Tamara Holloway received her PhD in English Literature from the University of Oregon. Tamara has spent nearly twenty years teaching literature, composition, and creative writing to college students; she currently teaches at Walla Walla Community College. Tamara has a strong background in editing and is committed to instilling writing proficiency and confidence in her clients. Writing competently is empowering, and Tamara specializes in sharing the skills needed to write well under pressure with students and clients alike. Tamara offers dissertation coaching to help you become better at managing your dissertation or thesis by offering suggestions for ways you can take charge of the process and deal with common stresses such as procrastination/avoidance, writer’s block, anxiety, perfectionism, and other barriers to completing your project. We can do this together!
What do you enjoy about editing?
I enjoy the focus on the small details when I work on editing projects. Helping writers with consistency in grammar, mechanics, formatting, and citations brings me a lot of pleasure.
What is your experience of the dissertation editing process?
I have been editing dissertations since I was in graduate school. Getting to learn about students’ research interests is always fascinating.
In your opinion, what constitutes as good editing?
Good editing enables writers to communicate the relevance and findings of their research to their audience. One of my mentors had a saying that has always stuck with me: “True brilliance illuminates.” To that end, I strive to edit documents in ways that allow the brilliance of the writers’ ideas and research to shine through.
What have been your favorite projects to have worked on? What are your current projects?
My favorite editing projects are always the ones where I can learn something new, and I find that to be a common experience editing for WEX. Outside of WEX, one of my favorite editing projects was a friend’s first book (on the history and politics of map-making in colonial South Africa). I have also edited poetry, fiction, and children’s literature.
What is your favorite quote?
“A word after a word after a word is power.” – Margaret Atwood