Editorial Freelancers Association
Member Profile
Kelly Young
KEY Editorial
I am a professionally trained freelance copyeditor specializing in all things nonfiction, including creative and literary nonfiction, cookbooks, self-help, psychology, memoir, travel writing, the humanities, and the social sciences. I have lived, worked, and acquired editorial trained in both the US and UK, so I am very comfortable with both American and British English.
I have a proofreading certificate from the Publishing Training Centre in the UK and a copyediting certificate from UC San Diego. I’m also a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association and ACES: The Society for Editing, and I regularly take classes, courses, and webinars through both organizations to keep my editing skills sharp and current.
I am thorough, detail-oriented, and thoughtful, and I always want my clients to feel like I’m on their team, cheering them on to the finish line. My job is to collaborate with the client to suggest changes that will improve the reader’s experience, whether that be ensuring punctuation, spelling, and capitalization conform to a consistent style, checking that dates and facts are correct, identifying incorrect grammar and typos, or suggesting improvements to sentence structure. Things I don’t do? Rewriting in my own voice, making changes to fit my personal preferences, or putting my own mark on the manuscript. Editorial judgement—knowing when to suggest a change or when to leave good enough alone—is a skill I’ve spent years honing.
Torrance, CA
US
Email: kelly@keyeditorial.com
Years in the field: 8
Years freelancing: 8
Kelly Young
I am a professionally trained freelance copyeditor specializing in all things nonfiction, including creative and literary nonfiction, cookbooks, self-help, psychology, memoir, travel writing, the humanities, and the social sciences. I have lived, worked, and acquired editorial trained in both the US and UK, so I am very comfortable with both American and British English.
I have a proofreading certificate from the Publishing Training Centre in the UK and a copyediting certificate from UC San Diego. I’m also a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association and ACES: The Society for Editing, and I regularly take classes, courses, and webinars through both organizations to keep my editing skills sharp and current.
I am thorough, detail-oriented, and thoughtful, and I always want my clients to feel like I’m on their team, cheering them on to the finish line. My job is to collaborate with the client to suggest changes that will improve the reader’s experience, whether that be ensuring punctuation, spelling, and capitalization conform to a consistent style, checking that dates and facts are correct, identifying incorrect grammar and typos, or suggesting improvements to sentence structure. Things I don’t do? Rewriting in my own voice, making changes to fit my personal preferences, or putting my own mark on the manuscript. Editorial judgement—knowing when to suggest a change or when to leave good enough alone—is a skill I’ve spent years honing.
