It's not surprising that I ended up in journalism - I've been an editor and writer all my life. My first published work was a poem in elementary school. I edited the school newspaper when I was a junior in high school, where I learned to read hot type backwards on flats to check corrections at the printer – a long-lost art.
My first really serious journalism learning came at the George Washington University, where during Greek week I "pledged" The Hatchet, a twice-weekly tabloid then affiliated with the university (now independent). My editors, Allan Snyder, Marsha Sprintz, and Billie Stablein, taught me to work hard, get every fact right, write clearly, and be imaginative in framing stories. I owe my career to them.
A year after graduation I found myself in Virginia Beach, married to a newspaper reporter whose company would not allow me to work for any of its papers. There wasn't yet a city magazine there, so I ended up freelancing. That pursuit continued off and on for eight years, when I decided to become an employee of BNA, my main freelance client at the time.
After retiring from BNA in 2007 I went back to freelance editing and writing, adding publication consulting to my service offerings. I started this website as a blog in 2012, and in 2014 I shut down my sorely neglected and outdated business website.
I hope to make progress adding more journalism- and freelance-oriented content to this website this year. In the meantime, I've set up a portfolio on the Pressfolios website. Have a look - and check back here from time to time if you're interested in topics I discuss on my blog.
HB, 2017