What I Do

Hello. I am Katharine Valentino, owner of Setting Forth–on a Literary Itinerary. Have you been wanting to write something but are not sure how to go about it? Or have you begun the writing process but are now bogged down somewhere? You want to be accurate, concise, clear, and compelling. You want content that will connect with your readers.

You may just want to ensure you have all the commas and semicolons in the right places, or you may want help throughout the writing, editing, publishing and online marketing and publicity processes.

I can work with you in several ways:

 

If you have not yet begun to write, you can dictate to me. I’ll type what you say as you say it, asking you questions about anything that isn’t clear or that might be expanded to make it more interesting. Together, we can find the best way to say exactly what you want to say.

 

 

If you’ve already written something, I can work as an editor for you, reviewing it for correct English grammar and punctuation and to ensure it says what you want it to say in the way you want to say it.

 

 

I can format your work for book or online publishing and design your book cover. I can also “self publish” for you on Amazon, get you good book reviews, and market your book.

 

 

I can create a website for you and show you how to keep it updated so you never have to pay anyone again after the site is published.

 

 

MY EXPERIENCE

I have more than two decades of experience as a newspaper reporter and managing editor; a magazine features writer; a technical communicator; a memoir writer and editor; an article, blog and poetry editor; and a book publisher. Many years ago, I attained a bachelor’s degree in journalism “with high distinction” from Indiana University at Bloomington, then one of the five best journalism schools in the country. Later, during a decade when I worked at IBM, I was awarded master’s level certifications in Written English and English Vocabulary. I also have additional accreditations in technical writing and in information management.

Some years ago, I was the owner and editor of the online literary magazine Setting Forth–on a Literary Itinerary, which published short fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry by writers in and near Eugene, Oregon. I discontinued the magazine in 2017 but kept the name, thus https://settingForth.pub. Now, I work mostly part-time editing everything from novels and poetry to technical publications and creating websites for clients. When I’m inspired, I write, usually on Medium, and usually politics or memoir.