We’re introducing you to people who are part of the Betterwrite world. Welcome to JENNY WARREN.
Jenny, what’s your connection with Betterwrite?
I’m a freelance editor working as an Associate Editor with Betterwrite. I recently completed a copy-edit of a complex and nuanced thriller that was a pleasure to work on.
Tell us about your work.
I work across a wide range of fiction genres, although my favourites are probably crime, thrillers, literary and romance. I’m also a fan of a well-conceived time-travel novel! I enjoy variety, so I’m pleased to provide editing services to some charities and businesses too.
What are you working on at the moment?
I’m copy-editing a humorous historical romance. Great fun.
What do you like about your work?
I love working with fiction. It feels like a privilege to read books for a living. The freedom and flexibility of working freelance is a big plus.
What don’t you like?
That frightening moment when you have to press send on a completed edit.
Have you got a personal bugbear?
Sometimes a thesaurus can be over-used.
What has pleased you in your work?
Positive feedback from authors, publishers and clients. The great supportive online community of editors.
What didn’t please you?
When I got sent the wrong book by mistake and I didn’t realise until I’d nearly finished the edit!
Jenny in Santiago de Compostela. I prefer to be behind the camera, to be honest.
What amused you?
I’m easily amused. My fellow editors often make me laugh.
Whose Writing do you enjoy?
Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse, Neil Gaiman, Zadie Smith, Alice Walker, Val McDermid, L.J. Ross, Margaret Atwood, Kate Atkinson, Elly Griffiths, Sarah Waters. Too many to list here!
Favourite title?
I have a new favourite every month! But an enduring love is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
What do you like about this author’s writing?
The beautiful, simple narrative style and the warmth and compassion of the narrator.
Give us a quote.
“Things are always better in the morning.”
What’s your favourite word in English?
Serendipity.
Any other quotes that are special for you?
“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” L.P. Hartley, The Go-Between
Favourite saying?
“Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting. And you don’t do that by sitting around.” Katharine Hepburn
Apart from your work, what plans or ambitions have you got?
To do lots of travelling to remote places.
How will you do that?
We’ve just bought a campervan!
What have you learned about life?
It’s a cliché – but kindness is the most important trait.
What have you learned about people?
See above!
Tell us something quirky about yourself.
I’m an introverted extrovert.
Finish with a story, true or false, with beginning, middle and end, up to 30, 60 or 120 words.
A girl sits on a train pretending to read because her heart has been broken.
A comfortable-looking woman catches her eye. “I can see the future. You will fall in love with a wonderful person and have three gorgeous children. And when you look back on this moment, it will feel like a scene from a book.”
She was right. (60)