My name is Julie Swearingen, and I’m an editor in beautiful Central Oregon. As a kid, I could be found with my nose in a book, reading adult fiction while I was still in elementary school. During high school and college, I entertained a notion of being a novelist and tried my hand at many creative writing pursuits, including the personal essay. I enjoy writing and the writing community, and it was through this community that I realized I was much more attuned to editing my fellow writers. I often worked with friends and peers on their papers, helping them with anything from the themes and arguments of the paper to sentence structure and grammar.
My love for books has never waned and later translated into almost five years as a bookseller at Barnes & Noble. During my tenure at two stores, I learned an extensive amount about the sales side of publishing. I also read as much as I could and took full advantage of Barnes & Noble’s employee lending program, even running the Women’s Fiction book club for a year.
After moving to Portland, I spent about five years as a pharmacy technician. While that might seem like an unusual detour for a book-obsessed person, I found it has helped me on several editing projects.
I graduated from Portland State University’s Master’s of Book Publishing program (Ooligan Press) in June 2017. At Ooligan Press, I was the project manager for two books—one young adult, one literary fiction—and focused my studies on editing and marketing. Since graduation, I have freelanced for several publishing companies and a book publicity agency, performed developmental edits for independent authors, and assisted authors on marketing and social media campaigns.
My reading pleasures include literary fiction, mystery, young adult, new adult, history, and memoir. I love diving into a new book—and still much prefer physical to digital—and would happily spend a perfect day outside with a book.
Now that I’m back in my hometown, I’m excited to collaborate with new clients and businesses by sharing the skills and experience I’ve acquired. I look forward to working with you.
