habits’ in my writing that I would not have otherwise noticed. Through his feedback, I have learned a great deal about myself as a writer and am applying this knowledge directly to new projects that I’ve been working on.“
Robert Peate, Author 