Romance author takes up editing

As an established author with several works of fiction under her belt, Roxanne Snopek’s next career move is to become the editor she’s always wanted to work with.

Roxanne had established a successful freelance writing business while she was raising her children. She eventually published her first book and has been writing fiction ever since, releasing several novels over 15 years.

After writing six novels in two years under a book series contract, Roxanne was in need of a well-deserved break.  

“We read each other’s work a lot in this industry and I thought to myself, ‘I really enjoy doing this,’” she says. “One of my publishers was working with a new author and they needed someone to mentor her, so I was eventually asked to do a structural edit on her first novel.” 

While she had some experience teaching workshops on structure and plot development for aspiring authors, Roxanne wanted to gain formal qualifications in the editing field. She enrolled in SFU’s Editing Certificate and began the Structural Editing course while she was also looking over another author’s manuscript.

“I felt like I was learning something that I always wanted to learn. It was as if I knew it already, but taking this course snapped it into focus,” Roxanne explains. 

Now partway through the program, she’s found that her perspective as a writer is shaping the editor she wants to become. Rather than expecting writers to hand her a perfect piece, she aims to help them identify areas where they can learn and grow. 

“I’m hoping to be the editor I’ve always wanted as a writer,” Roxanne says. “Being able to see what they’re trying to say and help them word it better is so rewarding.”

While she’ll return to writing novels again one day, Roxanne will also be looking for opportunities to help the work of other writers shine. 

By Bernice Puzon