About Me

Hello!

I’m Lyra, an editor, proofreader, and indexer with over twenty years of in-house experience in academic, trade, reference, and higher education publishing. Previously, I've helf in-house positions at LexusNexus, University of Toronto Press, Oxford University Press, Penguin Random House, Wiley, and the American Chemical Society.  My expertise is grounded in an academic background spanning both the humanities and sciences, and reinforced by professional certifications in editing, indexing, and publishing from the University of Chicago Graham School and Toronto Metropolitan University. Over the course of my career, I’ve worked on more than 600 publications, including bestsellers and top-ranked publications. Though based in Canada, I work with publishers around the world and easily adapt to American, British, Australian, and Canadian editorial and language conventions.

     Below, you’ll find a little more about my background. If you’d like a fuller overview of my experience or  project history, please get in touch via email or through the contact page, and I'd be happy to share my resume and project list with you. 

My portfolio is broad and varied.
I’ve worked on academic monographs, trade fiction, scholarly and research journals, postsecondary textbooks, audiobooks, medical and legal transcripts, and illustrated exhibition catalogues. My clients include academic presses, traditional publishers, publishing solutions companies, and independent authors and researchers. 

I bring subject-matter expertise across a range of disciplines and genres. 

My work includes academic and nonfiction publications in the humanities, social sciences, life sciences, STEM, law, and medicine, as well as fiction ranging from literary works to genre titles. This broad subject range has meant working extensively with the most commonly used style guides—Chicago, ACS, APA, AMA, CSE, SBL, MLA, and McGill—enabling me to adapt seamlessly to a project's specific requirements and navigate the nuance of disciplines and genres.

My diverse in-house editorial and production experience has built a well-rounded skill set.

I have worked in-house as a developmental editor, production editor, digital content manager, copyeditor, and indexer, which has given me a fulsome understanding of how manuscripts and content move from idea to final publication.  With experience across every stage of the publication process, I have managed diverse formats while safeguarding layout and file integrity. This background enables me to anticipate challenges, communicate effectively with project managers, compositors, and authors, and provide solutions that are both editorially rigorous and production-aware. 

How do I know if a project is a good fit?

Every manuscript sits at the intersection of form, function, subject/genre, and audience, and my services operate within that matrix. I only take on projects that I can contribute meaningfully to,  which means providing services where the type of work, subject/genre, and my skills converge.   For example, while I copyedit engineering and medical texts, I do not take on substantive editing in those areas. And while I developmental edit trade fiction, I don't developmental edit literary fiction. My goal is to offer the right kind of support to meet each project's needs and help move it forward. If your project falls outside my scope, I’m always happy to offer guidance or refer you to someone better suited. 

     If you’d like more detail on the subjects and genres I work with for a specific service, you’ll find an overview at the bottom of the corresponding service page. 

My work is just one part of my life. 

Outside of work, I train service dogs and support their handlers through the self-training process. I also volunteer my time with organizations focused on animal welfare, online safety, and missing persons advocacy. A lifelong learner, I'm always studying something new, with personal interests that lean toward the eerie and unconventional—horror, surrealism, and the psychologically strange always find a way into my reading, viewing, research, and project lists.