Like many students, I put my degree in English and creative writing to the side, thinking I would never have the chance to use what felt like a jack-of-all-trades education. What else would I do with years of literary theory and emotionally harrowing workshops? Teach? Hmm. No, thank you. The older I get, the more introverted I can be. So, I worked on my IT degree instead.
But then, when I switched from banking to IT in 2020, I launched SassyGamers.com and started managing an international crew of writers while freelance editing on the side. I enjoyed creating and managing our production schedule, and I slowly fell in love with looking at the beautiful bones of a story or article and knowing… I can fix that.
SassyGamers.com is still alive and well, though we did ultimately cut down our force due to budget limitations in 2022. At that point, I’d thrown money into writers and sponsorships for over two years and it wasn’t a sustainable model. Gamers aren’t interested in paying to read reviews that they can get for free all over the internet, and because I created the website to provide a platform for gaming minorities, it was very important to me not to bloat the website with ads or lean on the vanity of Kickstarter campaigns. As it stands, SG is still a safe space open to uplift gaming voices.
So then I redirected my efforts to editing. Eventually, I sat down and looked at the facts. Self-publishing was on the rise, and I was reading more and more books that desperately needed an editor. I started small and offered my services until I built a client base of authors who have become some of my biggest fans. Now, I want to take the next step toward elevating the quality of my favorite genres at SassyEdits while cultivating a catalog of books that readers will love at Grendel Press.
Please take a moment to read my stance on vanity presses.
Education
BA in Creative Writing from Oklahoma State University (2014)
BA in Information Technology from OSU-IT (2020)
Qualifications
Editor in Chief at Grendel Press (2022 – Current)
Managing Editor at SassyGamers.com (2020 – Current)
Contact me for a quote.
Location
Tulsa, Oklahoma USA
Socials
Twitter: @SusyQ918
LinkedIn: Susan Russell
