Adventures While Not Looking

 Sometimes we have adventures, even life-changing ones, without realizing it. That is how the last few years have been for me and only recently has it occurred to me to return to this blog and muse on things.

I left the Imperial Valley Desert Museum. Covid-19 hit. When we were allowed to venture back out into the world I went back to working as a bookseller at Book Revue, one of the largest independent bookstores in the Northeast and where I had worked before going to grad school. Sadly, it became a victim of pandemic economics and closed. I helped open a new indie bookstore in Oyster Bay, Theodore's Books. When my parents decided they wanted to leave Long Island and move to Saratoga Springs, I decided to move with them. 

Any and all of these things could be long chapters full of stories, and they are. But they all also helped shape where I think my next professional adventure is going to go. Or at least, the adventure I want to take- whether it will be a success of not will be part of that adventure.

You've all seen that reading and writing have been as much a part of my life- both work and personal- as breathing. I helped my friend Harry Casey write, edit, and publish Geoglyphs of the Desert Southwest. I've been a beta reader for my friend Karen Odden for years now and grown and honed my skills as a developmental editor while talking to her about her books. I've written Core Documents for the IVDM and manuals for the Waterville Valley Historical Society.  I've been a copyeditor for the newspaper articles my team wrote when I worked at the IVDM. Now I've decided to make a new start in a new location and take Karen's advice. I'm going to become a freelance editor.

What does this mean? For me it means lots of work marketing myself as someone who knows what they are talking about in the realm of writing. I'm working with Amanda Stefansson and ShinerTalk Media to develop a professional looking website, which I hope will be finished and launched within a week or two. I have a business Instagram account (@annemorganedits) I'm working to develop and I'm debating with myself on creating a business Twitter or Facebook page. 

What does it mean for this blog? The focus will probably move away from museum exhibits (although not entirely!) and onto the adventures of building a business. If it works, if it doesn't. We will see!