I founded Featherschneider Editorial Services and began my career as a full-time copyeditor and proofreader of best-selling fiction and scholarly and trade nonfiction books in 1995, after obtaining my degree in graphic art at the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh and working in the printing industry.
Why “Featherschneider”?
People often ask where my business name came from. I have my sister to thank for it! Shortly after I married my spouse (whose surname is Featherston), she started addressing mail to us as “The Featherschneiders.” We liked the whimsical sound of it, and we started using it informally to label our potluck dishes, on invitations, in our friend’s store database, and so on. People sometimes think it’s actually our surname!
Later, when I needed a unique name for my editorial business, there it was: unique and memorable, and recognizing my spouse’s support over the years, especially when deadlines loom: as housekeeper, chief cook and bottle washer, sommelier, facilities manager, head carpenter, groundskeeper, and dog wrangler. And, as a marketing workshop facilitator pointed out, it’s perfect for someone who works as an editor: “Feather” represents a quill pen, or writing implement, and “Schneider” (as I knew, of course) is the German word for “tailor.” I tailor people’s writing. Could it get much better than that?