Editing Background
At Vital Wordplay, I offer an eagle eye and a big picture vision approach as an editor, while drawing on skills as an award-winning writer to ensure that content is engaging and accessible. I bring 21 years of experience to editing and proofreading the works of self-published authors of memoir, self-help and spirituality, to proofing non-fiction books for publishing houses such as Catapult and W.W. Norton, and to editing for The Nature Conservancy and engineering and other magazines.
My book nerd tendency was fostered by growing up in the Midwest among rambunctious brothers. I spent 19 years helping university faculty effectively present their work in print and digital media. I pursued a love of the writing craft after earning a master’s degree in cell biology, and have certificate degrees in science communication and copyediting (acing the 120-plus hour copyediting program at UC, San Diego).
My writing passion led me to run a creative non-fiction group for several years, in addition to judging non-fiction book competitions in Texas and nationally. Providing manuscript and proposal reviews is another interest, and I ghostwrite book proposals and long-form content (see CV and below for more writing details).
Barbra Rodriguez
A Scribe's Life
I began as a medical writer after interning at The Dallas Morning News and the Kansas City Star. Those internships taught me to write tight, get the facts right, and always keep readers’ needs in mind. My stories often focus on healthy living topics, including covering conservation and public health developments, diversity initiatives, and sustainable landscape design.
I have received national and state awards for articles about healthy aging and conservation topics. I have also received journalism travel fellowships for a national meeting of conservationists, and an international meeting of science journalists.
My travels have taken me to Japan and elsewhere to train in Aikido, a mindfulness-based martial art. I am also fascinated by human behavior and spiritual development, and I volunteer with a therapeutic horsemanship group in Central Texas.
I truly enjoyed working with Barbra. Her attention to detail and suggestions exceeded my expectations. Initially she started by copyediting and proofreading my memoir, but after working through my initial manuscript and seeing its potential, she gave me some recommendations on where we could improve the project. We decided to continue the work and through additional developmental editing we created a new manuscript that vastly improved the book. All I can say is that I’m grateful for her suggestions! I am thankful for her enthusiasm and willingness to immerse herself in the subject of my book. I strongly recommend Barbra!