April Michelle Davis participated in her third Celebrate with a Book author book fair, which was held Saturday, December 14, 2013, at Regency Square Mall, in Richmond, Virginia.

What was different about this group of local authors was that each one had written and published one or two books. From this experience, these authors realized the value of working with a professional editor such as April Michelle Davis. Many of these authors gravitated toward April Michelle and expressed concerns of embarrassment and dissatisfaction with their publishers. Their books had been published with spelling mistakes, inconsistencies in the sentence structure, and even errors in the overall flow of the plot. These errors affected the integrity of their books and more importantly the integrity of the authors. These errors should have been found and corrected.

April Michelle personally reads every word of every manuscript her company is hired to work on.

April Michelle Davis, a highly regarded editor in the industry, presented her workshop Working with an Editor: The Editing Process to the Agile Writers group on December 2, 2013. The group comprised new and experienced writers who desired to write a better first draft for a novel.

The eager writers were excited to hear April Michelle’s words of wisdom, which brought forth an interactive exchange of information tailored to the writers’ needs, but geared to draw out other questions and topics that the others would relate to their own writing experiences. As the audience participation increased, the dimensions of the topic encompassed everyone and the power of the educated and experienced speaker, April Michelle, produced a time of new and renewed resolutions, a truly motivational experience.

April Michelle Davis was the featured editor on the floor at the James River Writers Conference held on October 19 and 20, 2013. April Michelle was available for in-person editing and publishing consultations.

At the conference, an author approached April Michelle looking for an editor that would personally take the time to get to know his style before taking on the project. This author had already written several books and was unhappy with the editors he had worked with because to him they were neither personable nor flexible enough to allow the time to familiarize themselves with his style before making recommendations for his manuscript. April Michelle introduced herself to him by saying, “The intent of the author is always kept in mind—from the first word to well beyond the end,” which she proudly states on the Editorial Inspirations website. April Michelle listened intently to his explanation of his needs for his manuscript, then she injected her philosophy into the conversation, and before the author left, they had made an appointment to talk again.

After another author shared the difficulties he had experienced self-publishing his first book, April Michelle gave him some tips on how self-publishing would work well for his second book. This in-person one-on-one meeting allowed April Michelle to delve into the author’s situation and show him how he could overcome the problems that had left him feeling that his options were limited for his second book. The author told April Michelle that he appreciated her knowledge of the subject and would re-think self-publishing.

The value of in-person editing and publishing consultations was realized by these two authors as they left feeling that their needs were understood and that April Michelle could provide them with the professional services that they had been seeking.

April Michelle’s presence was warmly received at an event that offered so many opportunities for writers and authors.

April Michelle Davis of Editorial Inspirations led the workshop “Working with an Editor: The Editing Process” at the Hanover Book Festival on August 10, 2013. April Michelle designed the workshop with authors in mind, but professional editors also found it valuable. The workshop highlighted the editorial process, how to select an editor, and what can be expected from working with an experienced editor. The process of finding an editor can be intimidating, and finding an editor with the appropriate level of skill set can present an even bigger challenge. Stay tuned for future audio availability of an excerpt from the workshop.

In addition to holding the workshop, April Michelle offered mini-conferences, where she critiqued the first 1,000 words of manuscripts and provided 10-minute consultations for authors.

While at the book festival, April Michelle met over 40 authors who had booths at the event, plus many more people who stopped by her table.

April Michelle Davis was interviewed and quoted in the book When Talent Isn’t Enough: Business Basics for the Creatively Inclined: For Creative Professionals, Including . . . Artists, Writers, Designers, Bloggers . . . to Freelance or Run Their Own Business.

The author, Kristen Fischer, recognized April Michelle as a prime example of a freelancer who is building a business around her talents. As the old adage says, timing is everything. April Michelle was busy with freelance work so she and her husband determined how much money was needed to make it into a full-time profession. Together, they came up with a minimum and April Michelle has successfully obtained or exceeded it since.

In addition to willingly provide candid insight into launching and managing her own business, April Michelle is sincerely interested in helping other freelancers succeed by sharing both what has worked for her and what has not worked for her. You may contact April Michelle with questions or comments.