Professional Proofreader & Author
Alice Kuder is the Telltale Scribe
This is the requisite “About” page, but really, it’s not about me; it’s all about you, the author.
Even so, it’s natural for you to want to know a little about a person you are thinking of hiring, so here are some words that describe me in relation to the work I propose to do for you.
I am a fastidious proofreader, spell-checker, grammarian, punctuarian (okay, I made that word up), fixer, collaborator, assistant, resource, tickler, stickler, and beautician.
A tickler? Yes! I find that humor is a terrific stress reducer, so you can
count on me to throw in some light-hearted comments when we chat.
Beautician? Yes! Because my job is to make you look good.
On a more personal level, I have always loved the written word for its power to instruct, entertain, and inspire.
My idea of bliss is to have MY written word included in a book of “famous quotes” someday
(assuming it doesn’t include any misspellings, missing punctuation, or typos).
I am a native Northwesterner who escaped to the Midwest for a few years…long enough to realize that Washington state would always hold my heart and was calling me back home. I like to say that I spent my adolescence in a small town, but I grew up in Seattle, and I love it here.
I have always been the person that friends and family come to for that extra set of eyes on their essays, resumes, cover letters, etc., but it wasn’t until a few years ago when I had to shame my congresswoman into hiring a competent proofreader for her e-newsletter, that I considered becoming a professional proofreader.
About that same time, I was reading a novel and had to set it aside—unread—because the proofreading errors were so numerous and so egregious that I couldn’t concentrate on the story. How sad for that author; I could have spared her a lot of embarrassment.
Now, I spend my time hunting for those typos, misspellings, and punctuation errors on behalf of authors who recognize the near impossibility of catching all their own mistakes. Yes, spell-checkers, grammar programs, and AI are very useful, but they can’t recognize the author’s intent or appreciate their style.
My previous career as a real estate agent taught me the potential impact of a misplaced period or an omitted zero. Consider the difference between a home price of $1,00,000.00 and $100,000.00. “Oops” doesn’t cut it.
Let me put my skill and experience to work for you so you can concentrate on writing content, not correcting errors.
Call:
(206) 708-9800.
Email:
Alice@TelltaleScribe.com
