"The tech editing process with Whitney was very smooth and simple. I loved the system of scheduling a spot for editing, and the fact that any questions for me would be addressed in that scheduled time window. Her editing itself is spot on and quite easy to understand. Whitney offers suggestions for clarity and consistency in a friendly way. She caught all of the errors in my pattern, giving me the confidence to publish. I would definitely recommend her to anyone looking for an editor for their patterns!"
-Melissa Metzbower
Instagram: thatmetzbowergirldesigns
“The whole process of having my patterns tech edited by Whitney was smooth and stress free. Communication was fantastic from start to finish. From inquiring about her services to scheduling a time for her to begin tech editing, each step was simple. Reminders are sent before your scheduled time, along with what she requires. Her edits are clear and concise, making it easy to see where corrections are needed. She picked up on inconsistencies, errors and gave suggestions on how to fix them in a professional yet friendly way. Whitney is clearly passionate about supporting designers to publish well-written, polished patterns which keep the voice of the individual designer. I highly recommend Whitney, she has been fantastic to work with in producing patterns I am proud to publish.”
-Gemma Staples
Instagram: littlewonderfibreco
“As a brand new designer, I was pretty nervous about sending my design off to be tech edited. I was confident with my design idea, but wasn’t sure if I’d written it correctly for the knitting world. I am also not a math person, so I was terrified that my figures would be wrong and I wouldn’t understand how to fix it. I expected my edits to be written completely in tech editing terms that I wouldn’t probably understand. The day I emailed my pattern to Whitney, a fellow designer had just complained her tech editor didn’t appreciate extra questions after the initial draft had been sent...this was a last minute stressor—was I sure I asked all the right questions?!
Whitney was AMAZING. She answered all my questions and even brought up some things I hadn’t thought about that turned out to be extremely helpful for my final draft (why I should write out every WS row, how to arrange my charts, suggestions to make the pattern more accessible to neurodivergent knitters). I really appreciate how she explained things, too. Everything was clear; she gave examples to illustrate how the changes fit into my pattern and ways to keep it in my own voice. I never felt like I couldn’t reach out for help as the testing process continued.
My favorite part of Whitney’s edits? She color codes all her notes/suggestions (I have done this since middle school)! After staring at all the pages of my pattern for a couple months, everything kind of blurred together. The color coding made finding the corrections much faster. I was also pleasantly surprised to find out she allowed another review process before the pattern was released. My testers had given me a lot of helpful feedback, but I wasn’t quite sure how to fit some of the new information into my pattern.
I would definitely recommend Whitney to a brand new designer. There are so many things to think about on your first design and it can be overwhelming trying to remember or think of everything you need to do, but she makes the process easy to understand and approachable. None of her corrections feel harsh, but more like little tweaks. I like that she used the parts of my pattern I’d done well to my advantage: she’d compliment me on them, then use it to help make the overall pattern stronger—I made notes of these points and plan to use them in future designs.
She can help all designers with layout, math, keeping the style of your voice consistent. I also appreciate Whitney committing to do a few edits free of charge in exchange for feedback/testimony. This option gave me an opportunity to get my pattern out without having to worry about the financial aspect at this time. Thank you for offering this service to the knitting community!”
-Alyssa of RasmusKnits
Instagram: rasmusknits
“I was expecting someone who helps me to improve my pattern concerning language, clarity and consistency. My expectations were totally fulfilled.
I enjoyed the well organized process - from the first contact about the request form, a scheduled time slot for the first review and all iterations with so many useful suggestions and hints.
You should definitely book Whitney as a tech editor. She is well organized and has an eye for details. You get quick and well-founded feedback in every step of the tech editing process.”
-Anja Heumann
Instagram: haekelmanufaktur
“As a first-time designer, I was only intellectually aware of what a tech editor would do to help me produce a well-written pattern that I could be proud to publish. I knew someone needed to check my numbers and format consistency, and catch those little mistakes that we don’t see in our own work. When I reached out to Whitney, I found out what else a tech editor provides. She was patient with my getting behind my own schedule, encouraged me to send things back to her to review rather than just hope I’d fixed everything, and even helped promote my work when it was released.
Her system of color-coding different types of feedback was enormously useful. I could scan through for errors, for writing suggestions, etc, dealing with one type of edit at a time. It’s hard for me to reach out to people I don’t know and ask for clarifications or help, and Whitney made communicating with her easy and comfortable for this shy introvert. Scheduling was simple, and it’s so helpful to know when to expect a response.”
-Fae of Otterfae Fiber Arts
Instagram: ladyotterfae