Who is behind Working Words?
Working Words is my (Marlies’) dream job. I offer editing services for fiction authors. I am passionate about helping and empowering authors to get their books ready to publish. Creating relationships with my clients is important to me, and I truly do enjoy working with words.
When I’m not editing, I have a lot of interests that help inform my editing practice.
Book Connoisseur
I’ve been reading since I could hold a book. Reading is one of my favourite passions: anything from music history to a cozy mystery. I love shopping at my local independent book shops, like The Next Page and Shelf Life Books. My book shelf is full of books on writing and editing, along with some fantasy and romance, and a lot of Canadian authors. I could probably talk about books all day, every day, given half a chance! If you’d like, you can join me for the Working Words Book Club hosted at Unfiltered Wine Bar on the 4th Tuesday of the month. See the Book Club page for details.
Learner
I am by nature a curious person: I guess I would describe myself as a life-long learner. From taking lessons to reading books to trying something new, I like challenging myself. And to brag, my friends and I once won a trivia night. For details of my formal education (BA in English Literature, BEd in Secondary English Education, Professional Editing Certificate, TESOL Certificate), you can look me up on LinkedIn. As an editor, I continue to develop my practice by participating in professional development courses offered by editing associations like Editors Canada.
Teacher
As an English teacher for over 10 years, I truly enjoyed teaching grammar to teenagers. Learning the difference between an en dash and an em dash and learning how to use a semicolon properly are things I loved teaching my students how to understand better. And I bring that love of teaching into my editing. I want my clients to feel confident in their writing skills. Also, I’m using my teaching skills to run some workshops and presentations for writers. Check out my Events page for more details.
Music Enthusiast
Music has always been a part of my life. My parents sent me piano lessons starting as a young kid until I was in high school, and I even took a guitar class in high school. My taste ranges from classical masters to punk rock to indie rock to hard rock to jazz. Every summer in late July you can find me on Prince’s Island Park for the Calgary Folk Festival.
Sports Fanatic
As my partner says about me watching sports, “You’ll watch anything.” And he’s mostly right. I have been known to plan a trip around a baseball or football game. I do enjoy watching sports on TV or live. The team I cheer for the most is the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, yet after 20 years of living in Calgary, I can’t help but be a Calgary Flames fan, too. And I’m a very proud season ticket holder for the Calgary Wild! I also like to be active, and have played soccer for years and years, and enjoy skiing, hiking, biking, and minigolfing.
